Beyond Costs: Risk and Logistics Architectures as Structuring Dimensions of Economic Efficiency in Forest Production within Agribusiness

arquiteturas de risco e logística como dimensões estruturantes da eficiência econômica na produção florestal no agronegócio

Abstract

Economic efficiency in forest production has frequently been treated as the result of controlling direct expenditures and improving isolated cost indicators. This perspective is insufficient to explain the performance of production systems subjected to seasonality, infrastructure constraints, spatial heterogeneity of forest stands, contractual volatility, and operational disruptions. This article develops a theoretical-analytical approach that repositions risk and logistics as structuring dimensions of economic efficiency, rather than as auxiliary variables. The study adopts a qualitative integrative review of recent international literature, grounded in classical contributions from cost management, logistics, and risk theory, and articulated with applied studies on harvesting, transportation, forest planning, and supply chain resilience. The central argument asserts that efficiency arises from the coordination between risk exposure, logistics capacity consumption, and cost intelligibility. Based on this argument, the RCL approach is proposed, integrating risk, cost, and logistics into a unified analytical framework, culminating in an analytical matrix designed to classify risk typologies according to probability of occurrence, economic impact, logistical impact, and criticality. The main contribution of the article lies in demonstrating that ex post accounting measurement must be replaced by cost intelligence oriented toward processes, flows, and vulnerabilities. The proposed approach expands the explanatory capacity of the literature and provides a conceptual basis for future empirical studies in forest production.