Vol. 1 No. 2 (2008): July - December

The reception of the inaugural issue of the journal was electrifying. It has led to a heavy flow of high-quality manuscripts, new reviewers participation, and library subscriptions. As of December 20, 2008, the assembly of the third issue is nearly complete. It appears to have become the journal of choice for both authors and readers in our field.

The current editorial team salutes ours reviewers who have worked hard in the continuous improvement of these papers: Alceu Gomes Alves Filho, Alexandre Reis Graeml, André Carvalho, André Luís De Castro M. Duarte, Beatriz Maria Braga Lacombe, Charbel Chiappetta, Edemilson Nogueira, Edmilson A. Moraes, Ely Laureano Paiva, João Mario Csillag, Jorge Luiz de Biazzi, José Carlos Barbieri, Júlio C. B. de Figueiredo, Leonardo Santiago, Luiz Artur Ledur Brito, Luis Henrique Rigatto Vasconcellos, Manoel de Andrade e Silva Reis, Mário Sacomano Neto, Paulo Gonçalves, Paulo Tromboni de Souza Nascimento, Peter Fernandes Wanke, Renato da Silva Lima, Ricardo Silveira Martins, Roberto Giro Moori, Silvio Roberto Ignacio Pires, Susana C. Farias Pereira e Tales Andreassi.

Our pursuit for excellence involves encouraging submission of the best manuscripts and inviting practitioners to share their valuable experiences. We want to be known as an outlet of rigorously conducted, relevant, scholarly activities of those academicians who consider research as their other passion after teaching. We will appreciate to hear what you think of our progress.

Papers in this issue

This issue, much like the preceding one, represents the rich diversity of our field. In the first paper, "Sustainability: What Does it Mean for the Operations Manager?," Geraldo Ferrer presented evidence that the quest for sustainability is a quest for process improvement, then the operations manager is responsible the integrate quality, environmental and safety management. In the second paper,"Collaboration and Competition between 4PL and 3PL: A study of a fast-food supply chain ," Mauro Vivaldini, Sílvio R. I. Pires and Fernando Bernardi de Souza analyzes, in the form of a case study, a series of characteristics that help to understand the role of a 4PL to the management of several 3PLs. In "Satisfaction and Quality of Service Provided by Suppliers to mid-sized Supermarkets," Domingos Fernandes Campos analyzes, using survey methodology, the quality of service provided by suppliers to supermarkets in a medium sized city in the northeast of Brazil.

In the fourth paper, "Analysis of the Relationship between Automaker and Systemist in an Industrial Condominium of the Automotive Industry," Mário Sacomano Neto and Sílvio R. I. Pires describe the relationship between an automaker, constituted in the form of an industrial condominium, and a systemist supplier operating inside the automaker's plant, exploring the impacts and innovations in the way production is organized. In "Supply Chain Management of Second Tier Suppliers: The use of Soft Systems Methodology and its Benefits in a Brazilian Company," Ricardo Alexandre Soares, Conrado Chiaradia Navarro and Renato da Silva Lima analyze and propose improvements in the supply relationship between auto parts companies and second tier suppliers in the Brazilian automotive sector by suggesting significant changes in its process, tasks and technology usage.

In the seventh paper, "Buyer-Supplier Relationship and Service Performance: An Operations Perspective Analysis," Ely Laureano Paiva, Patrícia Phonlor, Lívia Castro D'Ávila analyze the influence of the buyer-supplier relationship continuity on service performance. In the eighth paper, "An Analysis of Business Administration Students Interest in the Area of Production and Operations," Francisco José da Costa, Dorelland P. Lima e Raphael de Jesus Campos de Andrade investigate the interest of Business Administration students in the field of Production and Operations Management.

Additions to the Editorial Board
The journal welcomes the following colleagues who have joined JOSCM as associate editor : Annibal José Scavarda, Marriott School of Management; and Joel Wisner, University of Nevada.

Acknowledgements
In preparing this issue, we thank Professor Claude Machline, for his tremendous support and incentive and professor Piotr Trzesniak for his advice and assistance.

Flávia Canella, Luciana Gaia and Leonice Cunha are the assistant Editors, Thanks for their cheerful disposition efforts to keep us organized have contributed more than they could imagine.

Finally, and most important, I would like my love, Ester, for her unwavering support during her pregnancy time. POM community prepare: Sophia is coming.

We hope that you enjoy this issue of the Journal and will consider JOSCM as an outlet to share your research and conceptual papers with practitioners and academics.

Mauro Sampaio
Editor-in-Chief