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The objective of this study was to apply simulation and genetic algorithms for the economic and environmental optimization of the reverse network (manufacturers, waste managers, and recyclers in Sao Paulo, Brazil) of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to promote the circular economy. For the economic evaluation, the reduction in fuel, drivers, insurance, depreciation, maintenance, and charges was considered. For the environmental evaluation, the impact of abiotic, biotic, water, land, air, and greenhouse gases was measured. It was concluded that the optimized structure of the WEEE reverse chains for Sao Paulo, Brazil provided a reduction in the number of collections, thus making the most of cubage. It also generated economic and environmental gains, contributing to the strategic actions of the circular economy. Therefore, the proposed approach is replicable in organizational practice, which is mainly required to meet the 2030 agenda of reducing the carbon footprint generated by transport in large cities. Thus, this study can guide companies in structuring the reverse WEEE chains in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and other states and countries for economic and environmental optimization, which is an aspect of great relevance considering the exponential generation of WEEE.

PurposeThis paper aims to describe the product development process (PDP) of companies in the textile industry, seeking to understand the dynamics of their management from different actors along the production chain.Design/methodology/approachQualitative empirical research adopted a multiple case studies design in five large Brazilian organizations, each representing a link in the production chain.FindingsTextile PDP follows structured steps. However, it is still an informal process. The use of methodologies and tools for decision-making and control gates throughout the process is limited. Performance indicators do not cover all dimensions of the PDP since sales and profit are the main parameters for assessing projects. The predevelopment macro phase varies according to the product type and the company's business model, whereas the postdevelopment macro phase is nonexistent. PDP projects are executed through collective efforts of multiple departments in cross-functional teams, except for the commodities firms.Practical implicationsThe study allows managers of Brazilian textile companies to understand the best practices in the PDP and those that require more attention, taking into account different business models and sectors of the production chain.Originality/valueOur results contribute to the literature and practitioners by providing an overview of PDP management in the textile industry, covering its different production chain actors, types of projects and companies' characteristics.

PurposeThe impact of product variety decisions on fill rate, inventory and sales performance in a consumer goods company has been examined. From a marketing perspective, it is possible to leverage sales, reach new segments and consequently increase competitiveness when there is a greater product variety on the market. However, operations and logistics professionals indicate potential impacts on the supply chain, such as production, storage and distribution complexity. The nature of the product variety-cost-sales performance relationship is not clear, and empirical evidence about whether and how operations cost and sales performance increases with variety is inconclusive.Design/methodology/approachThe multiple linear regression and the Tobit regression techniques were applied over a seven-year horizon of data from a business intelligence platform of a consumer goods company.FindingsOur results show that sales performance is negatively associated with product variety. The total effect of product variety on sales performance has been examined, including both the direct effect and the indirect effect through inventory and fill rate. Therefore, the findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of product variety on operations and sales performance.Originality/valueSeveral studies have researched the impact of product variety on fill rate, inventory and sales performance separately; however, the research of the impact and the relationship of these factors is scarce and limited.

Higher education institutions have been steadily integrating sustainable practices into their operations. Despite these efforts in the implementation, several challenges must be overcome to achieve sustainability. There is a lack of studies that investigate sustainable development in higher education, and the efforts of a small, specialized university have been scarcely analyzed in detail. This manuscript addresses the path toward sustainability followed by a private Brazilian technological university. The university in São Paulo is one of the region's most traditional and oldest universities, focused on engineering, computing, and business. Data from 2019/2020 on energy and water consumption and solid waste generation for the university campus were discussed and benchmarked with GreenMetric indicators. The data was analyzed by a theoretical framework composed of 6 dimensions. Challenges were identified, and remedial actions were proposed to transform the university into a greener campus. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the higher education institution kept sustainability projects active, some of which received international awards. However, this study reveals that although sustainable development is considered very important to HEI and society, it is not yet embedded in the system's strategies, activities, and policies.  

PurposeThe advent of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and the requirements imposed on companies still need to be clarified. Companies still strive to understand I4.0 requirements and technological, organizational, operational and management challenges. Current literature on I4.0 underlies the importance of a roadmap with structured steps to achieve the benefits of I4.0, mainly focused on augmenting operational performance. Therefore, this paper proposes a roadmap to implement I4.0 focused on operational management concepts, mainly aiming to augment operational performance and bridge the gap between theory and practice regarding roadmaps focused on the operational management dimension.Design/methodology/approachThis paper follows a research approach divided into the following stages: a literature review to analyze the I4.0 roadmaps and identify the main components of I4.0; development of the proposed I4.0 roadmap presented; field research to test the roadmap by collecting data from a manufacturing company in the automotive industry; validation of the roadmap through modeling and simulation.FindingsThe authors presented a production line design with real-time control, fast response, shop floor coordination and predictive capacity. The results prove that the proposed I4.0 roadmap augments operation performance in the investigated automotive company. The main results were work in process reduction, lead time reduction, output increase, real-time control, shop floor coordination and fast response.Originality/valueThe main novelty of the proposed roadmap is to move toward I4.0 implementation with a focus on the operational management dimension. The roadmap has an innovative combination of the two approaches – lean manufacturing and factory physics – a straightforward roadmap with only three steps: (1) requirements, (2) real-time control and (3) predictive capacity, a structured definition of the approaches and operational management concepts fundamental in each step.

