The work deals with decision making in the industrial sector based on the use of material characterization techniques. Four cases were evaluated. In the first case, nondestructive characterization techniques (visual inspection, ultrasound and penetrating liquids) and thickness measurement by ultrasonic techniques were used. In the second and third cases, chemical characterization was employed through spectral analysis of atomic and metallographic emission. The fourth case is associated with the assessment of the behavior of the Vickers hardness of lots of imported aluminum alloys that do not meet the required requirements. The results of the application of the characterization techniques were taken corresponding decisions for each case, with the consequent positive balance in the economic, social and environmental.