Repositório RCAAP

The objective of this paper is to apply a Cobb-Douglas, Translog Stochastic Production Function and Data Envelopment Analysis in order to estimate inefficiencies over time as well as respective TFP (Total Factor Productivity) sources for main Brazilian grain crops - namely, rice, beans, maize, soybeans and wheat - throughout the most recent data available comprising the period 2001-2006. The results indicate that, although positive changes exist in TFP for the sample analyzed, a decline in the use of technology has been evidenced for all grain crops in which it is observed a historical downfall in the use of inputs in Brazilian agriculture

The objective of this paper is to establish a dichotomy - opposing analytical methods (such as Queue Theory) to experimental methods (such as Simulation) and discussing their adequateness to complex operations - set up in the matter of dimensioning the handling capacity of a large brazilian call centers company. The literature related to the application of such methods at call centers is reviewed, and the way the question is treated nowadays by the company is described. Then an experimental approach is suggested to be implemented as an alternative methodology to deal with the issue, instead of the analytical method in use. The results obtained are used to justify the adequacy of the experimental approach to the modern call centers operation, as long as it is possible to have the model closer to reality. The main implication points to a better understanding of the operation achieved with the new approach

Increased competition in the global market place has forced companies to seek better products and services, with lower cost and in a market suitable time. According to the holonic manufacturing paradigm, those requirements could be achieved if a reconfigurable enterprise were developed from autonomous and intelligent agents that dynamically interact with each other. This system should be able to automatically organize itself in such a way that its functions were arranged to achieve the finest performance. But if this system was really effective and proactive, it should search for functionalities beyond its own boundaries; it could obtain better competitive edges if it were gathering external partners that do some tasks in better ways than it ordinarily does by itself. Hence, the virtual supply chain, in its sense of distributed enterprises aggregation, can be a natural result of holonic manufacturing systems. This paper illustrates the advantages of using holonic concepts in the virtual supply chain realm through the self-organization of dynamic systems, exploring the holonic paradigm as a catalyst to enable this aggregation. Hence holonic manufacturing models will be seen as important references to virtual supply chains

This article analyzes the relationship between the importance of attributes for service quality and the tolerance zone between the desired and the minimum acceptable levels for customer expectations. The empirical study, conducted with 500 students, fast food customers, confirms that, as the importance of attributes increases, the tolerance zone gets closer and higher.

The growing need of correct implementation of reverse logistic strategies in the modern company, along with the ignorance of their tendency and behavior in the manufacturing sector in the central area of Cuba, make possible the develop of this study. The main objective is to identify a generic configuration on reverse logistic strategies in manufacturing companies from the Cuban central area. As a result, this research detects the existence of three generic reverse logistic strategies which are: recapturing value, environmental and commercial strategies

This study discusses the broad concept of sustainability using several viewpoints to identify the best approach to adopt it in business operations. Starting from the grand perspective adopted by the United Nations and other governmental organizations, it presents sustainability as a business policy grounded on the triple bottom line. Performance measures and continuous improvement are introduced as the components necessary to translate sustainable corporate strategy into sustainable operations, using an integrated quality, environmental and safety management system.

This paper analyzes, in the form of a case study, the coordination of ten 3PL (Third-Party Logistics) by a logistics leader (4PL - Fourth-Party Logistics). The study contributes to the understanding of the factors that differentiate 3PL as collaborators and as potential competitors, revealing that the services they render complement each other within the same operation.

This article analyzes the quality of service provided by suppliers to supermarkets in a medium sized city in the northeast of Brazil. A survey was performed with valid responses from forty mid-sized supermarkets. The results provided the data for ranking the importance of the main distribution service features and for assessing the retailer's satisfaction level in relation to the ten major suppliers in the region.

