Supply Chain Management Practices and Competitiveness of Government Agencies in the Kenya Energy Sector

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the effect of supply chain management practices on competitiveness in Kenyan energy sector. The study sought to establish the supply Chain management practices adopted by Government agencies in the Kenyan energy sector, To determine the impact of the SCM practices on performance of agencies and to determine the challenges faced by the agencies in the Kenyan energy sectors in the implementation of the SCM practices. The research design used was descriptive design. Data was collected using a questionnaire that was administered through “drop- and -picklater” method and analyzed using SPSS (version 22). Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze objective one and objective three whereas regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of supply chain management practices and competitiveness. The findings were presented in tables. It is clear that there is a significant relationship between supply chain management practices and competitiveness explained by the eight independent variables strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, level of information sharing, quality of information, extent of outsourcing, lean practices, green supply chain management and postponement. The study only focused on the energy sector. Study concluded that the adoption of SCM practices improves the organizational performance and hence competitiveness. Therefore, the researcher recommended SCM practices need to be embraced to help the management team appreciates the direct impact of these practices. Adoption of flexible SCM practices through appropriate research will help efficiently and effectively meet the business diverse yet drastic changing needs as well as address challenges arising from a dynamic global business environment. The study recommended that; similar studies should be done in other sector of the Kenyan economy for comparison purposes and to allow for generalization of findings on the SCM practices in Kenya.