The Benchmarking Study 2025, conducted by Bonfiglioli on a significant sample of more than 100 companies, representative of 22 industrial sectors - with 85% of the participants in C-level roles -, outlines the new competitive geography of the Made in Italy industrial sector.
Italian industry is confirmed as robust and responsible, with high levels of environmental maturity and an index of Operational Excellence of 71%. However, a growing lag emerges in process digitization, which is now the main strategic lever to regain competitiveness.
In an increasingly complex scenario of high demand volatility and structural skills shortages, the key to ensuring sustainable growth and resilience lies in the adoption of more agile organizational models. In these models, data, skills and strategic vision become indispensable competitive assets.
Understanding "where we are“ and ”what it takes to compete“ is therefore a key strategic step for companies that want to lead the future of Italian manufacturing.
The Permanent Observatory provides an up-to-date picture of the maturity level of Italian companies across five key impact areas: Operational Excellence, Supply Chain, Digital Transformation, Sustainability, and Human Resources & Competence Development. The analysis is divided into four levels of operational maturity: static, reactive, preventive, and proactive.
Italian companies show a robust operational maturity index of 71%.
The most significant finding emerges from the presence of a formalized Operational Excellence strategy in the 62% of companies, with a predominantly medium to long time horizon: 71% of strategic plans cover at least 3 years.
Strategic priorities confirm a paradigm shift:
A transition from the cost-driven paradigm to a value-oriented, differentiation and customer experience logic is evident.
The analysis of operational mindsets, however, reveals a crucial element: most companies are in a reactive or proactive stage, while the preventive approach--the more strategic one to anticipate the market--still remains uncommon. The presence of "structured“ but still ”low-tech“ companies (26%) shows that process maturity does not always translate into the ability to digitally scale performance.
The Italian Supply Chain registers a maturity level of 67%: a decent performance that nevertheless shows wide room for improvement, especially in terms of digitization and end-to-end integration.
The 46% in the sample is in the "Fragile Supply Chain“ category, characterized by predominantly manual processes, episodic planning, and low digitization. The 30% operates with a ”Disconnected Supply Chain,“ a symptom of an incomplete transition: processes show improvement, but information flows do not circulate smoothly enough between different links in the chain. Only 14% can be called ”smart,“ and barely 7% falls into the category of digital leaders.
The main gaps emerge on three strategic fronts:
The message is unequivocal: even a carefully designed Supply Chain loses effectiveness in the absence of adequate digital support. Resilience today is no longer enough. Predictive capability must be developed.
The Benchmarking Study shows that the average Digitalization Score of Italian companies stands at 48%: the lowest value among all the areas analyzed and, at the same time, the strategic lever with the greatest potential for improvement.
An analysis of the perception of the level of digitization reveals a highly polarized industrial Italy:
Even more significant is the finding that only 4% of the sample can be defined as Smart Factory today.
The 42% has a multi-year roadmap (3-5 years) integrated into the strategic plan, while the 49% is still in the exploratory stage.
A key factor emerges here as well: critical mass.
Companies above 250 M€ show the best results, while SMEs - while aware of the need to digitize - struggle to move from episodic initiatives to coherent and structured roadmaps.
Another important finding emerges from the analysis: 38% of companies have not yet implemented cybersecurity policies, while only 23% have structured and established policies.
In an increasingly interconnected industrial ecosystem, where IoT factories are the norm, this gap constitutes a significant strategic vulnerability.
Only 34% of the sample have initiated AI and GenAI projects, while just 3% use them in a structured and established way.
The application priorities identified are:
The main barriers to adoption remain data quality and availability, poorly integrated information systems, and cultural resistance to change.
An analysis by revenue bracket shows a direct correlation between company size and level of digital maturity:
Digital transformation is, therefore, a matter of critical mass and strategic governance.
Despite the growing interest in artificial intelligence, its adoption in the Italian manufacturing sector is still at an embryonic stage. The analysis reveals that the most widespread applications are concentrated in specific areas:
There remains, however, a significant gap between technology potential and actual implementation, with most companies still experimenting rather than structured adoption.
With a Sustainability Maturity Level of 89%, sustainability emerges as a strategic pillar of Italian industry, confirmed by investments that are now structural:
Distribution of investments in sustainability:
Adoption of formal certification systems:
Firms in the sample show high adoption of sustainability certifications:
Only 7% of the surveyed companies lack certifications.
An opportunity yet to be seized:the social dimension remains limited, with 5% of the sample certified as B Corp.
Sustainability as a strategic lever:
No longer a cost, but an investment for:
The average HR maturity level stands at 58%: an increasing value, but still far from a fully mature and strategic model.
Investment in training: signs of change
.88% of companies currently invest less than 5% of turnover in training. However, a positive sign emerges: 34% of the sample expect an increase in training budgets in the coming year, confirming a growing awareness of the strategic value of human capital.
Companies" training priorities:
The strategic gap: lack of knowledge governance
.The real critical point emerges in knowledge management: more than 76% of companies still do not have a structured internal Academy or a formalized model for skills transfer.
This gap represents a significant competitive risk in a context where know-how retention and speed of upskilling are differentiating factors for business competitiveness.
The Benchmarking Study 2025 outlines a clear scenario: Italian industry can count on a strong operating culture and a concrete commitment to sustainability. However, this asset is in danger of not being enough. To maintain competitiveness, strategic integration between Operations, Digital Transformation and People Development must be accelerated.
The future of manufacturing rests on an essential strategic balance:
Stable Processes + Smart Technologies + Widespread Skills.
Only companies capable of simultaneously investing in operational excellence, digital intelligence and skills development will be able to successfully lead the evolution of industrial Made in Italy.
In an increasingly competitive and dynamic market environment, leadership will belong to those who can methodically integrate technology, skills and strategic vision, transforming these three pillars into a sustainable competitive advantage.
