Alinhamento entre a estratégia de operações e a gestão estratégica da logística: estudos de caso no setor automotivo brasileiro

Abstract

The worldwide (and thus Brazilian) automotive industry has undergone a process of important changes. Specifically in Brazil, the set up of new automakers, the consolidation and denationalization of the autoparts, and phenomena like the lowdisplacement engines have brought major strategic implications to those companies, as well as to the supply chains to which they belong. Considering such implications, it is plausible to accept that several organizational elements were strongly impacted, including Operations Strategy and the Strategic Logistics Management focuses of this research. In this sense, the work here presented aims at shedding light on the alignment between Operations Strategy (OS) and Strategic Logistics Management (SLM), by means of case studies carried out at four companies from the Brazilian automotive engine sector (two car engine manufacturers and two of their suppliers). The main findings indicate that operations and logistics are effectively aligned in the cases studied, but such alignment is influenced by aspects regarding the supply chains to which these companies belong, as well as by aspects internal to such companies. As a consequence of the differences occurring in the chains, although the companies adopt similar competitive priorities, they are implemented by different decisions. Regarding operations, the chains seem to influence the decisions and viceversa, whereas regarding logistics the chains create a framework in which logistics may play its role in the company strategy. Organizational structure and the role that operations play in competitive strategy were the internal aspects here analyzed. The first seems to make the alignment easier, once that in most cases both operations and logistics were managed by the same director. The role played by operations also suggested alignment, once that operations decisions either aimed at implementing the strategy, or originated such strategy from its competencies.