1

008-0448

Supply network structure: identifying the practices among the network.

ADRIANE A. FARIAS SANTOS L. DE QUEIROZ

Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2231 - Cidade Universitária

05508-900 - São Paulo, SP - Brasil. adriane.queiroz@gmail.com

MARCOS MENDES DE OLIVEIRA PINTO

Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2231 - Cidade Universitária

05508-900 - São Paulo, SP - Brasil. morpinto@usp.br

MARCOS ANDRÉ MENDES PRIMO

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – Centro de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas. Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235 – Cidade Universitária

50670-901 - Recife, PE - Brasil. marcos.primo@dca.ufpe.br

SUSANA CARLA FARIAS PEREIRA

Fundação Getulio Vargas - SP, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo. Rua Itapeva, 474, 8o. andar - Bela Vista 01332-000 - São Paulo, SP - Brasil.

susana.pereira@fgv.br

POMS 19th Annual Conference

La Jolla, California, U.S.A.

May 9 to May 12, 2008

Abstract:

This study looks into the shipbuilding industry, an industry of global nature, make-to-order

production and which is growing and expanding around the world. The main objective of this

study is to identify the practices (involving production and supply chain management)

adopted by the shipbuilding industry in Brazil. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the

structuring of a supply network based on the individual capabilities of its key suppliers and

the cooperation between the players.

2

The research was based on a quantitative survey of 1,160 companies, with rate of return of

sixteen percent (16%). Responses to the web-based questionnaires were analyzed using

statistical software.

Results indicate that the practices incorporated by these companies show the possibility of

collaborative relationships. Despite the low level of industry development within the

Brazilian shipbuilding market, this possibility is a fact of great importance which

unfortunately does not allow for a large scale production from these companies nowadays.

Keywords: Supply network structure, shipbuilding industry, supplier practices.

1. The Scenario of Analysis: The Shipbuilding Industry.

The Shipbuilding Industry is characterized overall by make-to-order production

(MTO), for which exists the mobilization of many suppliers around the construction of one

final product. Moreover, the industry presents a global nature and its strategic position is

defined by its global position (Cho and Porter, 1986).

According to Stopford (1997), the mission of the shipbuilding industry is to provide

the necessary ways for the ship-owners to offer the capability of maritime transportation to

the market. In accordance with the document presented by MDIC (2001), that shows how the

Brazilian Shipbuilding Industry is composed, its supply chain presents the following principal

players: 1) the demanders of naval constructions (i.e. producers of hydro carbonates and

mining and transportation companies), and 2) the shipyards and their direct and indirect

suppliers. In addition to these players, there is still the State serving as an important

participant in the function of planner, regulator and financier within the industry.

3

It is an industry that exists today, in Brazil and in the world, under a new wave of

competition. This is a competition that took place since the demand from countries for their

own national fleet; the increasing growth of exports; and, as a consequence, the use of naval

transport as added value to foreign commerce. In Brazil, for example, there arose a large

demand in the year of 2004, when Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobrás (The Brazilian Oil

Company) which is responsible for the oil transportation, released the Program of

Modernization and Expansion of the Fleet (PROMEF), planning forty-two (42) ships to be

constructed under an index of 65% of nationalization of its components and contracted

services, in addition to the requirement of the shipbuilding taking place in national territory.

In this case, the shipbuilding industry was impacted by the importance of retaking its

activities, discovering the necessity of also looking at business-oriented models capable of

manage great complexity and more, under the waves of this new competition. The

specifications of this industry therefore configure an ideal area of analysis for studies on the

strategic use of the suppliers practices, not only because of the complexity required for all

players to gain space in the global market, but also by the emerging need to identify the

practical application of the new models with the new organizational forms within the network.

By presenting a single product with characteristics of global purchase, fabrication and

resale, the shipbuilding industry represents an ample space for the exploration of network

management, reflecting an interest of the sector for this business-oriented model. It is a

complex model that requires network approach once it has strong interactions with other

segments. The orders placed by the ship-owners, for example, possess a strong tie with

maritime transportation, reflected by the freight quotations (SÁ, 2006).

Thus, we are able to verify the existence of a theoretical gap, within this context, while

coming across a difficulty of finding studies that argue in depthly about how to apply the

4

process of integration in an effective way within industries of global nature that use make-to-

order production, and of a better form for its competitiveness.

Within this scope, this study presents a diagnostic of the Brazilian Shipbuilding

Industry developed after an investigation into the supplier practices among its network of

shipbuilding component suppliers, with the proposal of contributing to the formation of

supply network structures. The object of this analysis is represented by Figure 1, that

distinguishes the ship components suppliers’ network from a more complex supply network

of this industry. Their main customer is represented by the shipyard.

