Melhoria do processo de desenvolvimento de produtos alimentícios por meio do mapeamento do fluxo de valor

Abstract

The Product Development Process (PDP) is a critical success factor of any company that proposes to compete by creating and introducing new products to achieve competitive advantage. Through the integration of product and process in the PDP and the elimination of wastes in the process, it is possible to achieve a reduction of time-to-market and a better performance of the product in terms of quality and cost. In this context, this research aims to apply the value stream mapping (VSM) to the development of food products, in order to have an improved process through the reduction of waste. The study was carried out in a large company located in the state of Paraíba that has been operating for 65 years in the food sector. For this, an action research was conducted to allow the critical analysis of the current PDP model used by the company and the further implementation of an improved model. The results indicated that the organization had a PDP very similar to the reference models of the food sector, but it presented several wastes that hinder its evolution. From the mapping of the current model, a future model was proposed in ideal conditions, which confirmed, after its application, the lead time reduction of the process and proved to be feasible, useful and user-friendly. It was still possible to observe other driving factors in the new PDP of the company, which were the change of the working environment and the improvement in the interdepartmental relationships, supported by information technology, which started to play a significant role in the process. Another relevant finding to the research field was the confirmation of the applicability of VSM in the food product development process, given the lack of studies in the literature with this approach.