Rosangela Maria Vanalle

Relação entre montadoras e fornecedores: modelos teóricos e estudos de caso na indústria automobilística Brasileira

New forms of relationship and transaction between companies participating in the same supply chain have been applied to improve competitive conditions in the chain. The auto industry is a striking example of an industry in which the relationships between companies have been deeply renewed and motivated mainly by the influence of automakers in the primary suppliers, which in turn work with their own suppliers forming a competitive alliance. This article aims to study the relationship between customer-supplier in the Brazilian automobile industrial park, to create a relational typology from case studies. Technical visits were made in fourteen supplying companies to gather information about the main structural features and the relationship between manufacturers and suppliers in the Brazilian automotive industry. Interviews were conducted with managerial level professionals of industrial areas - production, logistics and supplies, product and process development, purchasing, and human resources. The results showed that the relationships depend on institutional characteristics of the supplier, the complexity of the technology components, the productive capacity, and the history of relationships between customers and suppliers. It could be concluded that the relationship between customers and the supplier companies surveyed are close to the characteristics of an associative model with contractual relationships and long-term high interdependence although price is still used as the main criterion for being successfully selected by automakers.

Effective management of international technology transfer projects: Insights from the Brazilian textile industry

Purpose – The Brazilian textile industry has been facing fierce competition from low-cost imports from China and other Far East countries. To maintain their competitiveness in the local market, Brazilian companies have been adopting the product differentiation strategy. By using new technologies, they are able to develop new products with better quality at lower costs. With regard to new technologies, companies in the Brazilian textile industry have been using get-some and buy-some strategy, and international technology transfer (TT) has become an important part of their business strategies. However, due to lack of planning, many projects failed to achieve the desired results. This paper aims to provide theoretical insights and practical guidance on how textile firms could use a stage-gate model to enhance the effectiveness of their TT projects. Design/methodology/approach – In order to investigate the TT practices in the Brazilian context, three issues are assessed. First, the paper evaluates the possibi...

Model to measure the degree of competitiveness for auto parts manufacturing companies

The automotive industry has been at the forefront of the globalisation process as a result of increasing global design and manufacturing. This has imposed a heavy burden on local auto parts producers. To enable a better understanding of this problem, this paper proposes a model to measure the degree of competitiveness for auto parts manufacturing companies. The study starts by analysing the current competitive forces governing the relationship among automotive assemblers and their first-tier suppliers and proposes a model that establishes (a) a competitive standard and (b) a measure called the degree of competitiveness, to be used to evaluate how similar (or dissimilar) a given company is compared with the aforesaid standard. The proposed conceptual model was tested in real-life situations by applying it to three Brazilian auto parts manufacturers with well-known competitive positions. The model was able to reproduce the same competitive position as those perceived by the market. The model and findings cannot be generalised for other industrial segments without some review and adaptation of the competitive factors considered. If required, a different set of competitive factors could be selected while maintaining all other aspects of the model as proposed.

Review of the Relationship between Reverse Logistics and Competitiveness

The objective of this paper is to show, by means of a theoretical review, the influence of reversal logistics on the enterprise competitiveness. Also the relationship between competitive variables and reversal logistics are discussed and analyzed.

Gerenciamento da transferência internacional de tecnologia: estudo de caso na indústria têxtil brasileira

The Brazilian textile industry has been facing fierce competition from low cost imports coming from China and other Far East countries. In order to keep their ability to compete in the local market, Brazilian companies have adopted a product differentiation strategy. This has been achieved by developing new products with better quality at lower costs, characteristics to be provided by new technology in manufacturing equipment. Usually, this new technology is transferred to Brazilian firms by international equipment manufacturers. Hence this paper aims at contributing to increase the competitiveness of Brazilian textile companies by supporting them with theoretical knowledge and practical guidance to allow them to improve the effectiveness of their technology transfer (TT) processes. To this end, we developed an exploratory evaluation of four fabric production companies where technology transfer projects have been implemented, using the Stage-gate model proposed by Jagoda, Maheshwari e Lonseth (2010) as a normative framework. As a result of such analysis, similarities and dissimilarities between the technology transfer practices employed by the four companies evaluated were identified. Also, it was possible to demonstrate that the utilization of a TT process based on a Stage-gate framework could be employed to implement significant improvement in the TT practices used by Brazilian textile companies, which could help them face the fierce competition imposed by the low cost imports from Far East countries.

