XII ICIEOM - Fortaleza, CE, Brasil, October 9 - 11, 2006 1 ICIEOM 2006 ABEPRO Strategic management indicators for internal logistics: a proposal based on the Balanced Scorecard for an automotive sector company Eduardo Müller Sabóia (PUC-PR) emsaboia@yahoo.com.br Luiz Carlos Duclós (PUC-PR) luiz.duclos@pucpr.br Carlos Olavo Quandt (PUC-PR) carlos.quandt@pucpr.br Alceu Souza (PUC-PR) alceusouza@bsi.net.br Summary The article aims to contribute to the evolution of management models for internal logistics by proposing a strategic control system for the contemporary competitive environment. The complexity of the current business context forces managers to resort to a variety of control and management tools to maintain high levels of operational performance and sustained corporate growth. Old management tools such as financial and internal process management techniques that are restricted to the control of tangible results have become inadequate. The complexity of operations demands the control of tangible and intangible results; increased information flows and the complexity of businesses and markets call for a more developed and comprehensive system for strategic control. The Balanced Scorecard may be used to produce new strategic indicators for the area of internal logistics, a primary activity in the value chain, which demands a significant share of company resources. Strategic control of this activity is necessary to ensure future results, and not only to reflect upon past results. It is essential that the indicators are aligned with corporate strategy. It is concluded that the reformulation of the strategic indicators contributes for a better alignment between internal logistics and corporate strategy. Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; internal logistics; automotive sector. 1. Introduction In increasingly competitive markets, it is crucial to evaluate how companies are structuring their strategic indicators. Organized methods to measure results considering the various relevant perspectives can bring competitive advantages that are often overlooked by the organization. Hence the importance of studying and analyzing how organizations are using strategic control tools to achieve sustainable development and competitive advantages in relation to their main competitors. This article aims to analyze and to propose strategic control indicators for internal logistic processes by means of a case study. The analysis of the current situation of indicators and the proposal of new controls based on the Balanced Scorecard method reveal the potential for improvement, regardless of the type of organization. The analysis of current indicators was necessary to verify whether they actually expressed company strategy as well as their adequateness to ensure good levels of control and performance for that set of activities. The proposal of new control indicators matches the four Balanced Scorecard perspectives, aiming for a management model that is more comprehensive, up-to-date and coherent with corporate strategy and with the contemporary competitive context.