Factors affecting procurement and supply chain performance in building construction firms in Nairobi

Abstract

The study aimed at evaluating the factors affecting procurement and supply chain performance in building construction firms in Nairobi. Specifically the study aimed to examine the procurement and supply chain practices as well as the factors affecting procurement and supply chain performance in building construction firms in Nairobi. A descriptive cross sectional research design was used. The research targeted building construction firms carrying out their operations in Nairobi. There are fifty eight (58) registered construction firms in Nairobi and these firms constituted the population. A total of 17 companies were used for the sample. The study targeted 1 procurement manager, 1 supply chain manager and atheist 3 procurement supply chain officers from each company and this gave a total of 85 respondents. The study used both primary and secondary data to meet its objectives. The main data collection instruments used to collect data was a questionnaire containing open-ended and closed-ended questions. Ones the data was collected, the researcher checked for its accuracy, consistency and completeness. The first objective was analyzed using descriptive survey and the second objective through factor analysis. Descriptive statistics method was applied to analyze quantitative data where data was scored by calculating the percentages, mean’ standard deviation and Variance. This was done using statistical computer software. Factor analysis was used to explore the common variance-covariance characteristics of the sets of factors that affect procurement and supply chain performance. According to the findings; majority got their building materials from suppliers, majority ordered building materials using both written requisitions and verbal requests. The study found that majority were faced with distance problem between supplier depots and construction sites. Based on the findings, the study concludes that firms were faced with transportation challenges which include; distance between supplier depots and construction sites and poor road infrastructure which hampers greatly on their service delivery. From the findings the study recommends that procurement and supplies managers should be trained on how to ensure efficiency in the system in order to meet the client’s requirements. The study further recommends that plans are not static and that preparation of annual procurement plans should be participatory, frequently reviewed so as to improve on the construction firms performance. In addition, to avoid delays in supply and provision of services, timelines have to be respected since most projects would have overruns.