Henrique Luiz Corrêa

An operations management view of the services and goods offering mix

Purpose – To develop and propose a framework, termed here as the value package prism, for assessing the kinds of management processes and flexibility available in providing a range of value packages (services and goods offering mix).Design/methodology/approach – The literature is examined and a set of highly‐visible Latin‐American examples are presented to support the development of the proposed framework.Findings – Provides an additional perspective to the traditional set of characteristics (intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability) for differentiating services and goods. The proposed framework (stockability, intensity of interaction, simultaneousness of consumption, and ease of performance assessment) and the value prism may be useful to operations managers in developing, planning, organizing, or controlling the production and delivery of services or goods.Originality/value – Offers a new framework and an applied way to improve operations management by moving away from the extreme...

Tax-related aspects of logistics network planning: a case study in the Brazilian petrochemical industry

This study investigates the logistics network planning in a major Brazilian petrochemical company, taking into consideration the impact of tax-related costs, in addition to transportation and inventory costs. A Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming model that considers the most relevant costs involved in the network planning process in Brazil was developed and subsequently applied to a case study of a large Brazilian petrochemical company. Our results support anecdotal reports regarding Brazilian companies intensely using ‘product tourism’ to take advantage of different interstate tax rates. Product tourism occurs when a logistically unnecessary flow of goods is established to a lower tax jurisdiction (with a corresponding increase in transportation costs) so that the company obtains a reduction in the amount of the taxes due.

O processo de formação de estratégias de manufatura em empresas brasileiras de médio e pequeno porte

The present study is exploratory in nature and aims at achieving a better understanding of the formation of manufacturing strategy in small and medium size Brazilian manufacturing companies. An analytical tool (a matrix) is developed to help classify and analyze manufacturing strategy formation processes, and this matrix utilizes two main dimensions: the predominant direction (top down or bottom up) and the consideration (or not) of trade-offs between manufacturing performance criteria in the formation of manufacturing strategy. The proposed matrix is then applied in the in-depth analyses of four case studies of Brazilian medium size manufacturers. Conclusions are drawn and hypotheses formulated as to how small and medium size Brazilian companies form their manufacturing strategies in terms of (a) definition of competitive priorities, (b) establishment of performance objectives for the manufacturing function, (c) ranking - in terms of priority - of manufacturing improvement programs and (d) definition of manufacturing effectiveness indicators. Some hypotheses are formulated, among which that there may be a correlation between the level of emphasis on bottom-up manufacturing strategy formation and the level of contribution that manufacturing brings to the companys competitiveness.

The relationship between the logistics complexity of manufacturing companies and their supply chain management

This study aims to investigate whether, and the means by which, supply chain managers of large manufacturing companies adopt a context-dependent approach (also called contingency approach) in their supply chain decisions; it empirically explores the correlation between logistics complexity-related contextual conditions and supply chain management (SCM) objectives and decision areas. The study involves a comprehensive literature review, followed by an analysis of survey data (based on a sample of 108 large manufacturing companies in Brazil), using cluster analysis, factor analysis and binary logistic regression. In this study, we not only investigate the major effects of supply chain objectives and decision areas as predictors of the logistics complexity of manufacturing but also investigate their second order interactions. Statistically significant relationships were found between logistics complexity-related contextual conditions and objectives and decision areas involving the supply chain. The managers of large companies who were surveyed considered different objectives and decision areas to be critical to the achievement of supply chain excellence when their companies had different levels of logistics complexity.

Supply chain management and logistics complexity: a contingency approach

By empirically exploring the correlation between logistics complexity-related contextual conditions and supply chain management (SCM) objectives and decision areas/practices, this study aims to investigate whether, and the means by which, supply chain managers of large manufacturing companies adopt a contingency approach in their supply chain decisions. This study involves a comprehensive literature review followed by an analysis of survey data using cluster analysis, factor analysis and binary logistic regression. Statistically significant relationships were found between logistics complexity-related contextual conditions and supply chain objectives and decision areas. Although some prescriptive context-dependent models for supply chain management can be found in the literature, this research tries to fill a gap by empirically demonstrating that large manufacturing companies actually tend to make their supply chain choices contingent upon their logistics complexity-related context.

Tax strategies and organisational communication in MNC supply chains: case studies

ABSTRACT Communication is a key component of operational efficiency which in turn contributes to a firm’s profitability by reducing costs. In addition taxes are a significant expense for profitable firms. Multiple methods for tax avoidance have been developed by firms and their advisors but the effects on operations are rarely considered. Evidence was found that tax avoidance decisions are made in isolation at the head office and operational monetary and cultural costs are not fully accounted for. Better communication can mitigate these disruptions but it is not a primary concern of central management. Depending on its operational intrusiveness, there is variation in levels of organisational disruption caused by the tax avoidance method implemented. These effects can be far reaching. Careful consideration of organisational costs for each tax avoidance method should be made prior to any being adopted. A framework to help practitioners focus on total costs versus tax savings, is proposed.

Fuzzy logic in production sequencing: the case of a cosmetics manufacturer in Brazil

This study aims to develop a way to improve the production sequencing practice of a case company that manufactures cosmetics located in Brazil. Production sequencing is an activity that is part of production planning and control. Our goal is to provide ways to reduce sales loss due to product stock-outs through new practices found in the literature. Simultaneously, we aimed at increasing the number of different items without sales loss thereby helping the achievement of sales goals while improving the meeting of overall demand for products. The approach proposed here includes the development of a decision support tool based on fuzzy logic. Such approach proved to be a good alternative to overcome some of the problems encountered in the case company production sequencing activity. Furthermore, the developed decision support system enabled the organisation decision-making to be more agile and dynamic. Additionally, by facilitating the incorporation of environmental complexity, our proposed solution helped harmonise decision-making across different areas of the company.