Figure 1: General view of the analyzed supply network.

Source: Queiroz, 2007.

2. Configuring a competitive supply network.

In first place, we come across the necessity of investigating the competitive conditions

that this industry, the object of study presented here, is exposed to. Initially the organizational

environment is presented dressed with a new dynamic, overall marked by a high level of

competition and by globalization, provoking change in the current base of competitiveness.

Given the complexity of the new existing relationships, the rational-bureaucratic model of

management looses its energy and gives up space for new organizational forms that demands

a companies’ joint performance. In this scenario of integration among the companies, the act

5

of production becomes a collective effort and not just an individual activity (QUEIROZ,

2007).

The necessity to form new arrangements with the focus on collective efficiency

introduces the organizations to an interaction that requires cooperation and the sharing of

information. These arrangements, called inter-organizational, constitute a phenomenon that

can in such a way be analyzed by the operational aspect of the technologies of management as

for the process of the relationship between the diverse participants who find themselves

connected, distinguishing amongst themselves the new standards of cooperation and

competition (LASTRES et all, 2002).

The concept of networks then appears as an alternative to the form of organizing

companies around the production of goods and services with a sense of unity and

collaboration. For Barringer and Harrison (2000), the networks are understood as a type of

inter-organizational relationship configured from a local company organizing the

interdependences of a joint complex of companies.

The performance in networks has been the object of many studies in the field of

organizations and is considered as an organizational innovation, when associated to the

techno-economic paradigm, for being seen as an alternative to accelerated process of changes

in economic relations, having as a central figure a company-leader around which the entire

network is constituted. Nohria and Eccles (1992) attribute the increase of interest in these

studies to the success of the new competition, which no longer occurs between companies, but

rather between structuralized sets of companies, of which is marked by the directing of the

companies, of what is treated by its own internal organization, in the direction of forming new

configurations that establish collaborative relations instead of competitive.

The concept of networks comes already explored in environments in which the

presence of various players around one productive process occurs. One is about an idea of the

6

management of systems. Poirier and Reiter (1997) bring the definition of Supply Chain (SC)

from this idea, saying that the organizations deliver its goods and services to its customers in

a manner of joint form, in network, functioning as a system. In this form, Supply Chain

Management (SCM) also appears as an answer to the necessity of integrating the areas of

performance and the participants of a SC. In accordance with Ellram (1991), the SCM is an

innovative form of competition based on the changes of the competitive environment.

A second analysis necessary to this study is directed by the factors that influence the

structure of the network in itself. Mentzer et all (2001) calls attention to the importance of the

relationship in the chain, giving us a new perspective for the vision of the company, which

can be boarded as a network of relationships. In the external aspect, we have that the

presence of a new global scale of operations, increasing competitiveness and the technological

advances are responsible for a complex network of relationships, generating the necessity of

new relations between the companies. As for the intra-organizational aspect, the importance

of the relationship of the SC is confirmed by observation in practice that an isolated search for

the results will not result in the total effectiveness of the chain. Thus, the relationship gains

prominence as the main dimension in the formation and structure of integrated networks.

According to Möller and Halinem (1999), the rising of an age of networks is quickly

transforming our vision of companies, and no organization can be self-sufficient, being that

its survival is dependent on the learning developed by means of relationships. So, the

solution to combine this necessary internal transformation of the company and at the same

time to associate it with the context of integration and collaboration in a more complex set

that involves other companies, can be in the formation of cooperation networks, or learning

networks, where the network starts to dominate the processes in the chain and the companies

can perform in accordance with its essential abilities.

7

3. Practices among the Supply Network.

The application of the principles of organizations in networks associated to the

principles of competitiveness configures itself in this object of study as an alternative for the

integrated management of the supply network. In this form, the participant companies of the

network begin to have more possibilities of competitive positioning of a new business-

oriented environment, complex and endowed with fast changes.

In the shipbuilding industry the discussion concerning models for integrated

management has been focused on the competitiveness in the international market. In order to

contribute to this problem, we begin by looking at the findings presented here, and then

search for the inquiry of the common practices between the suppliers of the network. In

accordance with Fleischer (1999) and Balance (2000), the practices and mechanisms more

widely used in the naval supply network are:

• Long term agreements (frame agreements) for the setting of the supply price;

• Benchmarking of local and foreign companies processes (within the sector);

• Standardization of supply items aiming at the reduction of the number of

suppliers and orders;

• Outsourcing of the non essential parts of the company’s businesses;

• Integration of teams with suppliers aiming at the solving of problems;

• Training and development of current suppliers;

• Evaluation of the total supply costs, including the costs of managing supply,

installation, post-sales etc., and not just costs acquisition;

• Programs of continuous improvement for suppliers, aiming at the reduction of

prices, improvement of product quality and delivery of service;

• Development of new suppliers;

• Stocks controlled by the supplier with minimal level guarantees of that stock;

8

• The supply of integrated systems by the supplier (turn key);

• Integration of planning and production between the client and supplier (JIT);

• Development of products integrated with the supplier.

