Operations strategy and supply chain management: A Brazilian case study

The objective of this study is to understand how an assembly company, that is considered a focal company in the chain of Brazilian white goods sector, can influence the supply chain management established with its first tier suppliers. This is an exploratory qualitative study in which the information was gathered through direct observations, documents' retention, and data from interviews held with management-level employees of the sales and product development areas of the focal company and of the production area of the suppliers' companies. This study indicates that the operations strategy of the focal company influences the supply chain management and that the common business processes shared by its suppliers are a way to verify the truth of such statement. The suppliers cooperate closely with the focal company when complementing their business processes and consequently supporting the company to pursue its operations strategy. A set of mechanisms to aid the comprehension of how the operations strategy can affect the business processes and therefore to achieve the result of this research were adopted. © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2012

Contributions of operations management to the competitiveness of the Brazilian electronics sector

The objective of this paper is to identify and analyze various aspects of the internal and external operations management of Brazil's electronics sector and to consider the opportunities for and the threats to increasing the competitiveness of its participation in the global supply chain. To address this shortage in the literature, a survey of Brazilian Electric and Electronic Industry Association (ABINEE) companies was conducted. The collected data were complemented with secondary data to establish an overall view of the electronics sector in Brazil. The results suggest that electronics product assembly companies have the opportunity to invest more in information technology to expand process integration, plan and develop products, integrate customers, and maintain rather than expand their supply chain practices. The alignment between internal and external operations management becomes important in this context. The originality of this paper lies in its clarification of operations management in an economically important sector and the insight it provides to academics, practitioners and policy makers involved in the domestic and international electronics sector. © 2013 Copyright Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) Press Technika

Low-carbon operations and production: Putting training in perspective

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is mainly to show how training may support low-carbon operations and production management in a more sustainable organizational context. Design/methodology/approach–A conceptual framework to facilitate the integration between training and low-carbon operations and production is presented. Findings–To accomplish better training in a low-carbon organization, some steps should be followed. Challenges may occur, including the necessity of collaboration across the supply chain. Research limitations/implications–The proposed framework should be applied and improved based on the actual conditions in organizations. Originality/value–Low-carbon organizations are part of the future corporate world. But the link between training and low-carbon operations and production management is not yet clear. This paper contributes to this discussion and presents an original framework. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Are supplier selection criteria going green? Case studies of companies in Brazil

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to verify if Brazilian companies are adopting environmental requirements in the supplier selection process. Further, this paper intends to analyze whether there is a relation between the level of environmental management maturity and the inclusion of environmental criteria in the companies' selection of suppliers. Design/methodology/approach - A review of mainstream literature on environmental management, traditional criteria in the supplier selection process and the incorporation of environmental requirements in this context. The empirical study's strategy is based on five Brazilian case studies with industrial companies. Face-to-face interviews and informal conversations are to be held, explanations made by e-mail with representatives from the purchasing, environmental management, logistics and other areas, and observation and the collection of company documents are also employed. Findings - Based on the cases, it is concluded that companies still use traditional criteria to select suppliers, such as quality and cost, and do not adopt environmental requirements in the supplier selection process in a uniform manner. Evidence found shows that the level of environmental management maturity influences the depth with which companies adopt environmental criteria when selecting suppliers. Thus, a company with more advanced environmental management adopts more formal procedures for selecting environmentally appropriate suppliers than others. Originality/value - This is the first known study to verify if Brazilian companies are adopting environmental requirements in the supplier selection process. © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved

Demystifying the challenges and barriers to manage, develop, and transfer clean and green technologies in Brazilian academic research groups: Some empirical evidence

This work presents empirical evidence of the main challenges in managing/leading academic research groups on clean and green technologies in Brazilian universities. We also present evidence about the main barriers to the effective creation of innovation and technology transfer of these clean and green technologies. Empirical evidence come from PhD researchers/academics who lead/manage official research groups on clean (environmental, green) technologies. Results show the following: (a) The main challenges of managing research groups are the lack of an innovative culture, the lack of partnership with an industrial sector, and the necessity of keeping laboratories updated; (b) the main barriers to innovation and technology transfer are difficulties in not having enough researchers and staff members, assessments of academic performance that do not consider innovation, and an uncertain national legislation on clean technology. Based on these and others’ findings, we suggest that policymakers working on clean and green technologies pay attention to act and develop initiatives focusing on the following: providing direct financial support for laboratory improvement, linking academics and practitioners from the industrial sector, and providing training and development programs on clean and green technologies’ legislation and financial issues, such as the payoff of clean and green technologies and opportunities from green investors. © 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Maturity levels of material cycles and waste management in a context of green supply chain management: an innovative framework and its application to Brazilian cases

