INFLUENCE OF SUPPLY CHAIN PRACTICES ON PERFORMANCE OF LARGE MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

This study examined the influence of supply chain practices on performance of large manufacturing firms. The specific objectives of the study was to assess the influence of information communication technology on firm’s performance,  determine the influence of order processing managment on perfomance, examine the influence of vendor relationship management on performance and to explore the influence of inventory management systems on performance of large manufacturing firms. The research used descriptive research design. The target population for the study was 355 employees in the large manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study population was large manufacturing firms registered by Kenya association of manufacturers (KAM) 2016 and respondents was designated heads of supply chain of these firms. A sample population of 188 was selected by using Slovin’s formula. Questionnaires were administered through both e-mails and hand delivery. Secondary data was obtained from both published and unpublished records. Questionnaires was tested for both reliability and validity. Qualitative and quantitative techniques was used to analyze data with the assistance of SPSS software program version 22. A good response rate of 71.2% was realized. It was established that most of the supply chain practices indicators have positive impact on performance of the firm. The study further adopted a regression analysis to determine the relationship between the variables at 5% confidence level of significance. The study findings showed that the four variables had a significant influence on performance of the firms. The study recommended that a similar research should be conducted  in a different field. The findings showed that 70.8 % of the performance is explained by the four variables while 29.2 can be accounted by other factors captured by the standard error. Key Words: Information Communication Technology, Order Processing Management, Vendor Relationship Management, Inventory Management Systems CITATION: Namutali, W., & Mwangangi, P. W. (2019). Influence of supply chain practices on performance of large manufacturing firms in Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (4), 512 – 526.