Abstract:
The aim of the study was to assess the effects of technical support to suppliers on supply chain performance in the dairy sector in Nyandarua County. The study was founded on 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 158 respondents was selected from the target population of 263. Structured questionnaires were deployed 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 22. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to test the degree of relationship among the variables. The study findings indicate that technical support to suppliers had a positive and statistically significant effect on supply chain performance in the dairy sector in Nyandarua County at 95% confidence level. The study recommends that dairy firms should lobby the support of the county government for elaborate infrastructure such as road network, electricity and water in Nyandarua County to facilitate establishment of milk 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 jobs in 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.