The authors warn that the fact that these are practices and mechanisms that must be

used differently in agreement with the risks of supply and impact on profits, suggesting

however a classification of these practices that conform with the presentation of Chart 1.

Chart 1: Classification of practices in relation to the risk and impact on profits. Source: Adapted from Fleischer (1999) and Balance (2000).

Critical Products (high value, but not

critical to the final product, as groups

of diesel generators)

Selection based on price

Strategic Products (few fabricators,

suppliers turn key and system

workers of motors, etc.)

Strategic alliances

General Products (such as stock and

standardized like pumps)

Costs and optimization of volume

of orders

Critical Products (low value, but

critical for the final product, like a

fire-proof door)

Reliability and quality assurance

Despite the fact that it does not consist of the analysis of this study, it is important to

remember that the “backdrop” being used in the identification of the set of practices among

the network are the business processes, in order to better reference the identification of the

more relevant aspects, they must be searched for as methods of the shipbuilding supply chain.

Therefore, we present the idea of following the process-key of business for the shipbuilding

network published by Balance (2000). In accordance with this report, the basic processes of

business of a shipbuilding supply chain would be:

HIGH

LOW

Impact on Profits

LOW HIGH

Risk of Supply

9

• Customer and classification institution approval of the product’s type;

• Marketing – contact and sales for customers, including new customers;

• Project and engineering of the ship, including connections with customers and

suppliers;

• Purchasing, including the agreements made before the order and the processing

of the actual order;

• Delivery, including the logistic strategies;

• Assembly, tested and final approval, including the integration with system

suppliers;

• Guarantee, service post-sale, maintenance and repair.

The functional practices that exist among the network are not necessarily found ready

to adhere to a boarding of processes. This occurs due to many aspects, amongst them, the

different local availabilities of the resources, structure and organizational qualification that

can be found in the most diverse possible configurations of networks or chains (Fleischer,

1999).

For this reason, we consider the researched practices of this study as being the

resources (or capacities, or still, abilities) that the companies could make use of for the

network and that can be perfected or developed, favoring the competitiveness of this network

(Queiroz, 2007).

4. Methodology for Analysis of the Shipbuilding Supply Network.

A first investigation concerning the competitiveness of the national industry in global

terms is if the local conditions favor or not the retaking of the industry in the country, which

10

in turn raises another question: how should the local suppliers become interconnected so that

the Brazilian shipbuilding industry could become competitive globally?

In accordance with experts in the field, despite that the large national demand has

“decreed” the establishment of a nationalization index; this would not solely guarantee the

development of an exclusive national supply network (Queiroz, 2007). For this reason, this

study divides the premise that this would be an achievable objective if the focus for

structuring the supply network was given into the incentive of long term relationships, in the

investments and the renovations of quality and in the technological capacity at the network, or

better: it is possible to organize local suppliers, from its abilities, around a network structyre

that is competitive globally.

The prevailing focus of this study is the verification of the relationships practices

“state” among the supply network. Its main purpose is to promote, develop and spread the

necessary technological knowledge to the international competitiveness of shipbuilding

industry in Brazil, involving in this research some of players whom are currently present in

this productive process: shipyards, ship components companies and the suppliers of services.

In the context of the new competition, we verify the importance of the practical

application of SCM (PERIM and ZANQUETTO, 2007; OLIVEIRA and CÂNDIDO, 2007;

CARONA, PEREIRA and CSILLAG, 2007; ALIGUIERI and ZANCHETTO, 2007). On the

other hand we can verify that the inter-organizational relationships are already a theme

sufficiently studied as a complementary subject (MELO, 2007; RESENDE et all, 2005;

MARINI et all; 2003). However, due to the fragmentation of these studies, its results are

demonstrated as limited in reference to the implementation of management models, especially

in industries like that of shipbuilding, given its global nature and specifications of a make-to-

order production.

11

With this, we have defined a basic importance for fulfilling the objective of this

research, the accomplishment of a suppliers “mapping” that constitutes the supply network of

shipbuilding components in Brazil, identifying its characteristics and traditional practices.

