Operations management practices and supply chain performance of alcoholic beverage firms In Kenya

Abstract

Operations management has evolved and the field has extended to incorporate service systems since an operation penetrates each utilitarian area of an organization. At the beginning of the twenty first century a number of manufacturers started harness and technology and supplier strength to support innovation and product development efforts. The aim of this research was to establish the operations management practices in alcoholic beverage firms, to determine the relationship between operations management practices and supply chain performance in alcohol beverage firms and to establish the challenges faced by alcohol beverage firms in the implementation of operations management practices. descriptive research design was used in analysing the data collected. The target population in this study was manufacturers and registered importers of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The firms selected for the study were from a list of licensed excise manufacturers of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 48 respondents. Primary data was used in the study. It was obtained using questionnaires self-administered questionnaires. The mechanism was to drop and picked them later. The questionnaires consisted of open ended, closed ended questions and likert scales. Once the questionnaires were collected, grouping and arranging of data with respect to specific questions was conducted. In the case of the first objective, descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviation, mode and median were applied in analyzing the qualitative data that is obtained. The findings revealed that there were practices of quick product development and introduction time in the organization. There was simplification of component parts and earlier supplier investment. High costs associated with technology, cost of labour as well as miscellaneous costs were among the challenges that faced the firms during the implementation of operations management practices. The study recommends that alcoholic beverage firms should get some insights on how to implement operations management practices which will enable them increase productivity and enhance competitiveness. Management skills within the firms also need to be addressed.