Effect Of E-Procurement Practices On The Operational Performance Of Manufacturing Firms In Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

The adoption of e-procurement platforms enables the organization to reduce business cost, access wider market and streamline purchasing processes. However, the advantages of eprocurement have varied depending on the implementation context; but the overall impact when applied appropriately has been indisputable. The title of this study was to explore the influence of e-procurement practices on operational performance of manufacturing firms in Mombasa County. The objectives of the study were to determine the e-procurement practices employed by manufacturing firms in Mombasa County and to examine the effect of e-procurement practices on the operational performance of manufacturing firms in Mombasa County. Operational performance which was the dependent variable and eprocurement practices that consist of e-ordering, e-tendering, e-invoicing, e-sourcing and e-payment formed the independent variable. This study adopted a cross sectional descriptive survey research design and the population was 41 manufacturing firms in Mombasa County. The study used original data which was obtained through the use of a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to the e-procurement managers of manufacturing firms in Mombasa and one respondent per firm was surveyed. Regression analysis was employed to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. The results of e-procurement practices and operational performance established that e-procurement practices accounted for 79.8% of the variation in overall operational performance of manufacturing firms in Mombasa. More importantly, the results established that the effect of e-tendering and e-payment on operational performance was positive and significant. Based on these findings therefore, proper installation of eprocurement practices has an overall positive and significant effect on the operational performance of manufacturing firms. In conclusion, the study mainly found that the effect of e- tendering and e-payment on the operational performance of manufacturing firms was positive and significant. It is therefore the recommendation of this study that manufacturing firms should embrace e-tendering and e-payment more and more because of the strong and positive effect that the two have on operational performance of manufacturing firms.