Veneto Est, costs and opportunities from reshoring for companies

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Veneto, one of the regions with the greatest international projection, puts under the lens all the risks, but also the opportunities, created in the last two years, when first the pandemic and then the Russian invasion of Ukraine accelerated the dynamics of change of global value chains and fostered the regionalization of international supply networks.

The initiative is taken by Confindustria Veneto Est, which includes the provinces of Padua, Treviso, Venice and Rovigo: together they represent almost half of Veneto’s exports (32.7 billion euros in 2021). The second edition of the Export Observatory dedicated to “The international reorganization of supply networks between reshoring and friendshoring”, in collaboration with SACE and the North East Foundation, examined a sample of 657 associated manufacturing companies.

The numbers

In the last two years, more than one out of three manufacturing companies in Eastern Veneto (34.7%) has changed at least one strategic supplier: a demanding operation that takes time to build the necessary bond of trust. Among these, 58.1% opted for new strategic suppliers closer, in Italy, and 16.4% chose suppliers closer, but outside Italy (mainly EU countries). Therefore a reshoring of its supplies that focuses on greater proximity for 26% of companies, one in four.

Why do you decide to change while still facing an uncertainty? The main reason is the availability of suitable suppliers in Italy (43.8%), followed by convenience in terms of price, the reduction of procurement risks and the quality of the goods and services offered. In the same period, almost two out of three companies (a share of 65.8% which reaches 81.2% among those with more than 250 employees) increased their inventories as a form of “insurance” against the risk of interruptions in supplies.

Risks and opportunities

After years of boosting efficiency, a change, “from just-in-time to just-in-case”, which favors supply security. But the regionalization of chains can represent an opportunity, indeed it already is: 37.2% of companies (50.7% among the largest) saw an increase in orders from their customers thanks to the reorganization of their chains value.