Strategic financial management and payment digitalization
The Alessi Domenico case study
About Alessi Domenico
Alessi Domenico S.p.A. is a long-established company, founded almost 80 years ago and still led by the Alessi family today. The company specializes in goldsmithing, producing mainly gold – but also silver – jewelry for wholesalers and retail chains.
While deeply rooted in its home region, the company also has a strong international outlook, selling worldwide with the United States as its leading market.
For Alessi Domenico, financial management plays a central role due to several critical factors the company often faces:
Rising gold prices
+70% over 18 months (from $2,386 to over $4,000/oz)
USD/EUR exchange rate volatility
+14% since the start of 2025
U.S. tariffs
Uncertainty and complexity in the U.S. market
How to shine in the face of challenges?
To respond to this situation, Alessi Domenico defined three key objectives:
Preserve operating liquidity to ensure continuity of supply
Improve cash flow by working on the collections-payments cycle and on DPO
Diversify funding sources to reduce dependence on traditional bank credit
Credit cards for purchasing raw materials
The introduction of AirPlus Virtual Cards Procurement – virtual credit cards on the Mastercard network – marked a decisive step. The cards are used to purchase the raw material, gold, in a context of steadily rising prices.
As buying gold requires upfront cash outflows that precede any revenue generated by sales of the finished product, the company deals with substantial cash pressure. This can be relieved by deferring payments – made possible by the use of credit cards.
How it works:
Virtual cards make it possible to postpone cash outflows compared with paying by bank transfer while paying suppliers on time, improving average DPO and freeing up liquidity.
Thanks to the card-to-wire transfer feature, Alessi is able to use credit cards even with suppliers who typically do not accept them, benefiting from the financial advantages that credit cards offer.
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1. Alessi Domenico
Pays raw-material suppliers by virtual credit card
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2. Financial intermediary
Charges the card, collects the funds, and pays the supplier via bank transfer
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3. Supplier
Receives payment within 24-48 hours, with no action required
Golden results...
Financial flexibility
Short-term bank credit lines are not tied up
Increased security
Virtual cards are generated for each individual transaction or supplier
Payment acceptance
All suppliers can be paid, even those that typically do not accept card payments
... and tangible performance
+€1,5 million
Freed up cash
- 7 days
Average cash conversion cycle
- 10%
Use of short-term credit lines
“In a context of high volatility, thanks to AirPlus solutions, we have strengthened our working capital management, improving liquidity, financial efficiency, and operational continuity while further strengthening relationships with our strategic suppliers.”
Anna Pozzato, Treasury Manager
Mattia Trevisan, CFO
Alessi Domenico S.p.A
