Supply chain management and performance of CDF projects in Meru county

Abstract

This study was conducted on supply chain challenges and performance of CDF projects in Meru County. The study had two objectives: to identify supply chain challenges affecting CDF projects performance and to examine the extent to which the challenges affect project performance. The research design involved a cross sectional survey of all CDF projects in Meru County. Data was collected using a questionnaire that was administered through drop and pick later method. Percentages and frequencies were used to analyse the first objective while regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between supply chain challenges and project performance. The findings are presented in tables. The study found that lack of technology and coordination in supply chain negatively impacted on CDF projects. The study findings established that the public were not involved in key decisions and this negatively impacted on performance of these projects. It was also found that a significant relationship exists between supply chain challenges and project performance. This was explained by the five independent variables: Coordination, decisions, information sharing, suppliers and politics. This shows that the model is a good predictor. Further research on the same study area can be done in other counties in Kenya to establish whether they face similar challenges and their effect on performance of not only CDF projects but other projects as well. The limitations of this study were that the researcher also faced significant time and funding constraints which limited the scope of the study. It would have been more useful if the study involved a higher sample across more constituencies. The findings of this study and application thereof are limited to CDF projects in Meru County. The public service is known to work under very strict confidentiality in order to secure any unauthorized access to information. Most of the respondents agreed to participate only on condition that the information will not be divulged to any other party other than for academic purposes only. They may not be applicable directly to other organizations operating outside the public service. It is therefore important to note that they can only be used for comparative purposes and not any direct application in the private sector.