Manufacturing strategy in the auto parts industry: a multicases study in companies at sorocaba’s region

Abstract

The alignment of manufacturing strategy with the business strategy is fundamental for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In the particular case of the automotive industry, it is verified that the production strategy of suppliers is strongly influenced by the strategy of automakers. In this context, this paper aims at presenting characteristics of the content of the production strategy of four auto parts companies besides analyzing the influence of automakers in the definition of the strategy contents.This is a descriptive and exploratory research that uses  a qualitative approach and the multi-case study method. Among the main results, it was found that the prevalent competitive priority in the companies is quality followed by delivery. In the decision areas, it was noted that customers have great influence on the quality management of these companies and in the R&D activities, besides demanding frequent deliveries. Finally, it was found that auto parts companies seek to strengthen their competitive priorities by adopting criteria from suppliers  for selecting and evaluating.