Role of Technological Integration in Supply Chain Corroboration on Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Kenya (Published)
The main purpose of the paper was to assess role of technological integration on performance of manufacturing firms. The target population of the study were managers or equivalent from Six (6) departments that is Procurement, finance, legal, stores, human resource and quality control because they are directly concerned with supply chain. The study adopted the use of a questionnaire and a document analysis as the main research instrument. The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches, implying that both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were employed. Quantitative data collected from the document analysis was analyzed statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS version 22). The study tested the significance hypothesis at 95% confidence level using regression techniques. The findings on the effect of technology integration revealed that technological integration has a positive and significant effect on firm performance, 0.731, p < 0.05. Thus, technology integration as concept of supply chain collocation is key determinants of performance of manufacturing firms. Firms are thus encouraged to invest in enhancing coordination efforts through utilization of cost-effective technologies. In addition, the investments should also be used to address the integration of technology.
Keywords: Manufacturing Firms, Performance, Supply chain collaboration, Technological Integration
Role of Technological Integration in Supply Chain Corroboration on Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Kenya (Published)
The main purpose of the paper was to assess role of technological integration on performance of manufacturing firms. The target population of the study were managers or equivalent from Six (6) departments that is Procurement, finance, legal, stores, human resource and quality control because they are directly concerned with supply chain. The study adopted the use of a questionnaire and a document analysis as the main research instrument. The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches, implying that both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were employed. Quantitative data collected from the document analysis was analyzed statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS version 22). The study tested the significance hypothesis at 95% confidence level using regression techniques. The findings on the effect of technology integration revealed that technological integration has a positive and significant effect on firm performance, 0.731, p < 0.05. Thus, technology integration as concept of supply chain collocation is key determinants of performance of manufacturing firms. Firms are thus encouraged to invest in enhancing coordination efforts through utilization of cost-effective technologies. In addition, the investments should also be used to address the integration of technology.
Keywords: Manufacturing Firms, Performance, Supply chain collaboration, Technological Integration
THE IMPACT OF SUPPLY CHAIN COLLABORATION PRACTICE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF STEEL MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN KENYA (Published)
The main purpose of this study was to assess the impact of supply chain collaboration practice on the performance of Steel Manufacturing Companies in Kenya which are the key contributors to the economic development of the country. The metrics for measuring the company’s performance were the quality of product and customer satisfaction. The descriptive research design was used in the formulation of knowledge on the impact of supply chain collaboration practice on the performance of Steel manufacturing Companies in Kenya and provided solutions to areas that needed improvement. Structured questionnaires and oral interviews research techniques was used to get primary data from the senior managers in production department, marketing department, Information Technology department and Supply chain department while scheduled interviews was used for firm’s procurement managers and observation checklists was used for comparison of records. Both quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used during data presentation using inferential statistics to draw conclusions from the nominal measurement scale. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify and select eligible participants for the study. The null hypothesis formulated was that there is significant relationship between supply chain collaboration practice and the performance of steel manufacturing Companies in Kenya. The sample size was determined using Cochran sampling frame for large population. The Spearman’s Coefficient of correlation was used to measure the degree of association between the pair of rankings N objects and the null hypothesis was tested by use of F- ratio using a two way Fisher’s Analysis of Variance [ANOVA] on assumption of the homogeneity of the variance of the sample that is normally distributed at 95% confidence interval. The study revealed that supply chain collaboration practice statistically significantly predicted the performance of Steel Manufacturing Companies in Kenya, F (1, 242) = 41.319, p < .05, R2 = .146. The analysis further revealed that there is a significant and a moderate positive correlation between supply chain collaboration practice and the performance of Steel Manufacturing companies in Kenya (r =0.382, p ˂ 0.01). The study recommends that the Steel manufacturing companies in Kenya to incorporate supply chain collaboration practice in their business operations for them to realize improved performance.
Keywords: Steel Manufacturing Companies in Kenya, Supply chain collaboration, Supply chain performance