Anticipazione strategica e riposizionamento nella filiera distrettuale. Il caso Sabaf

Anticipazione strategica e riposizionamento nella filiera distrettuale. Il caso Sabaf - Sabaf Group is a worldwide leading gas cooking appliance manufacturer. The firm, which has been playing since the fifties a major role in the metalworking industrial district of "Valli Bresciane", planned a re-organization during the late nineties. Drawing upon a clear separation between ownership and management, the firm started up an industrial restructuring focused on the insourcing of the pressure die casting process for the making of burners and the brand new production of aluminium alloys. The strategic anticipation took place as consequence to Sabaf’s forecast for the forthcoming decline of the district-area (2000-2004), and firm’s management decided to move from the "core" of the district (Lumezzane) to the border of it (Ospitaletto), a choice which meant to overcome some typical external economies of the marshallian district. The entire manufacturing department was replaced and a joint engineering (processes and products) method was also adopted with considerable results that allowed the firm in becoming one of the most innovative players in its sector. Corporate governance and social and environmental sustainability turned out to be the main drivers of the firm’s lead over other competitors and now represent also thecrucial keys for facing current crisis in a pro-active way, rather than simply in a reactive manner.;

Keywords:Industrial districts; supply chain restructuring; cognitive processes; manufacturing systems; vertical integration.

Marco Castellani, Anticipazione strategica e riposizionamento nella filiera distrettuale. Il caso Sabaf in "STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI " 2/2009, pp 150-172, DOI: 10.3280/SO2009-002008