According to Queiroz (2007), this vision can allow us an advanced comprehension of the

current state of the relationships in this network, giving an important base of attributes that

could be confronted with the theory and favor the structuring of an integrated and competitive

network.

In order to define the operation of this map of suppliers, we initially investigated them

with the analysis of the industry in which players are inserted. It must be treated as an

industry that has been for about 20 years dispersed and disarticulated in the country. In this

form, to find the suppliers of this industry and the main links that allow a better inquiry

concerning the management of this network, became, therefore a complex activity and

endowed with many uncertainties, demanding a more quantitative approach of research.

In accordance with Forza (2002), since the studies of the fields of production and

operations have become fields of research for organizational studies, since the years of 1980s,

the empirical research in this area has increased in great measure. Thus as in other fields of

research of business-oriented management, such evolution became necessary at the moment

that the research can be applied in order to decide if there exists some problem in the

organizational environment.

Within this subject, the survey is presented as one of operating forms to research when

given such conditions. It is one technique that involves information about a large group of

people or population (Malhotra and Grover, 1998). In accordance with Rea and Parker

(1992), it is possible to obtain a level of reliability beginning with the process of the sampling

of the survey, thus determining to be trustworthy information about a very numerous

population.

12

To choose survey as the technique to identify the unpredictable replies for this

research, is the best decision as it has configured to be the best available strategy, over all

giving the greatest effort in assertively finding which would be the roll of suppliers of

shipbuilding components among this industry and, consequently, gave the greatest number of

existing companies who could be catalogued for this research.

Following such considerations and the structuring of the research, proposed by

Queiroz (2007), we enumerate the following stages adopted by the operational survey, which

are delineated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Sequence for attaining a survey sample of companies. Source: Queiroz, 2007.

Note: ICN – Indústria de Construção Naval (Shipbuilding Industry).

The data obtained from the application of this survey were presented in their entirely

to the Technological Program of Transpetro – PROTRAN (Programa Tecnológico da

Transpetro), presented by Primo and Queiroz (2007), consisting as one of the results of the

project “Implantation and Consolidation of the Center of Studies of Naval Management in

Shipbuilding Industry” (Pinto, 2006).

13

After the application of survey, we identify some limitations. Because of the fact that

we obtained a low index of responses from the shipyards, it was not possible to cross-

reference the responses with those obtained from the suppliers. These comparisons were

needed in order to confirm the results. Still, we did have a result that came in the form of a

performance evaluation of the suppliers carried out by its proper respondents, which gave us a

partial condition of analysis of the real performance situation. We understand that one of the

reasons for the low index of the shipyards respondents can have been due to the fear of

exposing those shipyards that had participated in the bidding of the Transpetro, that even

though it is research of a scientific nature has been requested, Transpetro is the financer of

this research.

Another limitation for the analysis presented in this paper was the fault of

considerable missing data, therefore beyond the existence of incomplete questions in some

questionnaires, or without specification of the other items, some representative companies of

the sector did not respond to the questionnaire.

5. Functional Practices among the Brazilian Shipbuilding Supply Network.

In following, we present the characterization of the shipbuilding components and

services suppliers of the shipbuilding network in Brazil as: to the socio-economic profile of

the respondents; to its performance in the shipbuilding process; to its supply practices; to the

act of contracting practices among the network; and to the practices of production of these

suppliers.

As for the socio-economic profile of the respondents, size of the companies was

investigated in accordance with two different criteria: the amount of employees and the

billing of the company. If we look at the criteria that considers the quantity of employees, we

find that 2/3 of the companies classify as small businesses, while if we look at the criteria of

14

billing, 2/3 pass as being large and medium size. With this comparison of information, we

find that the majority of the companies present billing for the number of employees above the

average of other industries. As for the size of the companies, we can conclude that the

significant billing for the number of employees in comparison to other industries, leads us to

consider a hypothesis of possible gap in the event of a considerable increase in demand. This

group of respondents, despite the indication of favorable conditions for meeting the increase

in demand - for example, presents an easiness for obtaining certification, qualification of

equipment and supplies from the state of origin - also noted demands of customers as being

indicated by the ship-owner.

The relevance of shipbuilding for the group of respondents is insignificant. For 62% of

the companies the participation of the naval sector in the billing of the companies is very

small and insignificant (up to 5%). The low representation of shipbuilding for the

respondents of the survey suggests that there is a lack of scale in the orders of vessels. For

this group of respondents, however, we can observe some regularity in sales and that they are

coming directly from the larger shipyards of the country. Moreover, the expectation of an

increase of this representation in the billing of the company for next the five years is good.

