The 2025 Benchmarking Study, conducted by Bonfiglioli on a significant sample of over 100 companies, representative of 22 industrial sectors – with 85% of the participants in C-level roles – outlines the new competitive geography of Made in Italy industrial production.
The Italian industry remains solid and responsible, with high levels of environmental maturity and an Operational Excellence index of 71%. However, there is a growing lag in the digitalization of processes, which today represents the main strategic lever for regaining competitiveness.
In an increasingly complex scenario characterized by high volatility in demand and a structural shortage of skills, the key to ensuring sustainable growth and resilience lies in adopting more agile organizational models. In these models, data, skills, and strategic vision become indispensable competitive assets.
Understanding "where we are“ and ”what is needed to compete“ therefore represents a fundamental strategic step for companies that want to lead the future of Italian manufacturing.
The Permanent Observatory provides an updated overview of the level of maturity of Italian companies through five key areas of impact: Operational Excellence, Supply Chain, Digital Transformation, Sustainability and Human Resources & Competence Development. The analysis is structured into four levels of operational maturity: static, reactive, predictive and proactive.
Italian companies show a solid operational maturity index of 71%.
The most significant data emerge from the presence of a formalized strategy of Operational Excellence in 62% of the companies, with a predominant time horizon of medium to long-term: 71% of the strategic plans cover at least 3 years.
The strategic priorities confirm a paradigm shift:
There is a clear transition from the cost-driven paradigm to a value-oriented logic, differentiation, and customer experience.
The analysis of operational mindsets, however, reveals a crucial element: the majority of companies are in a reactive or proactive stage, while the preventive approach – the most strategic one to anticipate the market – remains still little widespread. The presence of "structured“ but still ”low-tech“ companies (26%) demonstrates 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 discrete performance that nevertheless highlights wide margins for improvement, especially in terms of digitalization and end-to-end integration.
The 46%th place in the ranking belongs to the "fragile supply chain“ category, characterized by predominantly manual processes, episodic planning, and low digitization. The 30%th place operates with a ”disconnected supply chain,“ a symptom of an incomplete transition: the processes show improvements, but the information flows do not circulate with sufficient fluidity between the different links in the chain. Only the 14%th can be considered ”intelligent,“ and just 7% fall 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 is no longer sufficient today. It is necessary to develop predictive capabilities.
The Benchmarking Study highlights 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 leverage with the greatest potential for improvement.
The analysis of the perception of the level of digitalization reveals an industrially polarized Italy:
Even more significant is the fact that only 4 percent of the sample can today be defined as a Smart Factory.
The 42% has a multi-year roadmap (3-5 years) integrated into the strategic plan, while the 49% is still in an exploratory phase.
Here too, a key factor emerges: the critical mass.
Companies with revenues exceeding 250 million euros show the best results, while SMEs – although aware of the need to digitize – struggle to move from sporadic initiatives to coherent and structured roadmaps.
Another important finding emerges from the analysis: 38% of the companies have not yet implemented cybersecurity policies, while only 23% have structured and consolidated 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 has started AI and GenAI projects, while only 3% are using them in a structured and consolidated way.
The identified application priorities are:
The main obstacles to adoption remain the quality and availability of data, poorly integrated information systems, and cultural resistance to change.
The analysis by revenue segment highlights a direct correlation between company size and the level of digital maturity:
Digital transformation therefore constitutes a matter of critical mass and strategic governance.
Despite the growing interest in artificial intelligence, its adoption in the Italian manufacturing sector is still in an embryonic stage. Analysis reveals that the most widespread applications focus on specific areas:
However, a significant gap emerges between technological potential and actual implementation, with most companies still in the experimental phase rather than undergoing structured adoption.
With a Sustainability Maturity Level of 89%, sustainability emerges as a strategic pillar of the Italian industry, confirmed by now structural investments:
Distribution of investments in sustainability:
Adoption of formal certification systems:
The companies in the sample show high adoption of sustainability certifications:
Only 7% of the companies surveyed have no certifications.
An opportunity still to be seized: the social dimension remains limited, with 5% of the sample certified as a B Corp.
Sustainability as a strategic lever:
No longer a cost, but an investment for:
The average level of HR maturity stands at 58%: a value that is growing, but still far from a fully mature and strategic model.
Investments in training: signs of change
88% of companies currently invest less than 5% of their turnover in training. However, a positive sign emerges: 34% of the sample expects an increase in training budgets next year, confirming a growing awareness of the strategic value of human capital.
The training priorities of companies:
The strategic gap: a lack of knowledge governance
The real critical point emerges in the management of knowledge management: more than 76% of companies still do not have an internal structured Academy or a formalized model for the transfer of skills.
This gap represents a significant competitive risk in a context where the retention of know-how and the speed of upskilling constitute differentiating factors for business competitiveness.
The 2025 Benchmarking Study outlines a clear scenario: the Italian industry can count on a solid operational culture and a concrete commitment to sustainability. However, this heritage may not be enough. To maintain competitiveness, it is necessary to accelerate the strategic integration between Operations, Digital Transformation, and People Development.
The future of the manufacturing industry is based on an essential strategic balance:
Stable processes + Intelligent technologies + Diffused 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 know how to integrate technology, expertise, and strategic vision in a methodical way, transforming these three pillars into a sustainable competitive advantage.
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