Supply Chain Visibility and Operational Performance of Logistics Firms in Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

Logistics firms in Kenya are faced with cut throat competition to deliver goods and services on time to customers with changing preferences without compromising on quality. This has forced firms to look for innovative ways meet customer requirements without conceding on operational performance. Firms have adopted ICT technologies to mitigate these complexities. Supply chain visibility is one of the discipline in SCM that can be implemented by firms in order to better their operational performance. This study focused on supply chain visibility and operational perfomance of Logistics firms in Mombasa County, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive cross sectional survey methodology. The target population of the study was 310 logistics firms in Mombasa County. Data was collected using a close ended questionnaire that comprised 3 sections. Section A, B and C captured data on demographics; supply chain visibility; and operational perfomance of the firms, respectively. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS and was illlustrated using frequency tables. Frequencies, means, standard deviations, test results, corelation and regression coeffients were calculated. The findings of the study indicated a postive relationship between supply chain visibility and operational perfomance. The study however found out that supply chain visibility did not significantly have an effect on operational perfomance. The findings indicated that firms implemented supply chain visibility to a fair extent. This implied that if supply chain visibility is implemented to a greater extent firms would realize improved operational perfomance. The researcher recommends logistics firms to consider enhancing ICT systems that would increase operations visibility. The researcher further recommends that logistics firms should take advantage of operational performance indicators to leverage on competitive edge. This is because operational factors such as holding costs of inventory, time taken to respond to a process change and supply chain delays have reduced as a result of implementation of supply chain visibility, resulting in an improved operational performance of logistics firms.