Generally speaking, the expectation is that sales of shipbuilding increases within the

next five years. Fifty-three percent (53%) expect that this increase will be up to twenty-

percent (20%), and twenty-four percent (24%) expect an increase of more than fifty-percent

(50%), while nineteen percent (19%) expect that sales continue at a level pace. The main

reason pointed out by the companies is the offshore segment. Offshore is a consolidated

segment that represents possibilities of more expressive ways of billing and to which some

companies are already familiar. This can explain the high expectation presented in the

segment in relation to the increase of sales in the next few years. For two-thirds (2/3) of the

15

companies, the reason for the expectation of increase in sales in the next five years is

attributed to the construction of oil drilling platforms and the vessels needed to support them.

In relation to the shipbuilding exportation, thirty-five percent (35%) of the companies

responded that they would attend the international market. However, the majority of the

companies just prioritize a mere five percent (5%) of this market, with the main destination of

sales segmented between the local market, and not the local market within the domestic

territory of Brazil. There are indications that make us believe in the existence of competition

at the global level, once it is possible for a greater number of the respondents to attend the

international market. In the services sector, this number increases, suggesting a more

impressive demand in this segment. The services sector seems to suffer a larger impact in

relation to client relationships, distinguishing itself in relation to the companies of

shipbuilding components as with the main destination of its sales and being concentrated

more in the local and national market.

As for the distribution of sales with the shipbuilding sector, eighty-four percent (84%)

of the respondents supply the shipyards, a total of twenty-three percent (23%) that supply

directly to the shipyard, while sixteen percent (16%) that do not. This shows that a great

majority works with a hybrid function (61%), supplying not only the shipyards, but other

suppliers as well. In this aspect, we can see that the characterization of the supply network is

not clearly demarcated. What it is referring to, for example, is the positioning of the

suppliers, and treating the shipyard as the immediate receiver of the network, we see the

majority of the respondents supply the shipyards just as they do for other suppliers. What it

can also mean is that the shipbuilding network possesses different characteristics than that of

other similar industries, such as the automobile and aeronautical chains, classically

represented comparatively to naval.

16

When asked about the type and regularity of the supply for its main naval customer,

the majority of the companies informed that they do not supply systems (complete or

incomplete). However, nine percent (9%) of the companies supply systems of programmed

and continuous form. This practice suggests that the network of suppliers researched presents

little capacity of integration. The answers about the frequency of delivery of the products for

the main naval customer also confirm the weak relationships in the network. This is known

due to the respondents informing that they do not have regularity in their orders. The

majority of companies, seventy-two percent (72%) of shipbuilding components and seventy-

four percent (74%) of services, supply the principal client in a sporadic manner, or with a

regularity very poorly defined.

When we asked about the types of products and services that are or already had been

supplied for shipbuilding from the researched companies, we obtained a result that indicates

that supply of all types of systems and services occur in the mapping of the national SC

(MDIC, 2001). With this we could presume that, even though the supply is available in

abundance for shipbuilding, given the previous information, it is necessary to go deeper and

check at what level of competitiveness these products and services are available in order to

collaborate with the apparent de-structuring of the suppliers network studied. Or still, it is

possible to assume that previous studies mapping the SC is outdated, thusly being necessary

to confirm the existence or non-existence of new products and/or necessary services for the

productive process of the shipbuilding SC.

The most typical form of contracting of the naval customers, such as the shipyards, is

the contract type called “spot.” For the more sporadic suppliers, it is what strengthens the low

level of integration by means of the relationships in the network. Even still, it was possible to

verify the existence of long-term contracts in all of the naval systems represented in the study.

This also leads us to presume that, even though it does not have sufficient representative

17

quantity to justify the strengthening of the ties between client and suppliers, it is possible that

this is a developed ability already in the network.

In accordance with the responses of the service supply companies researched, the

classificatory and eliminatory practices most demanded by the national clients are: technical

and qualitative certification, prices that are compatible with the competitive international

prices and the supply of service after sale, and technical assistance and replacement for

defects. This information suggests that products with specific characteristics, standard of

quality, and international prices and guarantees are different for the majority, but are

beginning to qualify for the national naval market, which in turn suggests that the practices of

the national naval construction chain would be out-of-date in relation to the practices of this

international chain and the practices of other correlating industries.

