ESTUDO DE CASO SOBRE ANÁLISE DE COMPETITIVIDADE DOS PRESTADORES DE SERVIÇO DAS INDÚSTRIAS DE CONFECÇÕES DO VALE DO ITAJAÍ

Abstract

The market for subcontracting manufacturing services has been growing substantially in southern Brazil in recent decades. The outsourcing of manufacturing work allows companies the necessary flexibility to go through moments of market seasonality, as well as reducing the relationship between fixed costs and variable costs in companies, which makes them more agile and helps with financial health. A massive example of outsourcing of manufacturing services can be found in the garment industry in Vale do Itajaí, in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. In this region, companies producing garments even outsource up to 100% of their manufacturing services to small companies called “factions”, with the main company only responsible for the product development and commercialization stages. Such demand for these service providers has meant that, over the last few years, there has been a proliferation of micro and small companies providing clothing services in the region. These companies are usually family owned and benefit from specific taxation for micro and small companies, as in the rest of the country. Despite the volume of companies, there is no business organization in the clothing industry that can bring a competitive advantage to the region. The objective of this work is to analyze the competitiveness of service providers in the clothing industry in the Itajaí Valley, regarding the flexibility of production of different types of products, as well as the evaluation of the impact of this flexibility on the financial health of the business.