Originality/value--In addition to identifying that integration is possible and occurs in companies, it was possible to verify that the use of integration mechanisms enables the generation of benefits for product innovation.

Higher education institutions have been steadily integrating sustainable practices into their operations. Despite these efforts in the implementation, several challenges must be overcome to achieve sustainability. There is a lack of studies that investigate sustainable development in higher education, and the efforts of a small, specialized university have been scarcely analyzed in detail. This manuscript addresses the path toward sustainability followed by a private Brazilian technological university. The university in Sao Paulo is one of the region's most traditional and oldest universities, focused on engineering, computing, and business. Data from 2019/2020 on energy and water consumption and solid waste generation for the university campus were discussed and benchmarked with GreenMetric indicators. The data was analyzed by a theoretical framework composed of 6 dimensions. Challenges were identified, and remedial actions were proposed to transform the university into a greener campus. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the higher education institution kept sustainability projects active, some of which received international awards. However, this study reveals that although sustainable development is considered very important to HEI and society, it is not yet embedded in the system's strategies, activities, and policies. Keywords: Performance assessment, Sustainable development, Higher education institutions, Sustainability practices, Sustainability indicators. Instituicoes de ensino superior (IES) tem integrado constantemente praticas sustentaveis em suas operacoes. Apesar desses esforcos na implementacao, varios desafios devem ser superados para alcancar a sustentabilidade. Faltam estudos que investiguem o desenvolvimento sustentavel na educacao superior, e os esforcos de uma universidade especializada tem sido pouco analisados em detalhes. Este manuscrito aborda o caminho rumo a sustentabilidade percorrido por uma universidade tecnologica privada brasileira. A universidade e uma das mais tradicionais e antigas da regiao, com foco em engenharia, computacao e negocios. Os dados de 2019/2020 sobre consumo de energia e agua e geracao de residuos solidos para o campus da universidade foram discutidos e comparados com indicadores GreenMetric. Os dados tambem foram analisados por um referencial teorico composto por 6 dimensoes. Desafios foram identificados e acoes corretivas foram propostas para transformar a universidade em um campus mais verde. Mesmo durante a pandemia da COVID-19, a instituicao manteve ativos os projetos de sustentabilidade, alguns dos quais premiados internacionalmente. No entanto, este estudo revela que, embora o desenvolvimento sustentavel seja considerado muito importante para as IES e para a sociedade, este conceito ainda nao esta totalmente inserido nas estrategias, atividades e politicas da universidade. Palavras-chave: Avaliacao de desempenho, Desenvolvimento sustentavel, Instituicoes de ensino superior, Praticas de sustentabilidade, Indicadores de sustentabilidade.

The objective of this article is to propose criteria for environmental evaluation of physical products concepts (goods). The proposal was developed in two stages. Initially, by means of a theoretical-conceptual research, the authors create a hierarchy of environmental criteria to be used with existing methods of concept selection. In the second stage, the proposal was assessed by theoretical requirements and relatively to its practical utility potential using semi-structured interviews with experts. The proposal contributes to augment the portfolio of methods to the development of environmental responsible products.

Purpose>This study identifies and analyzes practices related to declarative knowledge of organizational learning in the product development process (PDP) that uses the Stage-Gate (SG) system.Design/methodology/approach>The field research was conducted with a qualitative approach through a case study. The study object was a multinational company in the automotive sector that is highly competent in truck chassis design with a PDP based on the SG system.Findings>The authors identified PDPs associated with the elements of declarative knowledge of organizational learning in intra- and inter-development teams. Rather than merely being a checklist, each gate in the SG system has the potential to become a more effective and robust intra-team learning practice and promote inputs for continuous improvement in the process through its use as a checkpoint of the five elements of declarative knowledge during the development activities.Research limitations/implications>The case study was conducted in a multinational company in the automotive sector, whose business units are divided by competencies. The unit studied is a reference in truck chassis and is located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.Practical implications>The research model presented can be used to evaluate how companies exploit their activities and practices to leverage organizational learning in PDP. That is, the model can be used as a diagnostic reference for declarative knowledge in companies that apply the SG system to manage PDP.Originality/value>The study focuses on a model of PDP analysis, aspects of organizational learning and declarative knowledge, in that the model it assists in the collection, distribution and use of information to the development team members with a view for products with greater innovation potential.

Purpose – This paper examines the use of integration mechanisms in two innovation activities relationships: between exploitation product innovation and exploration product innovation, and between exploitation process innovation and exploration product innovation. It also identifies the benefits generated by the use of integration mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple case study in four companies from different sectors which are a reference in product and process innovation. Findings – There is integration in the innovation activities relationships studied. The most used integration mechanisms in both relationships are regular collaboration, involvement for knowledge exchange (crossfunctional interface mechanisms), those related to a culture of freedom, such as the free flow and encouragement of ideas, and those related to knowledge and information exchange (connectedness mechanisms). Originality/value – In addition to identifying that integration is possible and occurs in companies, it was possible to verify that the use of integration mechanisms enables the generation of benefits for product innovation.