Costes Beneficios Uso Euro En España

Ie aoaJ r lfe Ti i Vl e , se ( n 21) n r tnl u aoLa h k g o m 2Iu 1 J e 01 tn i o n n nn u s u

L a T ikn e n hn ig
j u n lh me a e www. h n i g e n c m/ j t o ra o p g : t i k n l a . o il

Supply Chain Management in The Brazilian Automobile Industry: Bottlenecks for Steadier Growth
Waldemiro Francisco Sorte Junior
Nagoya University, Graduate School of International Development,Department of International Cooperation, 464-8601, Japan

ABSTRACT Taking the Lean Production System as the reference model, this paper analyses the supply chain management approach and the relationship between private and public sectors in the Brazilian automobile industry. Through a case study conducted from October 2006 to October 2008 in a private owned automaker, two bottlenecks in this Brazilianindustrial sector are identified: (1) Emphasis on coordination rather than integration in supply chain management; and (2) Insufficient channels of communication between private and public sectors, resulting in inefficient policies to nurture automakers with low production volume. 1. Introduction

KEYWORDS
Brazilian automobile industry, Supply chain management, Lean production system.

ARTICLEINFO
Received 20 February 2011 Accepted 23 February 2011 Available online 25 February 2011

The purpose of this study is to identify some of the bottlenecks for achieving a higher level of economic growth in the Brazilian automobile industry, by means of a case study conducted in a private owned automaker, which assembles Mitsubishi light commercial vehicles. The automobile industry was chosenfor study because this sector provides a rich ground for the analysis of inter-firm relations and the relevance of adopting an integrative approach towards supply chain management. Additionally, the automobile industry plays an important role in the Brazilian economy. In 2007, Brazil was seventh in worldwide vehicle production, with 2,977,150 units and this industrial sector was responsible for18% of the country’s industrial GDP. In 2005, the number of direct and indirect jobs generated by the sector was estimated in 1.5 million (Anfavea, 2008).

W.F.SORTE JUNIOR /International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 2, Issue 1 (June 2011)

This study adopts the Lean Production System as the reference model for evaluating the Brazilian automobile industry, because Lean Practitionersacknowledge the importance of promoting integration among automakers, suppliers and dealers, encouraging technical assistance and information exchange to improve the outcomes of the whole supply chain network. Such a production system is of great relevance for the Brazilian automobile industry, which strives to achieve competitive advantage through “operational effectiveness” - i.e., improving quality andlowering cost simultaneously (Fleury and Fleury, 2003). Moreover, due to its comprehensive approach to supply chain management, Lean Practitioners adopt capacity building efforts to address the individual level (skil development and training of the workforce), organizational level (strategic planning, organizational culture, human resources, infrastructure, and information resources), and systemlevel (interactions with the government and inter-firm relations). The Lean Production System is, therefore, in line with the UNDP (1998) framework for capacity building, which is an important guideline for emerging economies such as Brazil pursuing economic growth and sustainable development. This paper is divided into three sections. The first section presents the conceptual framework of thestudy. Section two discusses the new tendencies in the Brazilian automobile industry. Data collected during fieldwork survey as well as the main findings are shown in section three, followed by a conclusion. 1. The Japanese Approach to Supply Chain Management: Reliance on Integration The high level of economic development observed in post-war Japan has drawn the attention of scholars to the...