| dc.description.abstract | Benchmarking has been used as a tool, a methodology and a technique for continuous
improvements in sectoral operations to gain and maintain competitive advantage.
Participating on benchmarking has promoted a culture of thinking about quality,
assessing one’s own performance and taking responsibility for it. Ports are critical
enablers of a country’s competitiveness on the international market hence they need to
be oriented towards the supply chain to meet the changing needs of their customers.
Kenya Ports Authority’s mandate is to maintain, operate, improve and regulate all
scheduled sea ports situated along the coastline. The objectives of this study were to
establish the extent to which Kenya Ports Authority employs benchmarking as a
strategy for service delivery, identify the benchmarking methods used by Kenya Ports
Authority in enhancing service delivery and identify the challenges faced by Kenya
Ports Authority in the implementation of benchmarking. The research design used
was a case study. The study used both primary and secondary data. Secondary data on
service delivery was derived from KPA’s corporate plans while primary data was
collected using a self-structured interview guide. The interviews targeted the senior
level managers of KPA. The study established that KPA employs numerous
benchmarking practices aimed at enhancing service delivery at the port. Various
industry performance indicators are applied by KPA as well UNCTAD performance
measures. The study also established that KPA has benefited from benchmarking
strategy through increased efficiency of operations, customer satisfaction and
increased competitiveness. Challenges encountered included government bureaucracy
and long procurement procedures for equipment, spares, services and materials. The
study recommends that KPA should encourage a multi-sectoral disciplinary approach
where all players in the port logistics and operations coordinate and work in tandem to
realize the specific benchmarking strategies. The study also recommends that KPA
should improve and increase infrastructure and superstructure to meet the increasing
cargo throughput (1 million TEUS in 2014). The organization should also train and
rationalize the labour force to achieve optimal production and quality service delivery.
The study further recommends that KPA should be transformed into Landlord Status
to minimize government interference. This will also tame the union and provide
unlimited access to abundant labour market. The study was conducted on one entity
KPA only. The findings can be verified by conducting further studies on a cross
section of other state corporations in Kenya. This will help to identify if other state
corporations have similar or different results. The study findings are according to
KPA’s senior management point of view. The scope of the study may also be
extended to cover other strategic aspects of KPA. | en_US |
