Autor: Mônica Maria Mendes Luna

The demand for more sophisticated logistics services has brought about a diversification of services, specialization and mainly a more intensive use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) by the 3PL providers. To characterize logistics services offered in Brazil, a third-party logistics provider typology is suggested based on statistics and data mining analysis. Considering the presence of technological solutions through Yes/No categorical statements, the results identified 3PL homogeneous clusters in the Brazilian market which correspond to main sector categories that are described in this paper. These results are equivalent to those models that make use of quantitative variables, usually associated with unreliability and difficult acquisition.

Buyer-supplier collaborative or partnerships relationships are terms that have been used to designate closer and long-term dyad relations where risks and benefits are shared implying both economic and social involvement. The relationships between a Brazilian buyer which is the world leader in the hermetic compressor market and five metal/mechanical sector suppliers are characterized in this study. Results show that relationships have become closer and many practices and characteristics of a partnership can be observed but there is no concern regarding strengthening the relationship itself. The analyzed context also shows a dyad that is mainly affected by the buyer´s perspective, i.e. keeping a broad number of suppliers for each product, the supplier´s high investment in assets to meet buyer requirements, and short-term relationships, which stress the focus on economic goals.