The most demanded classified practices by the national clients for the supplies of

shipbuilding components are: joint development of technical specifications, qualification and

training of workmanship, flexible supply (in terms of quantity and frequency of delivery),

ample capacity of available production and a demonstration of financial capacity for

investments. With this we can verify that the capacity and flexibility of production, the

financial health, the qualification of labor and the exchange of technical information are still

seen as differential by the national naval market and, consequently, that the practices of the

national shipbuilding SC would be out-of-date in relation to the international SC and other

chains of correlating industries, once the successful practices of these other industries (such as

the automobile, aeronautical and the shipbuilding of other countries) had been identified as

being rarely demanded in the national network researched (see table 1).

In reference to the raising of competitive factors of products and services, we identify

a large index of self-evaluation of the respondents; one of the factors was evaluated as highly

18

competitive for one hundred percent (100%) of the respondents, the time frame and reliability

of delivery (see table 2).

Table 1: Relation of the practices rarely demanded by naval clients of the network researched.

Practices rarely demanded by naval clients Located a short distance of the production park of the client (up to 50km)

Partnership with institutions of management or research and/or with other supply companies.

To observe cultural similarities (common language etc.) Technological support and matrix financing (when affiliated with a multinational company).

The use of design software or ERP compatible with clients.

To be a determined/indicated supplier by ship-owner or by the project specifications acquired from outside the country.

Just-in-time. The use of interlinked electronic forms. Systems / sub-joints supply with or without turn key. Joint development of products/processes and /or R&D

activities. Permanent presence of technicians/operators in the production of the client.

Table 2: Evaluation of the Suppliers and the degree of competition of their naval products/services

Time Frame and trustworthiness of delivery 100% Product Quality 97% Delivery Logistics 97% Labor Qualifications 96% Technological Capacity 96% Labor Costs 90% Production Scale 87% Costs of other items 83% Easiness of Obtaining Certification 83% Financing Conditions 67%

Comparatively with foreign suppliers, the results diverge sufficiently from previous

surveys concerning the difficulties in relation to: scale, logistics, technology, unavailability of

items and difficulties of importations. Some of the quality interviews realized by other

researchers (Pinto et all 2006) with national shipyards confirm that price conditions, time

frames and quality of the national suppliers is bad. For these reasons, there exists within the

respondents a constant vision of extreme optimism, so much so that they also attribute the

difficulties to the business environment and not to the company.

The respondents were also questioned about when to use the practices of production

and operations management (see table 3). In this aspect, we can observe that the little use of

outsourcing is incoherent with the low scale of the sector and that the low reduction of the

19

direct suppliers can indicate high costs of management of suppliers. It is also possible to infer

that there exists little technological cooperation and purchasing with partners and companies

of the sector and the results can indicate a low trust of the companies of the sector.

Table 3: Percentage of suppliers that utilize practices of production and operations management.

Practices of management systematically utilized Practices of management used less

Quality practices for the obtaining of certification.

79% Productive outsourcing for suppliers localized in Brazil.

36%

Development of new local suppliers. 66% Other practices of productive cooperation and technology.

35%

Specialization and expansion of the production line of customized/differential products.

66% Reduction of the number of direct suppliers. 34%

Specialization/expansion of the production line in series.

58% Joint purchasing of prime materials, parts and components with other companies.

33%

Vertical organization/integration of production. 58% Productive outsourcing for suppliers localized outside of Brazil.

10%

In reference to the origin of technology of the main naval product, eighty-two percent

(82%) of the researched suppliers responded that it came from its own origin or of a matrix or

other subsidiary of a multinational corporation, seventeen (17%) indicated that it came from

another source and the minority of one percent (1%) confirmed that the investment’s origin

was from integral or partial financing of a shipyard. The same proportion repeats for the

origin of design and of the management tools of the main naval product, thusly indicated for

only three percent (3%) of the suppliers that had participation of the shipyard in the

investments with the design of the product and for two percent (2%) of them, the participation

of the shipyard in reference to the management tools. With this information, we can see that

the participation of the shipyard in the development of technology practically does not exist,

nor with design or with the management tools of the suppliers of the network. In this case, no

transfer of “know how” occurs between the shipyards and SC.

20

6. Conclusions and Final Recommendations.

The initial conclusions pointed out by the analysis of the presented data indicate that

the practices of management in naval construction would be behind practices used in the

automobile and aeronautical industries and also behind the practices of international

shipbuilding SCs, especially the Japanese and Korean. This is because the current

shipbuilding network does not seem to be properly structured; however there exist “success

cases” and representative companies revealing their intentions of increasing its participation

in the sector.

