Supply chain leagility and performance of humanitarian organizations in Kenya

Abstract

The world is facing an increase in humanitarian crises due to climate change and terrorism. This calls for new supply chain strategies in handling the volatile and changing demands that these humanitarian disasters present. The lean and agile supply chains have been studied separately over the years, but there is great need to study them as a hybrid leagile supply chain. This paper explores the concept of supply chain leagility and in particular its relationship to performance of humanitarian organizations in Kenya, in an effort to improve performance of humanitarian organizations particularly with the escalating number of humanitarian disasters and increasing demands from donors. The objectives of this study were to determine the extent of implementation of supply chain leagility in humanitarian organizations in Kenya, to determine the relationship between supply chain leagility and performance of humanitarian organizations in Kenya and to examine the challenges in the implementation of leagile supply chains in humanitarian organizations. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used a descriptive research design which targeted 70 humanitarian organizations carrying out their operations in Kenya. Out of the 70 humanitarian organizations actively involved in humanitarian work in Kenya, the study selected 40 organizations which were considered a sufficient representation of the whole population. The researcher collected data from key supply chain personnel who included supply chain managers, officers or their equivalents in these forty organizations. Primary data was collected with the use of a self administered, structured questionnaire. The study concluded that most humanitarian organizations in Kenya have to a large extent implemented supply chain leagility and there is a direct relationship between supply chain leagility and performance of humanitarian organizations in Kenya. The results of the regression analysis showed that there was a positive correlation of 78.8% between supply chain leagility and organizational performance. The study recommends that humanitarian organizations should invest in ICT, train their staff to better manage leagile supply chains, share information internally and with external partners, collaborate with other HA organizations and implement organization structures that support leagility. The researcher faced several limitations when conducting this study. One of the main limitations was getting responses on time from the respondents due to organizational polices and tight working schedules. It would also be useful for future researchers and academicians to conduct more research on supply chains in man-made disaster environments like terrorism sites and also supply chains of corporations as more of them continue to engage in humanitarian work. This will assist in designing more improved and efficient supply chains that can cope with the evolving humanitarian challenges