Effects of Supplier Development On Supply Chain Performance In The Dairy Sector In Nyandarua County

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of supplier development on supply chain performance in the dairy sectorin Nyandarua County. The study was guided by four objectives which were to assess the effects of; financial support to suppliers, training of supplier, technical assistance and to evaluate the effect of technological support to suppliers on supply chain performance in the dairy sector in Nyandarua County. The study was founded on Network Theory, Social Capital Theory and Resource based Theory to help grasp the concept of supplier development and its effects on supply chain performance. Descriptive study design was adopted for the study. A sample of 158respondents wasselected from the target population of 263. Structured questionnaires weredeployed to collect primary data while secondary data was obtained from journals, the selected dairy firms websites and Kenya Dairy board reports.The data collection instruments were pilot tested to improve their reliability. Cronbach Alpha coefficient with a value of 0.70 or above was considered to indicate that the instrument is reliable. Data was analyzed with the support of SPSS version 21. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to test the degree of relationship among the variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to find out the relationship among the study variables. Quantitative data from the findings were presented in tables while qualitative data were summarized and categorized into themes guided by the objectives of the study. The study findings indicate that financial support to suppliers, training to supplier, and technical assistance to suppliers had a positive and statistically significant effect on supply chain performance while technological support to suppliers had a positive but statistically insignificant effect on supply chain performance in the dairy sectorin Nyandarua County at 95% confidence level. The study recommends that dairy firms should device strategies of ensuring that financial support is sustainable and accessible by all the farmers andalso devise strategies of imparting farmers with knowledge of feed preservation for sustained milk production throughout the year for years. Lobbying in the dairy sector for elaborate infrastructure such as road network, electricity and water is necessary to support installation of cooling plants across the region and reduce milk transportation cost. A milk processing and packaging industry should be established in Nyandarua County to enhance value addition which will further boost income and create jobsin the sector as well as promote food security in the country. However, this will only be sustainable if milk supply in Nyandarua County becomes constant.