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INTERVIEW

FORMA ITALIANA

EXPERTISE AND SPEED TO MEET

THE NEEDS OF A “FAST-MOVING” MARKET

including depreciation and amortisation. This enables
us to intervene promptly wherever necessary. When a
company reaches a certain size and level of turnover, I
believe it has a duty to adopt the control and management
systems typically used by listed companies, because
what is at stake is not only investment, but also the
protection of employees, partners and the companies
we work with. We have also modernised our monitoring
system through the use of artificial intelligence and new
analytical tools, including MMI and specific algorithms.

EM: How useful is AI today?
CG: The key question is not so much whether AI is useful,
but why and how you use it in relation to the company’s
actual needs. To use it effectively, you must first
understand the possibilities these tools offer. At Forma
Italiana, we have chosen to support our employees
with young consultants who have specific expertise in
INTERVIEW WITH AI. They work alongside our people as genuine digital
CLAUDIO GABBAI, assistants, with the aim of optimising their daily work.
CEO OF FORMA ITALIANA It is a tool that allows us to achieve the same results
in less time, naturally subject to the appropriate
checks, giving people more room to focus on higher-
EXPORT MAGAZINE: Is it correct to describe Forma value activities. We also have several projects under
Italiana as a dynamic company? development involving the use of predictive AI, in
CLAUDIO GABBAI: Yes, if by dynamism we mean the collaboration with our sales organisation. I believe
ability to listen to the market, understand where it it will become an increasingly important element in
is heading and quickly interpret changes, including decision-making processes over the coming years.
sudden ones. Faced with continuous evolution, true
entrepreneurial ability can, in my view, be summed up EM: Does Forma Italiana’s DNA remain the same
in one word: vision. Without the right vision, the risk of despite its evolution?
making mistakes is high. That is why it is essential to be CG: I cannot deny that today’s company differs, at least
able to change course quickly, using data above all as a in part, from the family-run model that characterised it
tool for analysis and decision-making. for many years. Once again, the logic of numbers prevails
For approximately seven years, we have implemented over what we might call a more romantic vision, perhaps
a highly structured management control system within now superseded by the need to address market complexity
the company, divided by business unit. At the beginning with appropriate tools. This year, we will exceed €200
of each month, we analyse the results of the previous million in turnover, with approximately 160 employees
month through a sort of complete management report, and two sales forces, each made up of 14 people.

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