Information Technology (IT) And Supply Function of Nigerian Breweries PLC (Published)

This study examines the impact of information technology (IT) on the supply function of Nigerian Breweries Plc., focusing on its role in enhancing operational efficiency, streamlining procurement processes, and improving supplier relationships. A descriptive research design was adopted, utilizing primary data collected through questionnaires distributed to supply chain staff at Nigerian Breweries Plc. out of 120 distributed questionnaires, 110 were retrieved, yielding a response rate of 91.67%. The findings reveal that IT infrastructure significantly enhances supply chain efficiency by enabling real-time inventory management, accurate demand forecasting, and improved supplier collaboration. However, challenges such as high maintenance costs, frequent system downtimes, and skill gaps among employees were identified as barriers to optimal IT utilization. The study concludes that while IT plays a critical role in modernizing supply chain operations, addressing these challenges through continuous training, robust system maintenance, and investment in advanced technologies is essential for sustained effectiveness. This research provides valuable insights for industry practitioners and contributes to the growing body of literature on IT adoption in supply chain management.

Keywords: Information Technology, Operational Efficiency, Supply Chain, procurement processes, supplier relationships

Reconceiving Supply Chain (SC) Risk Management Strategies with the outbreak of pandemic like COVID-19 (Published)

Supply Chain (SC) is becoming more and more interconnected and globalized in the recent days and hence, with the outbreak of COVID-19, it has engulfed the whole supply and distribution systems of the world affecting the every aspect of human life. SC itself contains some risks as the name suggests and there are many robust SC risk management strategies in place to address the risks. With the outbreak of COVID-19, SC risk management strategies are encountered and SC professionals are trying to explore the strategies like intervention of ICT, supplier base optimization, improving SC visibility, stressing more importance on the free flow in data and information, risk diversification and so on. The article attempts to identify the extent of the SC risk management strategies and finally put forward some recommendations to address those risks in the each segment of the SC.

Keywords: Collaboration, Supply Chain, risk management process, risk triggers, tiering