Analysis of inventory management in small business auto parts

The objective of this study was to analyze the production process and supply control in order to identify possible gaps and develop a method for managing supplies. The relevance of this research is on the benefits that can obtain by identifying the problems of supply control. The research method used was the case study, which was grounded on tripod semi-structured interviews, on-site observation, and document analysis. This methodology was very suitable because it can be analyzed and cross checked. The possibility of implementation of the proposal obtained from the theoretical framework, that together with the complementary actions suggested here, offers the opportunity to make the process more productive and profitable. This work allowed one to observe the weaknesses in managing the supply chain and at what points to work should be improved. It allowed to use some scientific models in the company object of study in order to improve supply management. © 2011 IEEE.

The infuence of production systems in postponement make-to-stock compagny in the graphic industry

The supply chain management, postponement and demand management operations are of strategic importance to the economic success of organizations because they directly influence the production process. The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of the postponement in an enterprise production system with make-to-stock and with seasonal demand. The research method used was a case study, the instruments of data collection were semi-structured interviews, document analysis and site visits. The research is based on the following issues: Demand Management which can be understood as a practice that allows you to manage and coordinate the supply chain in reverse, in which consumers trigger actions for the delivery of products. The Supply Chain Management is able to allow the addition of value, exceeding the expectations of consumers, developing a relationship with suppliers and customer's win-win. The Postponement strategy must fit the characteristics of markets that require variety of customized products and services, lower cost and higher quality, aiming to support decision making. The production system make-to-stock shows enough interest to organizations that are operating in markets with high demand variability. © 2011 IEEE.

Proposta de abordagem metodológica para avaliação de desempenho na cadeia de valores aplicado em uma empresa de médio porte

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Short food supply chain as an alternative for promoting family agriculture

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to promoting short agrifood supply chains, not only in Europe and the United States but also in Latin America. This bulletin describes some specific experiences with short food supply chains, both in Latin America and in other parts of the world, which have made it possible to identify success factors and lessons learned. These examples are based on cases discussed at the seminar on short food supply chains recently held by ECLAC, FAO and WHO.

Seleção de fornecedores em uma indústria de transformadores utilizando o método de análise hierárquica

The optimal supply chain management (SCM) is considered by the companies a new frontier in order to gain efficiently competitive advantage. Through the SCM companies must define their competitive strategies by positioning inside the supply chain wich belongs both as suppliers and as consumers. The main objectives of SCM is integrate multiple suppliers to satisfy the market demand and make possible the synergies between the parts of the supply chain in order to better serve the consumer Meanwhile, selection, evaluation and development of suppliers play important roles in establishing an efficient supply chain. Thus, the SCM covers elements such as manufacturing, assembly, raw materials, and distribution to the final consumer. Due to the factors described, the focus of this paper is to present the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) application as an appropriate and structured method for the supplier selection of a strategic line of low voltage transformers of a transformers industry and compare it with the selection process currently used by this industry, showing the advantages of applying a multiple criteria decision making method. In this study, the research methodology used was modeling and simulation

Estudo da implementação do Warehouse Management System em uma empresa produtora de embreagens

In the supply chain management there are several risk factors that must be mitigated to increase the flow of production and as a possible solution the literature cites the implementation of a warehouse management system, but this subject is few explored. This thesis has as main objective the study of the implementation of a warehouse management system in a company from the automotive sector that produces clutches. As results, are shown data of the characterization of items; as well as data and comparisons between disruptions in production reports due to lack of material before and after the implementation of WMS and is presented the result of a questionnaire applied to the involved on the implementation of the system, the results were associated with the risk factors on the implementation of the system studied on the literature review, and enumeration of the results that are not associated with any factors previously studied. And finally, the study is concluded and are recommended future studies related to the theme

Reestruturação e automação de processos: caso de um processo da área de compras e suprimentos de uma empresa brasileira do setor de mídia

Innovation in the field of Information Technology (IT) have made companies evaluate their processes and activity of its supply chain to conform to this new reality. In the supply chain management, one of the tools that revolutionized the activities was the use of management information systems such as ERP tool. This system allows greater integration of data from multiple areas of the enterprise and beyond, giving more activities to processes and activities. This work aims to analyze the results and impacts of the restructuring of an equipment leasing process in a Brazilian media company and verify that the gains and improvements that were targeted in the initial design of this restructuring have been achieved. Also the risks identified with this change will be studied, the reactions of those involved in this process and the performance of the chain as a whole. To carry out this work was carried out a single case study with data collection in the assessed company and literature related to supply chain and information systems

Reestruturação e automação de processos: caso de um processo da área de compras e suprimentos de uma empresa brasileira do setor de mídia

