| dc.description.abstract | This study investigated factors that effect cost of quality and performance in logistics
firms in Nairobi. The cost of quality was found to be critical in the performance of firms
by various scholars as corroborated in the field study. Firms can control their
performance by taking care of the costs of quality which lies in the main operations of reworkings,
recalls, retests and rebuilds. The specific objectives were therefore to establish
the cost of quality in logistics firms, establish the performance of logistics firms and to
determine the relationship between cost of quality and performance in logistics firms in
Nairobi County.
To achieve the study objectives, a census of 45 logistics firms that have operated within
the last 10 years was conducted. Field data collection used structured questionnaires
administered through drop and pick system. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics
using mean and standard deviation for cost of quality, while performance used sales
volumes. A regression linear model was used to determine the relationship between the
cost of quality and performance of logistics firms in Nairobi County.
The study identified several factors including re-testing, recalling, rebuilding and reworkings
that clearly played a part in the performance of logistics firms. In particular, retests
and re-buildings were found to increase the performance while re-works and re-calls
caused performance to slow down.
Based on the research findings the study recommended that logistics firms should
embrace measures that encourage reduction in cost of quality to increase firm
performance. It was also recommended that firms getting into partnership would help
drive down the cost of quality and raise their performance levels. Finally it was
recommended that training special teams and having departments for recalls, reworkings,
re-tests and re-builds was appropriate as this reduced the cost of quality and
increased the likelihood of better performance | en_US |
