Influence Of The Implementation Of Supply Chain Strategy On The Performance Of Kenya Tea Development Agency Limited
Abstract
As markets become global, competition has intensified and so have the challenges
related to seeing to it that products and services are delivered at the right place, at the
right time and competitively so. Effective Supply Chain Management (SCM) has been
viewed as the most popular strategy for securing a competitive advantage and
improving organizational performance. This research sought to establish if the
implementation of a SC strategy had influenced the performance of Kenya Tea
Development Agency (KTDA), using descriptive research design. The study targeted
12 select participants of the KTDA supply chain,corresponding to the four basic
activities or processes in a SC- Planning, Sourcing, Making and Delivering/Returning,
based on the Supply Chain Council’s Operations Reference (SCOR) model, out of
whom, 11 participated in the study. The study relied on both secondary and primary
data. Secondary data was obtained from KTDA’s annual reports published between
2012 and 2015, while the primary data was collected using the interview technique and
instrumented using an interview guide. In analysing the quantitative data, the study used
descriptive statistics with the findings presented charts and tabular form. Content
analysis was utilized for analysing the qualitative data where a thematic framework was
developed that captured the key themes, concepts, and issues emerging from the openended
questions. The study established that KTDA was implementing an operational
excellence SC strategy using a lean supply chain approach, strategic sourcing and
various time based strategies, all aimed at lowering the costs of operation and enhancing
the efficiency of operations which would in turn enable the firm meet its customer’s
needs profitably, thereby enhancing both the operational and financial performance of
the firm. The study established that the implementation of a SC strategy had enhanced
the performance of KTDA throughways such as reduction of operating costs, injection
of efficiency in the SC and ensuring the consistent production of quality teas, which in
turn assures repeat business. The study recommends that the management of KTDA
should continually finds ways to effectively implement the SC strategy as the benefits
yielded have the potential to enhance both the financial and operational performance of
the firm. The study further recommended that policy makers should continually
evaluate the success of and/or the challenges of the KTDA model with a view to
ensuring that the policy and regulatory framework laid down is supportive of strategic
accomplishment, not only for KTDA but also for other industry players, seeing as the
implementation of a SC strategy is inherently inter-organizational. This will serve to
enhance the earnings from the trade of tea for both the small scale farmer as well as the
economy at large.
Publisher
University Of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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