Innovation in the field of Information Technology (IT) have made companies evaluate their processes and activity of its supply chain to conform to this new reality. In the supply chain management, one of the tools that revolutionized the activities was the use of management information systems such as ERP tool. This system allows greater integration of data from multiple areas of the enterprise and beyond, giving more activities to processes and activities. This work aims to analyze the results and impacts of the restructuring of an equipment leasing process in a Brazilian media company and verify that the gains and improvements that were targeted in the initial design of this restructuring have been achieved. Also the risks identified with this change will be studied, the reactions of those involved in this process and the performance of the chain as a whole. To carry out this work was carried out a single case study with data collection in the assessed company and literature related to supply chain and information systems

Environmental management in Brazil: is it a completely competitive priority?

Current studies indicate a need to integrate environmental management with manufacturing strategy, including topics like cross-functional integration, environmental impact, and waste reduction. Nevertheless, such studies are relatively rare, existing still a need for research in specific regional contexts. At the same time, the results found are not unanimous. Due to these gaps, the objective of this article is to analyze if environmental management can be considered a new competitive priority for manufacturing enterprises located in Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with Brazilian companies certified by ISO 14001. Sixty-five valid questionnaires were analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The first conclusion is that environmental management presents a preventive approach in the sample analyzed, focused on eco-efficiency, what potentially do not to create a competitive advantage. This preventive approach inhibits environmental management from being regarded as a new competitive manufacturing priority, in the full sense as defined by the literature. Another important result is that environmental management, although following a preventive focus, may influence positively the four manufacturing priorities: cost, quality, flexibility and delivery. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An investigation about Brazilian mango and grape exports

Purpose - The objective of this paper is to characterise the transactions between European buyers and Brazilian mango and grape producers. Design/methodology/approach - The method selected for this paper was multiple case studies. The Brazilian mango and grape supply chains' export activities to Europe were investigated. The field research was undertaken in Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK. In total, 41 face-to-face interviews were carried out. Findings - The supermarkets' literature tends to generalise the strategies of retailers focusing on differentiation and preferred suppliers. However, in empirical research conducted in the UK, Germany and The Netherlands it is possible to conclude that the procurement strategies of supermarkets can vary sharply. The results reveal the presence of different agents who demand different quality standards. The level of intensity depends on consumer behaviour, the features of product commercialised and the characteristics of the production segment in each country. Research limitations/implications - First, in relation to the empirical method there is a limitation because the case study does not allow statistical generalisation. Consequently, it will be interesting to undertake quantitative research in order to quantify the variables presented and their impact on the structure of value chains. Second, the research focuses only on two stages of the supply chain, producers and buyers. Practical implications - The differences between UK and German supermarkets challenge the supermarket literature, which tends to generalise the strategies of retailers focusing on differentiation and preferred suppliers. Originality/value - The study shows that the issue of influence and activities of retail agents along the value chain can be analysed taking several variables into consideration: the products commercialised; the distribution segment; and the consumer market. This result opens the way for analysing different structures of the value chain and the impact of these differences on the entry of producers for developing countries into the global market.

An ontology-based approach to define and manage B2B interoperability

Electronic business surely represents the new development perspective for world-wide trade. Together with the idea of ebusiness, and the exigency to exchange business messages between trading partners, the concept of business-to-business (B2B) integration arouse. B2B integration is becoming necessary to allow partners to communicate and exchange business documents, like catalogues, purchase orders, reports and invoices, overcoming architectural, applicative, and semantic differences, according to the business processes implemented by each enterprise. Business relationships can be very heterogeneous, and consequently there are variousways to integrate enterprises with each other. Moreover nowadays not only large enterprises, but also the small- and medium- enterprises are moving towards ebusiness: more than two-thirds of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) use the Internet as a business tool. One of the business areas which is actively facing the interoperability problem is that related with the supply chain management. In order to really allow the SMEs to improve their business and to fully exploit ICT technologies in their business transactions, there are three main players that must be considered and joined: the new emerging ICT technologies, the scenario and the requirements of the enterprises and the world of standards and standardisation bodies. This thesis presents the definition and the development of an interoperability framework (and the bounded standardisation intiatives) to provide the Textile/Clothing sectorwith a shared set of business documents and protocols for electronic transactions. Considering also some limitations, the thesis proposes a ontology-based approach to improve the functionalities of the developed framework and, exploiting the technologies of the semantic web, to improve the standardisation life-cycle, intended as the development, dissemination and adoption of B2B protocols for specific business domain. The use of ontologies allows the semantic modellisation of knowledge domains, upon which it is possible to develop a set of components for a better management of B2B protocols, and to ease their comprehension and adoption for the target users.