PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how company size and the type of production system affect the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) practices in companies in the electro‐electronics sector in Brazil.Design/methodology/approachAn e‐mail survey of 107 companies associated with the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (ABINEE) was conducted. Statistical techniques were employed to verify the adoption of SCM practices according to the size of the company and its production system.FindingsThe major results indicate that the larger the size of the company, the higher the level of adoption of SCM practices, and that the choice of SCM practices depends upon the type of production system implemented.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study are useful to top management leaders of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises since the findings enable them to identify the most common practices adopted by either large‐, medium‐ or small‐sized companies in order to benchmark the level of adoption of SCM practices. Production managers can also benefit from this study by identifying the SCM practices that may support certain production systems.Originality/valueThe paper deals with the reality of companies in the electro‐electronics sector in Brazil, which is part of a global supply chain; therefore, the results obtained can be useful to foreign companies in this sector. This is the first known research that integrates such concepts in Brazil.