The implementation of industrial condominiums in Brazil's automotive industry introduced a new standard for the relationship between automakers and auto parts suppliers. High levels of outsourcing, long-term contracts, integrative agreements, coproduction of components, exchanges of specific resources, and intensive interchange of information characterize the automaker's relationship with suppliers in these new arrangements. This paper analyzes the relationship between an automaker, constituted in the form of an industrial condominium, and a systemist supplier operating inside the automaker's plant, exploring the impacts and innovations in the way production is organized and in how the supplier's performance is measured. The findings reveal the transfer of added value from the automaker to the systemist supplier and a high degree of integration of logistics and production between companies

This work presents an action research carried out using the Soft System Methodology (SSM) in a major auto parts company. It aims to analyze and propose improvements in the supply relationship between auto parts companies and second tier suppliers in the Brazilian automotive sector by suggesting significant changes in its process, tasks and technology usage.

This article analyzes the influence of the buyer-supplier relationship continuity on service performance. We used a survey with a sample of 53 companies that are users of international maritime transport belonging to two industries: Machinery and Food. The results related to Service Performance are similar to those found in past studies in industrial supply chains. The traditional performance criteria like delivery, dependability and cost clearly are influenced by the aspects related to the management of the relationship. This includes information exchange, trust and interaction between the parts.

This article analyzes the interest of Business Administration students in the area of Production and Operations. A field study involving data collection of data from 165 students of institutions of higher education in the city of Fortaleza, in the northeastern area of Brazil. Data were evaluated through techniques of regression and cluster analysis. It was found that students have an intermediate level of interest in the area, and that this interest is positively influenced by factors such as intent to pursue a career in the area. Also the perception of educational and professional impact, as well as the importance of the area for the course were studied.

This paper aims to show the evaluation of information technologies (ITs) that has been used to trace products in Brazilian cattle chain. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an identification technology that traces products from their origin to their destination. This work includes literature review on evaluation models in technology, information technology, information systems, and RFID. The field research described in this paper was carried out at four Brazilian slaughterhouses. Some methods used were qualitative approach, case study, and interviews to show results. Although RFID has some advantages in traceability systems, it has been used by these companies in other activities such as warehousing and stocking. Because of this, in the Brazilian cattle chain barcode has been used to trace products.

This paper works on and presents the results of several analyses - scenario and sensitivity - made with the help of Simulation and focused on dimensioning questions of handling capacity in a large Brazilian call center. The objective is to measure the sensitivity of the call center's performance to potential modifications of critical variables. The bibliography related to the application of such tool in call centers is reviewed, and the way by which the problem is treated nowadays is described in detail. The methodology used to achieve this article objective involved a simulation model in the Arena Contact Center software, which worked as base case upon where the scenario and sensitivity analyses could be performed. This paper comes to the conclusion that Simulation is a tool perfectly adequate to its purpose as long as it could be able to show, for the studied call center, mainly that: (i) it is possible to reduce the operator contingent; (ii) fair variations on the demand pattern can impact too much the performance indicators; and (iii) it is possible to improve the service level if an aggregated handling format is adopted.

 Nowadays, transporting cargoes via container are key indicator for every shipment. The movement of container involves multi modes to reach destination. The efficient transport networking systems are determinant attribute towards container terminal in providing excellent services to their client. The paper focuses on the metamorphosis of the terminal efficiency and container movements at 6 major container terminals in Peninsular Malaysia. The aim is to measure efficiency of container terminals that contributes significant economic development for a nation. Non parametric approach under frontier method is used to analyse panel data from 2003 to 2010 in relation with container terminal equipments and throughput. The result shows no significant relationship between container terminal size and efficiency. Thus, efficiency is determined from allocation of resources efficiently by terminal operators and not by size of terminals.DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p1-19URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p1-19