In regards to the coordination of this network, it is possible to affirm that there exists

little leadership and control of the shipyards on the current network. In this sense, it would be

of great validity to propose the creation of models for the suppliers’ relationships that favor

the structuring of the network and its competitive positioning in line with the opportunities of

the global market

Results indicate that the practices taken by these companies show the possibility of

collaborative relationships. It is a fact of great importance, once it occurs despite the low

industry level of development into the Brazilian shipbuilding market, which does not aloud a

large scale production from these companies nowadays.

As final recommendations, we suggest that the information obtained by the statistical

analysis of this survey be amplified, or even that a new research be applied with the sample

amplification, beginning with the commitment of the companies that did not respond

(principally the shipyards). Another alternative, that will certainly enrich the proposals

contained in this paper, would be the development of solid quality researches with the

“success cases” found beginning with this study, or even, an adaptation of the research which

investigates the practices of management linked to the construction of large projects, which

21

could be more adequate than those generally used as joint comparisons to the shipbuilding

industry, such as the automobile and aeronautical industries.

Some questions still were not answered, but can certainly be directed to new

researches, such as : 1) the role Petrobras/Transpetro – the client who currently raises the

question about the retaking of the industry in Brazil – possesses in the evolution of the SC; 2)

what will be the best operation of index of nationalism for the demand of the national market,

in order to obtain an equilibrium between the competitiveness of the national industry and the

winners of the country in relation to obtaining a national fleet. This is because it was possible

to verify that the existence of partnerships with foreign companies is an alternative to the

competitiveness of the national chain; 3) unto what point can the structure of the offshore

sector suppliers can be used to attend the shipbuilding industry; and 4) what is the necessity of

using the same practices as the Japanese and Korean markets, both benchmarks in the

international market.

As a final consideration obtained initially with this study, and considering our

principal premises that affirmed that: 1) a network structure makes possible integrated

management, that can in turn depend on an evolution of relationships that will reach a stage of

collaboration (Spekmann et all, 1998); and 2) being that relationships are the most valuable

resource of the network, its exploration favors the increase of the competitive position of the

company and its supply network (Bowersox, Closs e Cooper 2006; Novaes, 2001 e Wood e

Zuffo, 1998), we can affirm that the abilities, or the practices of each supplier, that

characterize a structure in network under the dimension of the relationship needing, therefore,

to be analyzed in order to obtain an integrated vision from the network, which represents one

of the responsible factors for the evolution of the SCM as a strategic tool and a management

one.

22

7. References

ALIGUIERI Júlia S. e ZANCHETTO Filho, Hélio. Relacionamentos Interorganizacionais: uma Análise dos

Aspectos Intervenientes da Cadeia de Serviços do Setor de Comércio Exterior de Vitória (ES). XXXI

Encontro da ANPAD – EnANPAD, 22 a 26 de setembro de 2007, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2007.

BALANCE Technology Group. Competitiveness and benchmarking in the field of marine equipment,

Public Report, 2000.

BARRINGER, B. R. and HARRISON, J. S. Walking a tightrope: creating value through interorganizational

relationships. Journal of Management, v. 26, n. 3, p. 367-403, 2000.

BARTLLET, C. e GOSHAL, S. Gerenciando empresas no exterior: a solução transnacional. São Paulo:

Makron Books, 1992.

BOWERSOX, Donald J; CLOSS David J. and COOPER, M. Bixby. Gestão Logística de Cadeia de

Suprimentos. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2006.

BOWERSOX, D. J. and CLOSS, D. J. Supply Chain Management: a strategic perspective. The International

Journal of Logistics Management, v. 8, nº 1, p. 15-34, 1997.

CARONA, Natércia; PEREIRA, Susana e CSILLAG, João Mário. Classificação de Redes de Suprimentos:

Construção de um Framework. XXXI Encontro da ANPAD – EnANPAD, 22 a 26 de setembro de 2007,

Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2007.

CHO, D. S. and PORTER, M. E. Changing global industry leadership: the case of shipbuilding, In: PORTER, M.

E. Competition in Global Industries. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, p.15-60, 1986.

CUNHA, M. S. A indústria de construção naval: uma abordagem estratégica. Dissertação (Mestrado em

Engenharia) – EPUSP, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2006.

ELLRAM, L. M. Supply Chain Management. The Industrial Organization Perspective. International Journal

of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, v. 21, nº 1, p.13-22. 1991.

FERRAZ, João C. et all. Estudo da Competitividade de Cadeias Integradas no Brasil: Impactos da Zonas

de Livre Comércio. Cadeia: Indústria Naval. Nota Técnica Final. UNICAMP: Instituto de Economia,

Campinas, 2002.

