PlusAdvance and Domori Win the SMAU 2024 Award

06/09/2024

Thanks to their collaboration, PlusAdvance and Domori have been awarded the prestigious SMAU 2024 Award for their adoption of digital solutions, process optimization, and support for the production chain.

Supply Chain Finance - the project

Milan, September 6 2024 – Domori, a leading company in the production of super-premium chocolate, has been awarded the SMAU 2024 Innovation Award, has been awarded the SMAU 2024 Innovation Award. This prestigious recognition is given to companies, administrations, and organizations that have distinguished themselves through the adoption of innovative solutions, collaborating with businesses and startups, and serving as exemplary cases of innovation in organizational models, products, processes, digital transformation, or open innovation.

Domori received the award for a payment optimization project for its supply chain, developed in collaboration with the Fintech company PlusAdvance. The solution was designed to efficiently manage payments to raw material suppliers, a sector heavily affected by recent fluctuations in the cocoa market.

The highly anticipated annual award ceremony will take place October in Milan, at FieraMilanoCity, during SMAU, Italy’s most important event in the field of innovation and startups.

Soluzioni innovative firmate Domori

Thanks to PlusAdvance's Card2Account technology, Domori S.p.A. can now pay both Italian and international suppliers using credit cards, with payments automatically converted into bank transfers.

The PlusAdvance platform enables the company to overcome operational and logistical challenges arising from new market dynamics. Specifically, in a period where supplier payments require 80-90% of the amount at the time of order, the Card2Account solution allows Domori S.p.A. to extend payment terms while ensuring a continuous supply of cocoa.

The system converts credit card payments into bank transfers without requiring supplier approval, ensuring maximum transparency and simplicity throughout the entire process. This allows the company to pay any supplier by credit card, achieving 100% acceptance without requiring additional actions from the suppliers.

Even a traditional business like chocolate requires innovation. This is why we have chosen to adopt PlusAdvance’s fintech solution to optimize the procure-to-pay process. This innovation ensures the continuity of our raw material supply and allows us to support the growth of cocoa farming communities in Africa and South America, while respecting payment terms and reducing financial exposure risks. Moreover, it enables us to efficiently and transparently manage all supply chain finance operations.

Gian Luca Scatena

Director of Special Projects & Board Member Affiliates di Domori S.p.a.

A Short and Rigorous Supply Chain and Recipes

Founded in 1997 by Gianluca Franzoni, Domori is part of Riccardo Illy's Polo del Gusto a group of excellence in the food & beverage sector. Headquartered in None (Turin), Domori is recognized as a leading brand in the super-premium chocolate industry, pioneering a new cocoa culture based on an unwavering pursuit of quality and purity in raw materials, making the brand globally competitive.

Since its foundation, Domori S.p.A. has developed the Criollo Project, which for 25 years has been protecting the world’s rarest and most valuable cocoa species. Criollo represents just 0.01% of the global cocoa production. The company has revolutionized the chocolate industry by being the first to use only fine cocoa, the first to produce chocolate exclusively with Criollo cocoa, and the first to control the entire supply chain—from its own plantations in South and Central America to the finished product.

Domori’s model, based on a short and rigorous supply chain and recipes, has become a benchmark for chocolate producers worldwide. Since 2020, Domori has been recognized as a Benefit Corporation, and in alignment with this status, the company has initiated the process to obtain B-CORP certification.