Influence of Customer Relationship on Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Kenya (Published)

The study sought to determine the influence customer relationship practices on organizational performance in the manufacturing firms in Kenya. The target population for the study was the senior staff in supply chain, operations and finance or equivalent managers in the 563 manufacturing organizations listed by Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM). The sampling technique was stratified random sampling in based on the 14 sectors as identified by KAM. The study sampled 312 respondents from 104 firms. The study found a positive significant relationship between customer relationship and performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. Among the aspects of customer relationship that contributed highly to performance of manufacturing firms included exchange of information with customers, ensuring product visibility within the market and incorporating the views of customers in production process. The study recommended the adoption of customer relationship management practices as a way of improving and sustaining performance of organizations.

Keywords: Customer relationship, KAM, Manufacturing, Performance, Supply Chain

The Effect Of Supply Chain Integration On Operational Performance: A Study On Chemical And Chemical Product Manufacturing Firms In Ethiopia (Published)

The aim of this research is to empirically examine the effect of supply chain integration on operational performance. In order to address the research objective, a quantitative survey approach is used to collect the relevant data from the target population of the study which includes Chemical and Chemical product manufacturing firms in Ethiopia. A questionnaire was administered to target respondents to collect a primary data for the study.  To analyze  the  data this study applied a descriptive  and  non  parametric  statistics including Kendall’s  correlation and Kruskal Wallis  test  to  see  the  significant  relationship between hypothesized variables as well as  to  measure the direction and strength of the relationship. The result from study shows a significant positive effect of supply chain integration construct on the operational performance of firms. However, this research investigation did not found statistically significant evidence on the effect of internal integration on external integrations

Keywords: Ethiopia, Integration, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, chemical product