Simple souls sometimes inhabit complex bodies

Editorial by Stefano Lavorini

I was reading in a newspaper that our brains hold as true the things they most easily remember. A claim at least likely, which prompted me to review notes and recordings made at the Ucima assembly held at Villa Marchetti (Baggiovara, MO) on June 29 that marked the passing of the presidency, as planned in 2020, from Matteo Gentili to Riccardo Cavanna.

A two-year period, the one just past, that Gentili did not hesitate to describe as "very particular and difficult, which has impacted very strongly on our business activities, as well as on our personal lives, as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine." How can one disagree!

And if Gentili appeared serene and fulfilled for having accomplished what was planned, Cavanna, visibly excited, returned "in words and deeds" awareness and determination to look ahead... Starting - almost an oxymoron - from the motto of Ucima's founders, year 1984, "Unity is strength," but especially in spite of a macro scenario in which "black swans," disruptive events, have now become flocks.

Riccardo Cavanna - who has been active in Ucima for 15 years - presented himself to the audience of members as a man capable of being true to himself, both in dealing with the difficulties and challenges of doing business in a highly innovative and internationalized sector such as packaging machinery, and in reference to his mandate goals in the association.

Pause for reflection, with chilling content

Gian Paolo Crasta, executive director of Ucima, introduced the speakers at the conference, "The enterprise today: flexible strategies for possible futures," which had as its theme the changes taking place in the supply chain, in light of the post covid manufacturing recovery, the race to restore inventories, and the war in Ukraine, all events that have dramatically unbalanced global demand.

In his talk, Andrea Venegoni, starting from the fact that today "the only certainty is uncertainty," took stock of the past 15 years, relating macroeconomic and competitive factors, and then dwelt on the risks to which the global value chain is exposed.
Summing up, there is only one thing to do in this new world: change your way of thinking.

Alberto Tremolada, data in hand, left little room for comforting escapes.
What is in fact happening in the supply chain is characterized by a disconnect between widely disseminated and repeated statements and perspectives and the actual dynamics of both market and technology.

Starting from these scenario interventions, the word went to Matteo Montecchi, who presented some advances on a survey, commissioned by Ucima, on the state of the art of Supply Chain Management in the automatic packaging machine manufacturers' sector.
Among the critical issues that emerged was that of a "culture" on costs not yet mature at the level of processes and tools; something that suggests moving to supply chain management, which is a strategic process, by training or acquiring ad hoc professionalism.

Icing on the cake, Luca Baraldi brought data from a very recent survey on prices and average delivery times of electronic and non-packaging components. Carried out in collaboration with suppliers, it showed that compared with a rather homogeneous average increase in 22/21 price lists of about 10%, the average lead time for non-electronic components is now 12.9 weeks, while that for electronic components is 22.4 weeks, with significant differences, in both cases, depending on the products.

What we have heard makes us reflect on the possible scenarios of today, which are increasingly complex and studded with paradoxes and contradictions, real or apparent.

After all, Ennio Flaiano would have thus commented, "Simple souls sometimes inhabit complex bodies."

Well, perhaps it is precisely (also) in this perfect antithesis that the meaning of our new normal should be sought.