Supply Chain Management Practices of Agricultural Sector Parastatals in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to establish the supply chain management practices in the parastatals of the agricultural sector in Kenya, to determine the relationship between supply chain management practices and agricultural parastatals performance and to determine the challenges of implementing SCM practices in agricultural parastatals. A descriptive research design was employed in this study. The population of interest comprised of all 35 parastatals in the agricultural sector in Kenya, a total of 35 managers from the logistics, procurement and finance who was involved in strategy implementation was randomly sampled to represent the entire population. The sample size was preferred because it was equally manageable. A semi-structured questionnaire composed of three sections was used to collect primary data where the respondents were accessed through an interview. A five point likert-type scale was used to measure the extent of partnership strategies with the suppliers. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS package. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and analyze the extent of effectiveness between the various strategies adopted by the respective companies in the agricultural sector. The study also found that most of the parastatals of the agricultural sector have adopted a written agreement or contract as an integral part of all alliances, adequate information systems linkages exists with customers, clear guidelines and procedures are used for monitoring alliances and that customer relationship are evaluated on the basis of their profitability. The study recommends that the management of the parastatals in the agricultural sector in Kenya should keep up establishing ways to manage their supply chains better as this has a direct influence on performance, this can be done through the practices such as subcontracting.