The objective of this study is to identify the relationship between the maturity of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices utilizing an integrative framework and evidence from multiple cases. To achieve this goal, a state of the art literature review on environmental management maturity was performed, and a typology of GSCM practices was created to produce an original integrative framework of GSCM maturity levels. To verify its applicability to real cases, five companies in supply chains with high levels of environmental impact were analyzed. Of the five companies, two were in the battery business, two in the pesticides business, and one in the automotive business. Adherence to the integrative framework was verified, and sensitivity to changes in maturity of environmental management and the adoption of GSCM practices were observed, achieving the research’s objective. The following classification of GSCM maturity levels was obtained: (a) first, the reactive GSCM level with low adoption of GSCM practices, which is motivated by legal restrictions; (b) second, the preventive GSCM level with average adoption of GSCM practices, which is driven by cost reduction; (c) and third, the proactive GSCM level, which is driven by the pursuit of competitive advantages. © 2015, Springer Japan

Green training supporting eco-innovation in three brazilian companies: Practices and levels of integration

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to show results from the relationship between green/environmental training and the development of three projects of low-carbon eco-innovations in top Brazilian companies. Design/methodology/approach–This study includes three organizational projects for low-carbon eco-innovations in products (A, B and C) with the objective of reducing their impact on GHG emissions, the so-called low-carbon products. Data were collected from several sources of evidence, including in-depth interviews, document analyses and direct observations. Findings–The authors verified that the environmental training interface for mitigating climate change is relevant for the systematic development of low-carbon products in most of the cases studied. Originality/value–Low-carbon eco-innovations are a trend in the corporate world; however, there is not enough literature and practical evidence on this subject. Thus, this paper adds new evidence to the literature. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Green supply chain management and firms' performance: Understanding potential relationships and the role of green sourcing and some other green practices

This study examines how the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, including green sources, affects environmental and operational performance indicators. A multiple-case study was conducted using large Brazilian firms that have achieved particular success in their sectors and that occupy high positions in important rankings of corporate sustainability. The results of the study indicate that the GSCM practice of "internal environmental management" has the greatest positive effect on environmental performance indicators, and that the GSCM practice of "cooperation with customers" has the greatest positive effect on operational performance indicators. Thus, if a company aims to improve environmental performance (EP), it may create procedures and programs based on the environmental management system and adopt cleaner production initiatives. If a company intends to improve its operational performance (OP), it may respond to audits, improve information exchange between companies and clients and build research and development (R&D) areas to promote environmental innovation. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Green supply chain management: Mapping the territory

The objective of this paper is to identify the main definitions, related practices and to point out future directions in green supply chain management (GSCM). After a literature review and systematisation of the published articles in this field, it was possible to identify: a) the main research objectives of analysed papers; b) the research methods adopted; c) the predominantly analysed industrial sectors; d) the GSCM practices considered by the researchers. Results are presented in each of these analytical perspectives. The main findings are: 1) there are various classifications, nomenclatures and types of GSCM practices, but the most commonly used by studies in GSCM are cleaner production, product design, reverse logistic and green purchasing; 2) from the highlighted definitions, the tonic is to adapt operating activities and incorporate the supply chain management philosophy (integration/ collaboration) to environmental concerns (impact reduction) in relations between links in the chain. These results can be useful for those interested in environmental management as well as supply chain management, considering the growing interest in GSCM. We also propose a research agenda on this subject. This is one of the most recent literature review and systematisation on green supply chain management. © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Extending lean manufacturing in supply chains: A successful case in brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a success story involving the extending of lean manufacturing practices between a focal firm and its supplier, both located in Brazil, thereby configuring a case of excellence. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth case study was conducted involving two companies: Company A, focal, leader in its segment, located in Brazil; and Company B, Company A’s supplier, also located in Brazil. Findings – Results indicate there are several mechanisms for extending lean manufacturing practices in the supply chain, such as workshops, training, and integrated teams. These mechanisms are shown and guidelines are also introduced for companies seeking to successfully extend lean manufacturing practices. Originality/value – An original use of define, measure, analyze, improve, control for structuring the extending of lean manufacturing practices to suppliers and, consequently, the importance of the lean six-sigma relationship in this context. Furthermore, the guidelines introduced serve as a benchmark for other companies interested in the topic. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited