Performance of collaborative management in food companies

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to verify the collaborative management performance in food companies on metropolitan area of Sao Paulo. The research was conducted in two steps. The first step was based on exploratory research using data gathered in depth interviews from a sample of seven high executives of different large food companies. These interviews, when examined with techniques of the content analysis, showed that the most important variables are the ones related to competition such as price, production cost and distribution. Indicators for collaborative performance management were created on the basis of these variables. The second step was based on descriptive research in order to investigate the performance of these indicators identified in the first step. For that purpose, data were gathered through a structured questionnaire, using a sample of 31 supply chain managers of food companies. The main results evidenced that: (1) companies with “relationship under a contract” have the best results; (2) the use of “internet service provider technology” to share information; (3) “forecast accuracy improvement” have little adherence in the collaborative planning and their implementation is slower than other stages. Based on these results, it is possible to conclude that the practice of collaborative management in the investigated sample is fragile, although, the managers had been given importance for its practice, indicating a great venue of research. Key words: collaborative planning, collaborative management, supply chain management, food companies, CPFR.