How a paper-engineering house with 100 years of history transformed its B2B order management — without losing its soul.
We sat down with Emanuele, CMO of NAVA Press, to understand how a company that has made craftsmanship its hallmark decided to innovate one of the most sensitive processes in its business: order management.
Identity: turning an idea into a luxury object
What does it mean today to be a benchmark of Italian craftsmanship in the world of luxury?
"It means knowing how to read the tastes and habits of a highly demanding and diverse clientele. It means turning an abstract idea into a physical, tangible, finished product — understanding and interpreting the codes of luxury and fashion."
It's bespoke work, even when production runs are large. And that is exactly where the challenge that led NAVA Press to rethink its processes was born.
Luxury packaging is booming. How are you experiencing it?
"It means having to deal with a global market and an increasingly international distribution network. These brands need to receive the most varied materials, on very short timelines and with uncompromising quality. The challenge wasn't simply to grow — it was to grow organically, without becoming standardized. Our clients demand bespoke attention even on large production runs, and we have to maintain quality excellence without weighing down our day-to-day work."
The problem: when the back-office locks up the company
Where was the real bottleneck?
"The commercial back-office is something nobody particularly enjoys, but it's essential. It has to be done. The problem is that our people can't spend too many hours a day on it: they need to focus on the real client relationship."
In practice, every order confirmation came from an external source and had to be copied out by hand and entered into the systems to launch production.
"Handled manually, this task risks locking up the company, slowing down production times and creating inefficiencies — because transferring the information can mean losing some sensitive data along the way."
On top of that came the overload of the inbox. "Email could be likened to a silo. Our staff are bombarded with requests from clients, and everything comes through email: orders and other requests, with no hierarchy of priority. That risks creating a lack of responsiveness precisely on the replies that should be given fastest."
And hiring more people simply wasn't an option?
"For us, growth has to be tied to the business, but we can't expand our internal headcount to handle low-value-added operations like order entry. It's not conceivable, and it's uneconomical. What's more, in a creative environment like ours, repetitive and tedious tasks don't meet the expectations of the people who choose to work at NAVA Press to build their professional experience. I'm talking about a sustainable approach to business, with people genuinely invested in the company's goals."
The solution: Volta as the link between two souls
How did Volta fit into all this?
"Volta handles exactly that part. It works on incoming emails, categorizing and prioritizing them using an artificial-intelligence system. It interprets the content of the message — which in some cases includes an attachment that the operator would have had to read and mechanically copy into our system. Volta does that work, and the operator finds the order already pre-filled: all they have to do is check it and move it forward."
The benefit, Emanuele explains, is twofold.
"Not only do you free up time, which the person can devote to higher-value activities. It also changes the way the order is conceived. Before, the focus was on the mechanical operation, on the transcription. Today, the focus is on the order itself — on what it needs to become — with a mindset that's already more attuned to what the final production will be."
From 30 minutes to 2 minutes per order. But the figure that matters most to NAVA is what happens in that reclaimed time: it goes back into the client relationship, the project, the quality.
The result: efficiency that scales with the business
What impact has it had on your international scale?
"NAVA Press is an example of an Italian company that manages to combine craftsmanship with cutting-edge technological innovation. We have state-of-the-art facilities operated to the highest standards of craftsmanship, on tailor-made projects. Volta fits in perfectly as the link between these two souls."
"Today we have offices in Paris, Geneva, New York, Shanghai and Los Angeles. We work on corporate projects for major maisons that need a partner able to engage with them on an international scale — no time zones, no geographical limits. Volta helps us with real-time categorization of incoming requests, and that allows us to maintain the level of service and quality our clients demand."
The partnership: a bespoke approach, on both sides
What kind of partner did you find in Volta?
"We found a reliable, professional partner that understood our needs from the outset and allowed us to put this solution in place very quickly, thanks to a team of seasoned experts. Just as we manage our projects in a bespoke way, Volta supported us in an equally bespoke way throughout the development — with a view to the mutual growth of both companies."
The message: don't be afraid to innovate your processes
What would you say to a company that fears innovation means losing its identity?
"These are two distinct things. On one side, there's what makes companies unique — their expertise. On the other, there are business processes. If solutions exist that make those processes leaner, more efficient and faster, the benefits are for everyone: clients, the company, management and the people who work there."
"I believe it's important, today more than ever, that the tools exist to work on process innovation. Volta is a solution that goes in that direction: it makes it possible to bring about a real revolution in B2B order management, fast."
Your commercial back-office can become a competitive advantage too.
Like NAVA Press, you can free up your teams' time and scale your business without weighing down your organization.