The Santo Amaro Convention Center in São Paulo hosted the Best Practice Day 2024, an international conference on Operational Excellence, organized by Staufen Consulting on June 18th and 19th. The event, which broke attendance records since its last Brazilian edition in 2019, brought together hundreds of executives, managers, and leaders from major national and multinational companies.
Economist Zeina Latif opened the event by emphasizing that "productivity gains are the great engine of long-term growth." Latif highlighted the challenges faced by Brazilian companies, such as inadequate infrastructure and excessive litigation, which divert attention from efficient management.
The conference featured executives from companies such as Embraer, Suzano, Gerdau, Siemens Energy, BRF, among others. André Machado, CFO of Siemens Energy in Brazil, described how the operational excellence journey begun in 2020 resulted in significant improvements in delivery times and productivity, contributing to a transformation in the company's profitability.
Luis Carlos Marinho, Embraer's vice president of operations, shared the success of Embraer's Corporate Excellence Program (P3E), implemented 16 years ago, which has allowed the company to expand significantly into markets beyond commercial aviation.
The event also addressed the impact of high labor costs on Brazilian competitiveness. Zeina Latif argued that reducing tax burdens on payroll should be the next step to increase the country's competitiveness.
Dário Spinola, General Director of Staufen Consulting in Brazil, concluded by highlighting that investments in Operational Excellence are accessible to companies of all sizes and sectors, offering high returns and making “all the difference” for organizations.
The Best Practice Day 2024 also included workshops, discussion forums, and guided tours of partner companies, providing participants with a unique opportunity for learning and networking in the field of operational excellence.
