Development and implementation of a material compliance risk management approach: a case study

In an increasingly regulated and globalized industrial context, managing product "Material Compliance" represents a strategic challenge for companies. This thesis, developed during a curricular internship at KION Group (STILL SPA plant, Luzzara (RE), Italy), aims to develop and implement a risk management model for compliance with Environmental Product Requirements, with particular reference to the REACH Regulation, RoHS Directive, POPs Regulation, and Dodd-Frank Act on Conflict Minerals. The work proposes a structured methodological approach, inspired by international standards and guidelines, articulated in sequential phases: definition of the context and goals, risk identification, risk assessment (data preparation, keyword extraction and assignment, correlation between regulated substances and Material Groups, assignment of a Likelihood index, and calculation of the risk index), and finally risk treatment. The main innovation lies in the use of artificial intelligence for automatic keyword extraction and the introduction of a probabilistic parameter (Likelihood) that allows for managing informational uncertainty in the correlation of regulated substances to Material Groups. The model allows for classifying Material Groups into three risk levels (low, medium, high), enabling KION to modulate compliance information requests to suppliers in a proportionate manner, improving efficiency and optimizing the allocation of company resources. The results obtained confirm the model's ability to effectively discriminate the most critical components. In conclusion, the thesis proposes a replicable and scalable operational system that transforms compliance management from a regulatory obligation into a strategic lever for competitiveness, efficiency, and corporate sustainability.