Factors Affecting Sustainable Supply Chain Management In Kenyan Processing Factory

Abstract

This study sought to analyze the factors affecting sustainable supply chain management in Kenyan processing factory. The study was guided by the following four specific objectives: to determine the effects of technology change on sustainable supply chain management in Iriani tea factory in Nyeri South Sub County, to examine the effect of supply chain operational practices in sustainable supply chain management in Iriani tea factory in Nyeri South Sub County, to analyze the effect of inventory control practices on sustainable supply chain management in Iriani tea factory in Nyeri South Sub County, to identify the effects of environmental policies on sustainable supply chain management in Iriani tea factory in Nyeri South Sub County and to achieve the objectives of the study, a descriptive survey research design will be adopted. The target population was 120 employees drawn from in Iriani tea factory in Nyeri South Sub County. The study hence employed a census sampling method since all the targeted employees were contacted for data collection. A self-administered and semi-structured questionnaire was distributed to the target population. Primary data was analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to generate frequencies, mean and percentages. Pie charts, graphs and tables were used to present various aspects of the variables. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A pilot study was conducted to enhance the validity and reliability of the data collection instrument. Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.7 was used to ascertain test the reliability of the data collection instrument. Data that was analysed was obtained from 112 respondents out of the targeted 120 achieving 93.3% response rate. Frequencies and percentages were generated from the data and presented using frequency distribution tables while bi-variate linear regression and multiple linear regression were used to study the relation between internal audit effectiveness and the independent variables in the study. The results indicated that technology change and supply chain operational practices had a positive and statistically significant effect on sustainable supply chain management in Iriani tea processing factory. Inventory control practices and environmental policies had a positive but statistically insignificant effect on sustainable supply chain management in Iriani tea factories. In addition, the findings of the study further indicated that technological change leads to reduction of cost of the systems maintenance and reductions of system delays. The study recommends that tea processing factory should consider focusing on technological change with a view to ensure that most of the transactions are done using the computerized systems. Tea processing factory should also adopt several supply chain operational practices such as suppliers partnership and purchases of quality products with the aim of eliminating excess waste. Future research could focus on challenges tea factories in Kenya face when they focus on sustainable supply chain management.