Customers and sales
The diesel discount hasn't ended: now Eni pays for it instead of the State
28 September 2026, 21:03
The State is cutting the diesel discount that cost it about €12 million a day, and at the same moment Eni is capping prices at its filling stations. The bill moves from taxes to the oil companies' margins, and competitors have to follow suit with their own money.
Money already spent has no place in the decision. And yet it decides almost everything
21 September 2026, 12:53
Britain and France knew Concorde would never pay back what it cost, and carried on regardless. The same sentence can be heard on every factory floor, in front of the line that has been losing money for three years.
Your top customer is worth 40% of turnover: the right question is not how much it buys
20 September 2026, 18:46
How to measure customer concentration by looking at margin rather than volume, and how to work out how many weeks of runway the cost structure leaves you if that customer stops ordering.
How to (really) reorganise a company: case history no. 4
Theory and practice
“We do have a strategic direction. It just changes every two weeks.” It’s a real quip, made by a sales manager at an SME during an internal meeting.
How to (really) reorganise a company: case history no. 1
Theory and practice
We are not talking about theory but about reality. About a real business, with real problems and a growth path built step by step, with method, vision and courage.
“In our company we all do a bit of everything.”
Theory and practice
It’s one of the things we hear most often in SMEs, and it’s also one of the main reasons why many companies grow in a disorderly way, creating overlaps, decision-making conflicts and operational inefficiencies.
Overlapping roles in SMEs are a real problem
Theory and practice
In a company that builds mechanical plant to order, we found ourselves faced with the classic “indispensable” figure: the business owner’s right-hand man, a respected person, present everywhere, involved in everything.
Many companies think they have a good sales process
Theory and practice
But then they discover that orders are still managed with Excel files, scattered emails and manually entered information.
The companies that really grow are not the ones that work harder
Theory and practice
They are the ones that work best, because continuous improvement does not come from improvisation but from clear, shared and verifiable company procedures.
The real problem isn’t the work. It’s how it is organised
Theory and practice
Many companies are organised by function: production, administration, sales. Everything is divided, everything is assigned: it looks like organisation but, in reality, it is more often fragmentation.
Many business owners think they have everything under control
Theory and practice
In reality, they simply carry everything on their own shoulders, and this is where one of the biggest limits to SME growth arises: the inability to truly delegate.
When the company grows but the organisation stands still
Theory and practice
It happens more often than you might think. The business grows, the market responds, customers increase but, beneath the surface, something starts to creak.
“I don’t need a controller. I already have an accountant”
Theory and practice
That is what a business owner told us at our first meeting. His financial statements showed a profit and his turnover was good.
From controlling to control of the future
Theory and practice
Many business owners know all too well the feeling that something in the company is not heading in the right direction: the problem is that feelings are not enough and, often, the numbers are only looked at once the problem has already become an emergency.
Profit isn’t found. It’s built
Theory and practice
Many business owners “feel” how their company is doing, and they are often right, but there is a limit: gut feelings are not a management system.
Do you really want to understand where you make money? Then you need to change perspective
Theory and practice
Once you have started reading COGS and margins, the next level follows: understanding how income is generated.
You don't need cost accounting to understand where you are making money
Theory and practice
You need to start by asking yourself: “But what am I really making money on?” Many think that without an advanced cost accounting system it is impossible to answer, but that is not the case.
The problem isn’t the price. It’s how you build it
Theory and practice
Many companies are convinced they have a sales problem. “The market doesn't pay.” “Customers haggle over price.” “The competition is aggressive.”
Profitability by product line: what the financial statements don't tell you
Theory and practice
In previous posts we got to grips with the logic of the Break Even Point: now we’ll start to understand where the money is really made.
Cost analysis: the lens that separates real margins from illusions
Theory and practice
There is a truth that invariably emerges when you get into a company’s numbers: many decisions are made without really knowing what they cost.
From calculation to control: the real value of the Break Even Point
Theory and practice
Every business owner knows the concept of “breaking even” but hardly anyone really uses it as a strategic compass.
Digital complexity syndrome in SMEs
Theory and practice
For years the market has been pushing a seductive narrative: “digitalise everything and you will be more efficient, faster and more competitive”.
Data culture: the real hidden resource of SMEs
Theory and practice
In many SMEs the data exists but stays locked away in digital drawers: endless reports, Excel files everywhere, charts that nobody really looks at.
Controlling? In SMEs it is still an optional extra
Theory and practice
Controlling is not a luxury. It is a matter of survival, yet it is still seen as something “to do later”, when there is time, when the company is bigger.