FERRAZ NETO, Francisco. Alinhamento das estratégias competitivas e logísticas da montadora de

automóveis leves e de seus sistemistas de primeira camada – um estudo multi-caso no pólo automotivo

da região metropolitana de Curitiba. Tese (Doutorado em Engenharia da Produção) – Programa de Pós-

Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, UFSC, Florianópolis, 2005.

23

FLEISHER, M., KOHLER R., LAMB, T., BONGIORNI, H. B. and TUPPER, N., Shipbuilding Supply Chain

Integration Project. Ann Arbor: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, 1999.

FLEURY, A. C. C. e FLEURY M. T. L. Estratégias empresariais e formação de competências: um quebra-

cabeça caleidoscópio da indústria brasileira. São Paulo: Atlas, 2001.

FORZA, Cipriano. Survey research in operations management: a process-based perspective. IJOPM. Vol. 22, nº

2, p. 152-194, 2002.

FUGATE, B.; SAHIN, F.; MENTZER, J.T. Supply Chain Management Coordination Mechanisms. Journal of

Business Logistics, v. 27, No.2, 2006.

MALHOTRA, Manoj K. and GROVER, Varun. An assessment of survey research in POM :from constructs to

theory. Journal of Operations Management. vol. 16, p. 407-425, 2006.

MDIC – Ministério do desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior. Desenvolvimento de Ações de Apoio á

Cadeia Produtiva da Indústria Naval e Marinha Mercante. Brasília, 2002.

MELO, Aurélia A. Proposta de uma Estrutura para Análise e Classificação das Relações Cliente-

Fornecedor2007. XXXI Encontro da ANPAD – EnANPAD, 22 a 26 de setembro de 2007, Rio de Janeiro,

Brasil, 2007.

MENTZER, J.T.; Dewitt, W.; KEEBLER, J.S.; MIN, S.; NIX, N.W.; SMITH, C.D. and ZACHARIA, Z.G.

Defining Supply Chain Management. Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 22, No. 2, 2001

MÖLLER, K. K. and HALINEN, A. Business Relationships and Netwoks: managerial challenge of network era.

Industrial Marketing Management, v. 28, p. 413-427. 1999.

NOHRIA, N. and ECCLES, R. G. Networks and organizations: structure, form and action. Boston: Harvard

Business School,1992.

NOVAES, Antônio G. Logística e gerenciamento da cadeia de distribuição. São Paulo, Campus: 2001

OLIVEIRA Verônica M. e CÂNDIDO Gesinaldo A. As Contribuições dos Conceitos e Modelos de Redes

Organizacionais no Setor Varejista: um estudo exploratório em pequenos supermercados no Estado da

Paraíba. XXXI Encontro da ANPAD – EnANPAD, 22 a 26 de setembro de 2007, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil,

2007.

PERIM Juliana, A. e ZANQUETTO Filho Hélio, Formação de Rede Interorganizacional para a Gestão da

Cadeia de Suprimentos: o Caso do Setor Avícola no Estado do Espírito Santo. XXXI Encontro da ANPAD

– EnANPAD, 22 a 26 de setembro de 2007, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2007.

24

PINTO Marcos M. (Coord.). Implantação e consolidação de laboratório de gestão de operações e da cadeia de

suprimentos da indústria de construção naval. Em: PROTRAN - Programa Tecnológico da Transpetro.

Convênio FINEP, 2006

POIRIER, Charles e REITER, Stephen. Otimizando sua rede de negócios. São Paulo: Futura, 1997.

PORTER, M. Competitive strategy. New York: Free Press, 1980

________. What’s Strategy. Harvard Businnes Review. Boston, Massachusetts. Nov/Dec., 1996.

PRAHALAD, C. K. and HAMEL, G. The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Business Review. V.

68, n. 3, p. 79-91, mai/jun, 1990.

QUEIROZ, Adriane F. Uma proposta de elaboração e validação de um modelo de gestão integrada para a

indústria naval brasileira. Projeto de Tese de Doutorado, Escola Politécnica da USP, 2007.

SPEKMAN, R. et all. An Empirical investigation into Supply Chain Management: a perspective on partnerships.

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. v. 28, nº 8, p. 630-650, 1998.

STOCK, G. N. et all. Logistics, Strategy and Structure. International Journal of Operations & Production

Management. v. 18, p. 37-52. 1998.

STOPFORD, M. Maritime Economics. London: Routledge, 2nd Ed.,1997.

WOOD JR., Thomaz e ZUFFO, Paulo K. Supply chain management. RAE – Revista de Administração de

Empresas. n. 3, v. 38, p. 55-63, jul./set. São Paulo, 1998.

Note: The present study belongs to research realized with the financial support of

PROTRAN - Transpetro Technological Program.