Industrial Management Consulting · Brazil Português
Home › Supply Chain & Sourcing in Brazil
Supply Chain & Sourcing

Inventory that is not moving is capital you already spent

Dead stock rarely announces itself. It accumulates line by line, defended by the argument that it might sell eventually, until it quietly represents a large share of your working capital.

Request Free Diagnostic →
The Situation

Two different problems that both look like "supply chain"

The first problem is internal: too much of the wrong inventory and not enough of the right. Coverage is calculated on averages, so fast movers stock out while slow movers accumulate. Nobody owns the decision to write down or liquidate, because writing down is visible and holding is not.

The second problem is external: you need to buy from Brazil, or supply a Brazilian plant, and you cannot tell which suppliers are credible. Qualification from abroad, based on documents and a website, is close to guesswork. Interstate tax treatment also means the cheapest quoted price is frequently not the cheapest landed cost.

Both are solvable, and they need different work. The first is analysis and commercial execution. The second is on-the-ground verification — someone physically visiting the supplier.

What We Do

Where we work

Inventory

Dead stock recovery

Segmenting stagnant inventory by realistic recovery route — channel liquidation, repricing, bundling, return negotiation or write-off — then executing rather than filing a recommendation.

Planning

ABC / XYZ & coverage policy

Differentiated stock policy by value and demand variability, replacing the single blanket coverage rule that creates stockouts and excess simultaneously.

Sourcing

Supplier qualification on-site

We visit the supplier: capacity, process control, quality system, financial and delivery track record. A report based on what was observed, not on what was claimed.

Cost

Landed cost analysis

Unit price is one component. Interstate tax treatment, freight, lead time and inventory carrying cost frequently change which supplier is genuinely cheapest.

Channel

Distribution & commercial structure

Where inventory problems are caused by the sales channel, we restructure it: representative selection criteria, defined sales process, and commission rules aligned to margin instead of volume.

Demand

Demand planning routine

A forecasting cadence with named owners and measured accuracy, so planning stops being an argument between sales and production.

ABC / XYZ Coverage policy Supplier audit Landed cost S&OP Safety stock Commission design
How It Runs

How an engagement runs

1

Free diagnostic (48 hours)

We segment the inventory, quantify what is genuinely stagnant, and identify the recovery routes available. For sourcing work, we define qualification criteria against your technical requirements. No cost.

2

Prioritize by recoverable capital

Not everything is worth recovering. We sequence by how much capital each action releases against the effort it takes, so cash comes back early.

3

Execute, not just recommend

For inventory recovery this means working with the commercial team on pricing and channel. For sourcing it means visiting suppliers. Deliverables that stop at the report change nothing.

4

Fix the mechanism that created it

Recovering dead stock without changing the policy that produced it guarantees it returns. Coverage rules, commission structure and purchasing authority all get revisited.

5

Verify

Stock turns, coverage by segment, capital released — measured against the baseline established in the diagnostic.

Operating in Brazil

What makes sourcing here different

  • Interstate tax treatment can outweigh unit price. Where a supplier is located changes the effective cost of buying from them. Sourcing decisions made on quoted price alone are frequently wrong. Confirm the specific treatment with your tax advisors — we flag the impact, we do not give tax opinions.
  • Supplier claims need physical verification. Capacity and certification described in a proposal do not always match the plant. For foreign buyers, an on-site visit by someone who reads the operation is the difference between qualification and hope.
  • Inbound lead times are long and variable. Safety stock sized on European or Asian assumptions produces stockouts here. Policy has to be built against observed variability, not target variability.
  • Commercial representatives are a dominant distribution model. Much of Brazilian industrial distribution runs through independent reps. If commission is paid on revenue rather than margin, the channel will reliably push the wrong mix — and the inventory profile follows.
  • Freight geography is a real constraint. Distances are continental and road freight dominates. Distribution network decisions that ignore this look efficient on a spreadsheet and fail in practice.
Field Notes

Engagement examples

Motorcycle parts distribution — inventory and channel restructuring. The business was carrying roughly R$ 2.5 million in stagnant inventory that had stopped moving through its existing channel. We segmented the stock by recovery route and worked the commercial side in parallel — and the full amount was sold through within 45 days.

The underlying cause was structural rather than commercial effort, so the channel itself was rebuilt: selection criteria and onboarding for commercial representatives, a documented sales process, and a commission model tied to margin rather than revenue. New brands were then introduced into the portfolio at a 22% net margin.

Client identity withheld under confidentiality. Figures are from this specific engagement and are not presented as typical or expected results.

Questions

Questions about inventory and sourcing

Can you find and qualify Brazilian suppliers for us?

Yes. We define the qualification criteria against your technical requirements, identify candidates, and visit them. You receive an assessment based on observed capacity and process control rather than on marketing material.

We have a large amount of stagnant stock. Where do you start?

With segmentation. Different stagnant stock needs different treatment — some is best liquidated through an alternative channel, some repriced, some returned, some written off. Treating it as one undifferentiated pile is why it usually stays put.

Do you work with distributors, or only manufacturers?

Both. Inventory and channel problems are structurally similar in each, and some of our most measurable work has been on the distribution side.

Our sales team resists any repricing of old stock. How do you handle that?

Usually the resistance is rational given how they are compensated. If commission is paid on revenue, discounting is a personal loss for the seller. The commission structure normally has to be addressed before the inventory will move.

Can you help without us having an entity in Brazil yet?

Yes, for sourcing and supplier qualification. For questions about establishing a legal entity you will need a Brazilian corporate lawyer and accountant — that is outside what we do.

Get Started

Request Your Free Operational Diagnostic

Tell us about your operation in Brazil. We reply within one business day — no cost, no commitment.

We reply within one business day. Your information is never shared.

Related

Other services