Tecnologia da informação e processo produtivo de gestão em uma organização cooperativa: um enfoque estratégico

The objective of the present paper was to analyze how the information technology (IT) exercises influence upon the strategy of a coffee grower's cooperative. The effects upon the informatization of internal operations and as regards the daily updating of quotation of prices of the coffee in international market. The results showed that before the establishment of IT, the cooperative presented a number of problems related to the management of its internal operation, it depended on international agents to receive price information of the product in foreign market (via telephone/telex). The establishment of IT had as landmark the installation of the internal network in on lineregime in the seat and the external network in off line regime between the seat and the branchs. Financial, technical and operational efforts were involved to overcome the problems due to the establishment, standing out the problem of the connectivity among the old existing operational systems. The solution was by means of the latter investiment of the new "customerserver"architecture and the new operational UNIX system installed in the seat. After the establishment of IT, the cooperative achieved agility, accuracy and safety in the change of infomation of internal operations. The updating of coffee prices in the international market grew modern, became agile and reliable, through a signature contract with an on line information specialized company, which provides quotation of the future market in Merchandise Exchange of New York, London and BM&F (São Paulo - Brazil).