The main objective of this manuscript is to evaluate the relationships among the characteristics of the product, the operation and the demand and the logistics decisions regarding Push/Pull, Centralization/Decentralization and Make to Order/Make to Stock. The relationships among the combinations of these three decisions and these business characteristics are also evaluated. An exploratory study was conducted in six Brazilian major industries and correlation analyses were developed. Several conceptual frameworks to support decision-making in these two different levels are presented and discussed. The major finding of the research leads to the concept of logistics segmentation based on the business characteristics, since there is no uniform set of characteristics capable of explaining all decisions considered.
logistics; product flow; business characteristics; exploratory study; Brazilian companies
