Leonardo plays an active role in guiding and accelerating the transformation journey of its SMEs through dedicated Supplier Development Programmes aimed at going beyond purely commercial cost-containment objectives, in order to establish true industrial collaborations and medium- to long-term partnerships, with the objective of:

• encouraging investment;
• fostering the qualitative and dimensional growth of outstanding businesses in the supply chain;
• creating a more resilient ecosystem that can cope with the increasing complexity of the market.

To deliver this pathway, Leonardo has developed a comprehensive toolkit of instruments dedicated to supplier growth, also in partnership with external stakeholders, structured along three main pillars:

• training and development of managerial and technical capabilities;
• creation of networks to support digitalisation and innovation;
• supply chain financing tools to support investment and growth.

Support ecosystem and network

Leonardo promotes the development of an integrated support ecosystem for SMEs through collaboration with stakeholders that share the same growth objectives, including:

• active participation in the European Digital Innovation Hub (eDIH) network, to deliver training services and develop Proofs of Concept (PoC);
• digital maturity and cyber security assessments to support Industry 4.0 initiatives, carried out in collaboration with Confindustria’s Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) network;
• development of an open innovation network to foster collaboration with start-ups and innovative SMEs;
• cooperation with industry associations and AD&S clusters for joint initiatives aimed at improving supply chain sustainability and digitalisation.

Supply chain Financing

Leonardo has also developed a set of financial and internationalisation support tools, in collaboration with the Group’s main banking partners, to support suppliers’ growth and investment plans across the entire value chain.

This commitment, launched under the 2019–2023 plan with the introduction of the LEAP supplier development and growth programme, has been progressively integrated into the Group’s supply chain management strategy to address emerging business challenges and increasing market complexity.