The automotive industry, especially in the 90's, has been passed through a re-structure process of its productive base and supply relationship. Supporting such a process, there is a production philosophy coined lean production. This paper aims at pointing out some considerations about what could be done, regarding the production process, that may improve the supply capability of the autoparts firms in the RS state. Seven firms were analyzed and a lean production tool, the Value Stream Mapping, was applied. The results obtained were positive in all firms. The general stock reductions were of about 23%. Concerning value addition the reductions were of about 65%. Therefore, the potential gains from the implementation of the improvements suggested at Value Stream Map would make it possible not only to produce accordingly to the demand but also, to increase the supply capability of the firms.
Supply chain; lean production; Value Stream Mapping
