Procurement Outsourcing and Supply Chain Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract
he study was conducted to establish the effect of procurement outsourcing on supply
chain performance among manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study had three specific
objectives to achieve:
to determine the extent to which procurement outsourcing is
done
in manufacturing firms in Nairobi, Kenya, to determine the effect of procurement
outsourcing on supply chain performance of manufacturing firms in Nairobi, Kenya
and to determine the challenges in procurement outsourcing among manufacturing
firms in Nairob
i, Kenya.
The collected data was edited and cleaned for completeness and consistency in
preparation for coding. Once coded, the data was keyed into the Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as means and s
tandard
deviations were used to analyze the data. Regression analysis was used to test the
relationship between the variables under study in relation to the objectives of the study.
The study concluded that the manufacturing firms outsource procurement practices to a
great extent and this affects
supply chain performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya
positively by leading to improved
supply chain
performance in ways such as increased
productivity, minimized costs, maximized profits, increased operational efficiency and
increased customer satisfaction. Challenges were faced to a moderate extent.
The managements of manufacturing firms should take le
gal precautions against the
third parties offering the services or products being outsourced to prevent information
leaks or a bleach of company privacy and that the management of the manufacturing
firms should carry out a benchmarking activity against the
best players in the market as
a way of improving their procurement outsourcing practices. This would enable them to
achieve
undisputed performance of their supply chains.