The Supply Chain Management is a complex subject and its application in a chain of companies is certainly a challenge. The present thesis has the objective of analyzing the supply chain of the dairy industry in a study that intends to apply and adapt the structural model conceived by Lambert and Cooper thus getting indications for improving chain management. It was chosen to conduct the study in the Zona da Mata Mineira that has the second largest dairy industry of the State of Minas Gerais, the leading milk producer in Brazil. A case study involving eight firms in the chosen region was made. Though small, that sample represent a sizable portion of the local production and retains the features of the dairy industry in a market in constant and vigorous expansion. The study has shown that Lambert and Cooper`s structure proposal adjusted well to the studied chain and that, despite the production growth the chains is loosely integrated and the focal companies do not manage the majority of its external process links. It also suggest that better management of strategical processes, mainly those downstream from the dairy in the chain (marketing channel), could bring about competitive advantages to the firms facing an increasingly demanding and organized market.