The Unimatic Group Industrial Technology consortium is a typical example of a non-profit association of manufacturing companies operating within a technological supply chain that aims to support member companies in internationalization processes.
The export consortium is a typically Italian formula that has developed over the last 40 years and that has played a fundamental role in the internationalization processes of small and medium-sized Italian companies. The small size of companies sometimes creates weaknesses that can be and capable of not allowing the small business to be competitive on international markets.
Over the years in Italy has therefore developed an associative phenomenon that of export consortia that has also been used by the United Nations as a benchmark level at the international level.
The operational purpose of export consortia such as Unimatic Group Industrial Technology and to support member companies in the development of international relations with new operators and already known operators.
In the specific case of the UNIMATIC consortium these are companies operating in the industrial washing technology supply chain.
The logic of aggregation in the specific case is therefore to create synergies between companies operating in the same production chain in order to also allow the traceability of productions and consequently a greater effectiveness in quality control and above all in the ability to adapt productions along the entire supply chain based on market demand. The Unimatic consortium has operated in many countries around the world and therefore has gained great experience in terms of supporting member companies in the search for market information, research against party regulatory analysis of strategic scenarios and evaluation of the potential of the country also through the organization of international marketing plans.
From the experience of the UNIMATIC consortium, the possibility of being able to present a grouping of companies in supply chains is an added value for local interlocutors, as through an intermediate organization such as a consortium it is possible to represent the potential that the associated companies yield in providing integrated technological solutions.
Non-profit organizations established in the form of export consortia have also benefited from public financial support as in the specific case of the project in the USA which was granted funds thanks to the intervention of the Umbria region and the funds Por Fesr Region Umbria 2014-2020 Axis III, Action 3.3.1.
The consortium exports in Italy are a non-profit organization and consequently do not carry out activities of a commercial nature but offer services in favor of the associated companies and not only. The possibility of being able to provide services even to non-associated companies as long as they are consistent with the statute and mission of the consortium also makes it possible to develop new opportunities of contact with companies that temporarily may not belong to the consortium but which are instead functional to the completion of the supply chain.
The export consortium has also played a role in the Italian experience of guarantee and quality of the products offered by its members in consideration of the fact that the companies that are part of this aggregation while maintaining their individuality operate in some situations under the umbrella and the brand of the consortium association.
This means that all the companies participating in the consortium experience have an interest in maintaining the same quality standards over time so that the same image and the same degree of reliability can be guaranteed by all companies.
UNIMATIC Group Industrial Technology through the project in the USA has therefore supported the associated companies consolidation and the development and consolidation of their presence in the US market. More than ten years of experience of the animated consortium allows us to create synergies with a network of contacts that have been developed over time and all over the world.
GENERAL NOTES ON ITALIAN EXPORT CONSORTIA
Types of consortia for internationalization
Consortia for internationalization can be classified according to the following parameters:
objectives pursued;
production sector belonging to the member companies;
level of complementarity between the products of the member companies;
territorial relationship between the member companies;
legal form of the associated companies;
legal nature of the consortium According to the objectives pursued, consortia can be classified into:
promotional (or service) consortia sales consortia (or operational, or functional).
The former are intended to provide general services aimed at supporting and integrating the export activity of the consortium companies; the latter deal with the marketing of the products of the member companies in foreign markets, possibly by affixing the consortium brand.
It should be noted that the sales consortium does not assume any commercial risk, that is, it does not buy products from the consortium companies and then resell them on the market, but limits itself to putting the consortium company in contact with the foreign buyer or, at most, acquires orders in the name and on behalf of the consortium companies.
The reason why in Italy the promotional consortia are much more numerous than the sales ones lies in the degree of extension of the delegation that the individual consortium company grants to the consortium: limited in promotional consortia; more extensive in sales consortia.
Depending on the production sector to which the member companies belong, the consortia can be classified into: single-sectoral consortia and multi-sectoral consortia. Single-sector consortia are made up of companies belonging to the same production sector.
Multi-sectoral consortia, on the other hand, are made up of companies belonging to production sectors that are also very heterogeneous among them. On the basis of the existing relationships between the products of the member companies, we see that the latter can produce: different but complementary products, which lead to the offer of a “complete” final product;
or they can make a “package” of integrated products. By “systematizing” the parameter of belonging to the sector and the parameter of the relationship between the products of the consortium companies, the consortia for internationalization can be classified into:
generic multi-sectoral consortia;
complementary multi-sectoral consortia;
generic single-sectoral consortia;
complementary single-sectoral consortia.

