Three site visits were on today’s agenda: the Synergy Group Logistics Center, the Sartoria Cavour tailoring company, and the Mario Foroni Knitwear Company (MF1). These sites encapsulated many aspects of the fashion supply chain, from design to packaging and shipping. As a special treat, our tour guide Luca arranged for us to travel in the bus that Verona’s soccer team uses. As a result, more than a few people who saw us pass by mistook us for the team and waved at us. This was very amusing.

The Synergy Group (Gruppo Sinergia) focuses on three areas: e-commerce, customer service, and integration. They do not ship their own goods, but rather manage the logistics of other companies’ products from the moment of purchase to the moment of delivery. Compared to other countries like the U.K. and the U.S., Italy is behind in e-commerce but the manager explained that leading in online shopping is not their goal. Instead, they see a value in retail stores and seek to integrate the virtual with the physical to best serve customers’ needs. Lastly, the group discussed how they can guarantee delivery of items to many locations within thirty minutes; this is possible because they have 54 warehouses across the country, while Amazon has three.

The lecture was followed by a tour of the facilities. Walking around a warehouse and observing how goods are efficiently packaged and labeled was fascinating because I rarely consider the handling involved in packages I receive. I watched how the employees utilized screens showing information like clients’ names and package destinations. The linchpin of this reliable process is the bar code system. If a mistake is made, it is most likely due to an error related to this system.

Next, we took a short walk over to the tailoring company. The location was rather small with only forty employees who produce sixty suits daily. One of the tailors showed us how many components go into a blazer. He stressed the importance of passion and knowledge when it comes to suit making. We had the privilege of observing another tailor mark another piece of fine fabric with chalk according to the many pieces of a suit jacket. The tailor’s thorough knowledge, pride in his craft, and exactness of his work were evident. The particular location we visited produces suits that are eventually sold for Ralph Lauren, as an example.

Next, we stopped for lunch in an area that was quite beautiful and quaint. Then it was back on the road for a quick drive to the MF1 knitwear company.

We had the privilege of being toured by Mario Foroni himself. It was awesome to see the details of the knit weaves on computer programs used by designers. MF1 produces clothing for brands like Gucci, Calvin Klein, and Stella McCartney. In addition, they also design and manufacture clothing for their own brand. We saw some new innovations for a MF1 line called Male to Female; this brand features many reversible designs which was very neat. Lastly, we visited MF1’s archive which was full of designs from 1980 onward. These rooms serve as a catalog for designers to look at the many different ways various knit weaves manifest into pieces of clothing. Mario also showed us the new school that is opening at MF1. This project expresses the passion Mario possesses toward his craft.

The tailor at Sartoria Cavour said that if an individual lacks passion, he will be tired before he even arrives to the job. This statement applies to all of today’s visits because Italian companies must work to maintain the quality associated with the phrase “Made in Italy.” If, for instance, the tailoring company loses sight of the individuality they prioritize in their finely tailored suits, the deep meaning behind the “Made in Italy” label will be diminished.