Supply chain structures in the Brazilian footwear industry: Outcomes of a case study research

The present study represents the starting point of a project that analyses the supply chain structure of the footwear industry, the relationships among the involved actors, and how the type of relationship is related to the context variables that characterized the actors involved in the analysed relationships (e.g. size, position in the supply chain, market segment). A detailed case study in a Brazilian shoes manufacturer has been conducted in order to investigate (1) who are the main actors involved in the analysed footwear supply chain, and (2) what are the different relationships (i.e. transactional and collaborative) between the company and each of them. The sampled company has been chosen due to its relevance in the Brazilian scenario and to the complex supply chain to which it belongs. This complexity reflects the different types and levels of relationships, both upstream and downstream, that the company has to manage. Moreover, information and material flows among its production plants have to be coordinated, increasing the complexity to be managed.