Il benchmarking per il controllo della performance: esiti di una ricerca nei distretti conciari italiani

To evaluate the applicability and usefulness of benchmarking using, in particular, budget analysis, this research has analyzed the five-year trend (2014–2018) of certain income and financial indices of about 700 tanneries, for Italy and its three districts. For a more analytical evaluation, a number of statistical tools have been used (analysis of variance ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer tests). Confirming the rich bibliography, benchmarking can be applied usefully. The validation of the method has also made it possible to express an opinion on the firms' economic and financial equilibrium: Regardless of the different locations, Italian tanneries are significantly indebted. Higher capitalization is therefore advisable, also considering the recent crisis due to the pandemic. Profitability is positive, although it is in decline. This assurance is a relative safety margin in the possible hypothesis of profit reduction due to the coronavirus. The disaggregated analysis highlights the disadvantage of southern companies that have lower profitability and, on average, higher debt levels.