| dc.description.abstract | Many organizations are applying Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to impr
ove operational efficiency, enhance
information quality, and achieve reductions in processing time of criti
cally important business information. EDI
today represents an opportunity to improve business processes and business
controls directly even though
challenges are expected. It is in light of the opportunities and challeng
es that this study is done, specifically focusing
on the benefits and challenges of implementation and application of EDI
in Kenya considering the case of Kilindini
Waterfront Project. Data was collected from 45 managers of the firm
s selected using convenient sampling. The
respondents were asked about perceived benefits of EDI application and
perceived challenges of EDI
implementation and application. The questionnaires were mainly hand del
ivered to the respondents. The data
collected was analyzed with the use of frequency tables, proportion,
percentages, cross tabulations and factor
analysis using SPSS. Majority of the firms that were studied had les
s than 1,000 employees which may possibly
mean the firms are less labor intensive and therefore relying more
on automated processes. This study also show
that most of the respondents were experienced with EDI impleme
ntation and application and therefore had the
necessary knowledge sought for. From the factor analysis carried out on
the variables of the benefits of EDI
application, the deduction drawn indicates that firms that apply EDI ben
efited. Some of the benefits include reduced
errors, access to information, enhanced competitive capacity and
improved trading partner relationship. Despite the
benefits of EDI application, it was also found that there are sever
al challenges encountered in the implementation of
EDI. From the factor analysis carried out on the variables o
f the challenges in the EDI implementation, the
deduction drawn indicates some of the challenges to be lack of top m
anagement support, negative staff attitude,
inadequate IT staff training and inadequate non IT staff training. This study
also indicated that there were
challenges encountered in the application of EDI. From the factor ana
lysis carried out on the variables of the
challenges of EDI application, the deductions drawn indicate some of
the challenges to be inadequate non IT staff
training, lack of trust of other EDI partners, lack of flexibil
ity, lack of maintainability and lack of awareness of
benefits of EDI. | |
