Supply Chain Management in The Brazilian Automobile Industry: Bottlenecks for Steadier Growth

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 Brazilian industrial 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.