Generic multi-sectoral consortia are characterised by the fact that the associated undertakings belong to different production sectors and produce goods that are not complementary to each other. This type of consortium companies mainly uses the basic services offered by the consortium.
Complementary multi-sectoral consortia are characterised by a high level of complementarity between the products of the associated undertakings which, however, appear to belong to different production sectors.
Here, too, the associated companies mainly use the basic services offered by the consortium.
Generic single-sector consortia are characterized by products belonging to the same production sector. This means that the associated companies produce similar products and therefore compete with each other.
In this case, the use of the consortium takes place for the reasons of achieving higher levels of competitiveness than its own; therefore the consortium is usually engaged on almost all fronts: from the offer of basic services to advanced services, market research, credit insurance, and so on. However, the rivalry between the member companies is often a threat factor for the correct and full functionality of the consortium, and can even threaten its existence. Complementary single-sector consortia are characterized by consortium companies belonging to the same production sector but producing products with a high degree of complementarity with each other. This is the most stimulating case for the activity of a consortium, because the high complementarity between the products favors a climate of collaboration between the consortium companies. On the basis of the parameter of the territorial relationship existing between the member companies, the following can be distinguished: single-territorial consortia and multi-territorial consortia.
In single-territorial consortia, the member companies operate in the same geographical area.
In multi-territorial consortia, the member companies operate in a wide and diversified geographical area. According to the nature of the consortium, a distinction is made between: private consortia and mixed consortia. A private consortium is used when it consists exclusively of undertakings with a private legal entity. We speak of a mixed consortium when it is made up of both private companies and public entities, such as, typically: Chambers of Commerce, local territorial authorities (for example municipalities), business associations.
The services offered by consortia for internationalization.
Consortia for internationalization offer a very wide range of services by virtue of the fact that the operational reality of these consortia is characterized by diversity in terms of size, availability of resources, characteristics of the member companies. To this operational diversity must also be added the natural evolution of the individual consortium.

The activities of the consortia for internationalization are as follows

– basic services for export activity;
– advice and support for marketing activities;
– promotional activities;
– liaison activities with public and private structures operating in the field of internationalization support services;
– commercial intermediation activities;
– various services.


The basic services for the export activity are all those services that have characterized the consortium structures from the beginning, such as: translation of commercial correspondence; interpreting during company visits, meetings with foreign operators (buyers / suppliers), trade fairs; customs, tax and logistics assistance and advice in the process of carrying out export procedures.
Since these are basic services, it is obvious that they are aimed at small consortium companies that do not have administrative staff capable of carrying out these tasks and that are at the initial stage of the internationalisation process.
Consulting and support services for marketing activities consist of: collection of market information from institutions such as ICE-Agency, Chambers of Commerce, WTO, IMF, and other national and international institutes;
exchange of information between the associated companies;
targeted market research for individual member companies;
specialist advice on export financing, international contracts, legal assistance in the event of international disputes, setting up of trade in compensation;
opening and management of operational bases abroad (in the form of representative offices, collaboration relationships with local representatives) in order to have a more direct perception of the trend of the consortium’s reference markets.
Promotional activities consist in the search and organization of direct contacts with foreign operators, or in indirect contacts through the organization of fairs.
Since the promotional activity is the most important activity of the consortium for internationalization, each consortium prepares an annual program of participation in the main international trade fairs. This is “active” participation as the consortium can take care of the entire “cycle” of trade fair participation, ranging from the purchase of exhibition spaces to the shipment of samples of goods, to the organization of the exhibitors’ trip, to the preparation of the necessary documentation, to the preparation of the stands, to the organization of meetings with foreign customers, to the elaboration of an ad hoc advertising program for the individual consortium companies.

The promotional activity carried out by the consortium is also related to the promotion and organization of economic missions of the consortium companies in the new markets, mostly organized in collaboration with the ICE-Agency and the Chambers of Commerce. The liaison activities with public and private structures operating in the field of internationalization support services are substantiated in the stipulation of agreements for the use of services offered by private operators, such as travel agencies, hotel facilities, banking institutions, database managers, shippers, insurers, law firms, and in assisting in contacts with public bodies, such as the ICE-Agency, the Chambers of Commerce operating in Italy and abroad, the Embassies and consulates.
Another function of the consortium is that of commercial intermediation, which takes on different characteristics depending on whether or not the consortium assumes the commercial risk of selling products abroad. In this second case, the consortium limits itself to looking for foreign customers and putting them in contact with its consortium members, who directly or indirectly manage, through agent / representative, the deal.
In this case, the consortium usually requires a commission on the concluded transactions. If, on the other hand, the consortium assumes the commercial risk, it is the consortium itself that buys the products of its consortium members and then resells them abroad, thus assuming the role of a specialized commercial company for export.
In this second case, it is common to note a “subjection” of the consortium members to the commercial needs of the consortium governing body in terms of adaptations of the products to be exported. And it is precisely this loss of decision-making autonomy of the consortium companies that limits the use of consortia that deal with the sale of the products of their members. Finally, consortia for internationalization can offer various services, such as the preparation of permanent exhibitions for the products of the consortium companies, training activities on practices and regulations relating to exports.