Companies are going abroad looking for advantages from alternative sources of supply. Primarily associated with the lack of local supplier or lower acquisitions costs, these reactive reasons have driven business to a more proactive perspective by the adoption of a Global Sourcing (GS). Companies from emerging countries are developing their own GS, just like multinational from developed countries. These "late movers" have a strategic motivation, and goals, to internationalize their activities. This paper reviews and integrates literature from Operations Management, Strategic Management and International Business areas to develop a framework that poses 13 theoretical propositions. Then, the paper presents a case study carry out in a Brazilian electro- electronics company that develops and manufactures its products overseas and distributes them in Brazil and other South American markets. This company replicates the strategy developed in its home country and spread value chain activities through global suppliers, especially those located in Asia. Findings reveal that the company has the capability to analyze its value chain to focus on the activities that add more value: those are product development and distribution in South America. Each proposition of the framework was illustrated by the empirical evidence from the case study. The findings provide insights to guide further research on the adoption of GS by companies from emerging countries. Some propositions of the theoretical framework were not found due to the size and strategy of the analyzed company and new propositions were developed based on the empirical findings for further research.DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p114-127URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p114-127

This paper explores the semiconductor industry and its supply chain characteristics in order to aid understanding of its overall trajectory. How can a country like Brazil produce such an insignificant amount of semiconductor components? What has led the country to this situation? The objectives of this paper are twofold: first, to describe the semiconductor supply chain in order to understand its majors elements; and second, to delineate the trajectory of this industry. More specifically, we draw on evolutionary theory to analyze three macro trajectories: economic, governmental and technological. We collected archival data about these macro drivers and conducted interviews with professors and professionals in the semiconductor field. The results show four major events in the trajectory of the Brazilian semiconductor industry: (i) investment in microelectronic laboratories; (ii) a policy of market protection; (iii) a policy of market openness to product imports: and (iv) public policies to help the development of semiconductor companies through incentives. DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p20-39URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p20-39

Using a structured, qualitative evaluation schema complemented by expert rating, we evaluate the capabilities and utility of ships in the United States Navy and United States Military Sealift inventory.   We find that there are specific types of vessels with significant disaster response utility and recommend a flotilla type that would be best suited for these types of operations. Utilizing an exploratory framework that evaluates three diverse disaster cases, we scale the utility of each vessel using subject matter experts. This work should be of interest to national policy-makers as well as international governing bodies and leaders of naval institutions for its recommendations on the type of ships most useful for contributing to effective disaster response. The capabilities identified in this research are found in various naval and maritime organizations throughout the world, and this work can help assist those organizations identify the types of capabilities that are most useful in the event of a disaster. DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p40-58URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p40-58

This study provides managerial insight to pursue Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) or Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) strategy for both the retailer and manufacturer under different supply chain settings. Discrete event simulation is used to investigate the cost benefits of CPFR and VMI strategies over Traditional Supply Chain (TSC) in a variable demand environment. The conceptual model is a two-echelon production-inventory system with a manufacturer and a retailer. The results from this study suggest that when compared to TSC, both VMI and CPFR achieve cost benefits in inventory management for both the manufacturer and retailer. Under most supply chain settings, higher cost benefits are achieved in CPFR compared to VMI. Also, CPFR achieves higher cost benefits when demand variability is high, production capacity is low, backorder penalty cost is high and delivery lead time is long. However, when production capacity is high and delivery lead time is short, the cost benefits of CPFR and VMI are significantly lower.DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p59-73URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p59-73

Nowadays supply chain (SC) evaluation is one of the critical problems in most of industries. Various frameworks and systems have been proposed to tackle the problem. In this paper, the literature of approaches, techniques and criteria for SC performance evaluation are reviewed. For this reason, related works appeared in the international journals from 1998 to 2010 are gathered and analyzed. The paper attempts to response the following four questions: (I) Which SC approaches were prevalently applied? (II) Which techniques were used to facilitate the performance measurement? (III) Which evaluation criteria were paid more attention? The result of this review is contributed in recommendation of some possible future work. The other objective of this research is to aid the researchers and practitioners in applying the approaches, techniques and criteria effectively.DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p94-113URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p94-113