Logistics Outsourcing and Service Delivery Among Humanitarian Organizations in Kenya

Abstract

The aim this study was to determine the impact of logistics outsourcing on service delivery among humanitarian organizations in Kenya. The specific objectives were to identify outsourced activities employed by organizations, examine the impact of implementing outsourcing on service delivery, and establish the challenges faced in attaining quality service delivery. Given the variability in effects of logistics outsourcing based on contextual constraints faced by organizations, the problem study was determining the nature of the relationship between outsourcing and service delivery. A cross-sectional survey research design was utilized, targeting the population of 100 leading Kenyan NGOs using a census approach, out if which 71 responded indicating that the response rate was 71%. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to supply chain managers, collecting data on the extent of different logistics outsourcing practices and perceptions of impacts on aspects like resource utilization, organizational flexibility, reaction times, and service availability. The gathered data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression in SPSS. The findings indicated that four logistics outsourcing predictor variables (transportation, warehouse management, procurement/handling, and support/enabling activities) explained 30.4% of variance in service delivery levels. Significantly, the coefficients table findings showed that both transportation and procurement/handling outsourcing had a statistically significant positive relationship with service delivery, with β values of 0.089 and 0.098 respectively. Also, they were the most outsourced logistics practice among the selected NGOs in Kenya. Conversely, the negative correlation between warehouse management outsourcing and outcomes (p < 0.05) demonstrates increased outsourcing of warehouses risks compromising service delivery due to lost direct oversight of core storage activities. Additional findings indicated challenges including loss of organizational control from outsourcing, unreliable supplier performance, and capacity constraints inhibiting adequate partnership management.