| dc.description.abstract | Information technology in inventory management acts as a tool for enhancing
efficiency and cost reduction. Some supermarkets that have implemented IT in
inventory management have succeeded while others have failed. The study sought to
determine the impact of information technology on inventory management in
supermarkets in Nairobi. The objectives of the study were: to establish the extent of
usage of IT systems in inventory management in supermarkets in Nairobi and to
determine the impact of IT used on inventory management performance in the
supermarkets in Nairobi. The study used a descriptive research design. The study had
a response rate of 70%. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and
regression analysis. The study concludes that vendor managed inventory systems and
warehouse management systems were implemented to a greater extent by
supermarkets in Nairobi. Supermarkets should invest more in modern technologies for
example information communication technology in order to achieve integration,
minimize communication costs, enhance efficiency and increase sharing of
information which will eventually lead to improved performance. The regression
results reviewed that IT adoption in inventory management was positively related to
performance of supermarkets in Nairobi. The study therefore recommends that the
supermarkets in Kenya should invest in modern technologies in order to integrate
their supply chain management systems. This would minimize communication costs
and increase sharing of information leading to improved efficiency and performance
of supermarkets in Kenya. The findings of a survey based on other sources of
information and the use of absolute data could provide additional findings. The
researcher faced significant time and cost constraints which limited the scope of the
study. The study limited itself to supermarkets that are concentrated within Nairobi
County; it would have been more useful if the researcher collected data in another
town outside Nairobi County in order to have some comparative findings and to draw
conclusive results. Future researchers might consider investigating the impact of IT
used on inventory management performance in large supermarkets in Kenya like
Nakumatt, Naivas, Tuskys, Uchumi and Ukwala. This is because their level of
adoption and implementation of information technology is relatively high as
compared to other categories of supermarkets in Nairobi. The findings obtained in this
study might be used to make a comparison with all the supermarkets in Kenya. | en_US |
