Effect of Supply Chain Management Practices on the Perfomance of Companies in EPZ, Kenya

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of supply chain management practices on performance of companies in EPZ, Kenya with an aim of making recommendations on proper use of supply chain management practices Methodology: To achieve this, the study reviewed both theoretical and empirical literature and then proposed the research methodology that addressed the gaps identified in literature as well as answer the stipulated research questions. The study used the following theories, supply chain network theory, goal setting theory, resource-based theory and stewardship theory. This research study adopted a descriptive research design approach. The study prefers this method because it allowed an in-depth study of the subject. The target population was heads of procurement in the EPZ companies in Kenya. The study was conducted in EPZ, Athi River, Kenya. The population of the study consisted of enterprises in the five (5) major categories. There exist five (5) categories of sectors, namely; food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, textile and apparel, and leather products in Athi River EPZ. The sample was one hundred and four (104) heads of procurement. Semi structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Pilot study was carried out to establish the reliability and validity of research instruments. Data gathered from the questionnaires administered was analysed by the help of SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The outputs were presented inform of statistical diagrams, tables and charts. Findings:. The regression results revealed that supply chain management practices identified in the study, that is, inventory management, supply chain planning, vendor management and contract management combined could explain approximately 72% of the variations in the performance of companies in EPZ. The other 28% may be attributed to other strategies not explained by the model or the variables. The strongest correlation was established between inventory management and performance of companies in EPZ. All the independent variables were found to have a statistically significant association with the dependent variable at ninety-five percent level of confidence Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Based on the study findings, the study concludes that performance of companies in EPZ can be improved by inventory management, supply chain planning, vendor management and contract management. The study recommended that companies in EPZ should embrace procurement practices so as to improve their performance and further researches should to be carried out in other institutions to find out if the same results can be obtained.