Uso de la Simulación Monte Carlo para la Toma de Decisiones en una Línea de Montaje de una Fábrica

Resumen Se presenta una aplicacion de la simulacion Monte Carlo como una herramienta para la toma de decisiones en una planta fabril. Se ha usado el caso de una linea de montaje de tres estaciones dedicadas a producir termostatos de plancha en una instalacion de fabricacion de articulos domesticos. Inicialmente la planta fue disenada para generar una tasa de produccion de 3500 montajes por semana, mientras que la produccion real solo alcanzaba un 85% de este valor. Se estudio los tiempos y movimientos y los resultados se utilizaron como una base para la mejora de la operacion actual de la linea usando el metodo de simulacion estocastica. Dicha simulacion inicial posibilito la identificacion de los problemas claves responsables de la limitada tasa de produccion. Varias otras simulaciones fueron llevadas a cabo para probar diferentes mejoras de la linea de montaje. Palabras clave: simulacion de Monte Carlo, linea de montaje, planta fabril, estudios de tiempos Monte Carlo Simulation as a Tool for Decision Making in an Assembly Line of a Manufacturing Company

INDICADORES DE DESEMPENHO SOB A ÓTICA DO BALANCED SCORECARD: ESTUDO DE CASO NUMA EMPRESA METALÚRGICA

Esse estudo foi desenvolvido com objetivo de comparar os indicadores de desempenhos utilizados por uma industria do setor metalurgico, com o conceito de gestao estrategica denominado Balanced Scorecard (BSC), destacando os potenciais de melhorias e propondos mudancas necessarias para o aperfeicoamento da gestao. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida atraves do levantamento e analise detalhada dos indicadores de desempenho utilizados atualmente pela empresa. Para isso foram realizadas entrevistas com os principais gestores da organizacao. Observou-se que a empresa tem um sistema estruturado e formalizado para avaliar o seu desempenho, mas sem um total alinhamento com a estrategia de negocios da empresa.

Business innovation in credit and collection: a case study in a Brazilian water supplying company

The major objective of this study is to propose an innovative and viable procedure for the recovery of overdue debts especially designed for low-income population in order to allow them to regain access to good quality drinking water supply. To verify the suitability of the proposed procedure to real-world situations, two case studies were conducted in communities in which the customers financial situation precludes the maintenance of timely payments. As a result, it was possible to conclude that the reduction in the debt stock and default rates in those communities were significant after applying the new procedure. Hence, this study suggests that using a different way to deal with low-income customers is essential to obtain the best results in terms of financial recovery and also to make once again water affordable for them.

A Software Development Process Model Integrated to a Performance Measurement System

Software development process has been considered engineering for less than 50 years. During its evolution, many papers were presented proposing software development models that allow the adaptation of Software Engineering basis to the reality of the companies. It is also known that this industry has been suffering to attend cost, deadlines and/or functionalities. Besides, there are more companies requiring tight targets and the use of performance measurement systems becomes important to enable control, evaluation, prevention and understanding about processes, products and services. Focusing these two issues, this study was conducted, having as a goal the creation of a software development process model that integrates performance measurement systems concepts. As a result of this research, the GMQA Model, acronym from Brazilian Portuguese to Management, Measurement, Quality, and Documentation, is presented. This research details how the model was design and evolved based on a set of presentations to companies from the software industry.

Alignment of after-sales services with measures to improve quality: A case study in a major auto assembly plant in Brazil

The study presented here is guided by a strategic vision of the operations area, involving the processes of administration of quality assurance and opportunities for continuous improvement in auto assembly plant located in Brazil. It examines the use of information from after-sales services in the improvement of products and their manufacturing processes. This article analyzes the correlation between the actions undertaken by groups to improve the quality and the information obtained from the customers services. Data were collected in the quality management system of the automaker, which uses as a primary source of information the system of quality assurance. It is through this computerized system the company manages the repair and service performed by its network of distributors, during the warranty period of the vehicle. Information obtained in the system of quality assurance was complemented with data recorded in the technical support service to the dealer and from the 24-hours customer service, for the same period. Occurrences of the sector of technical support to the dealer come from defects difficult to solve, involving the unavailability of the car for a long period of time. In the case of 24-hours service, the car crashes during its use. Both situations cause major customer dissatisfaction. The events obtained from the three sources of data were compared with the actions of improvement proposed by cross-functional teams of quality. It follows that the assembler emphasizes the cost dimension. Its also suggested ways of using information from 24-hours service and technical support, if you want to give more importance to customer satisfaction.