INFLUENCE OF LOGISTICS PRACTICES ON PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA A SURVEY OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

Procurement and Logistics

This study examined the influence of logistics practices on the performance of manufacturing firms. The specific objectives of the study were to examine the influence of information flow management on the performance of manufacturing firms, to determine the influence of Reverse Logistics on the performance of manufacturing firms, to examine the influence of transport management on the performance of manufacturing firms and to establish the influence of Inventory Management Practices on the performance of manufacturing firms. The study used a descriptive design. The target population for this study was the manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study population was the manufacturing firms registered by the Kenya Nation Burial of Statistics and the respondents were the heads of logistics management of these firms. A structured questionnaire was administered through e-mail and hand delivery. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability before administering to the respondents. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze the data with the assistance of the SPSS software program version 21. The presentation was in form of tables. The findings of the study were that: The organizations are yet to ensure that the information on demand forecast is shared with logistics partners; there is low receipt and address of customer complaints and feedback regarding service provision; Organizations have not yet established a level-down strategy on how to recall faulty products; Organizations use the electronic system to track all products that are transported to customers and that performance of firms in Kenya is highly dependent on information flow management, reverse logistics, transport management, and inventory management. The study concluded that logistics practices have a significant contribution to the performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The recommendations were that: The firms should integrate their information systems with their business partners such as the suppliers to ensure the information on demand forecast is shared with their logistics partners. The organization should have a well-established collection point in different towns for returnable packages; vehicles should have a scheduling system to avoid idle driver time. . Moreover, cycle counting should be periodically conducted to reduce and or avoid discrepancies between the recorded and actual inventories in the organization.

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