Factors affecting effective implementation of e-procurement in supermarkets’ supply chain management in Nairobi and its environs, Kenya.

Abstract

All organizations around the globe seek to identify strategies that will improve their performance as far as their day to day activities are concerned. Businesses such as Supermarkets that engage customers and suppliers alike thrive when they are based on up-to-date supply chain management strategies that keep up with the needs of both parties. One such strategy that is based on Information Technology is E-procurement. This study was set out to investigate the Factors Affecting Effective Implementation of E-Procurementin Supply Chain Management in Supermarkets in Nairobi and its environs.In order to achieve this, the study aimed to identify the effect of employee competence, cost of implementation, management involvement and management commitment on effective management of supply chains of Supermarkets in Nairobi and its environs. The three main theories on which the study was anchored included the Resource Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capability Theory and the Contingency Theory of Management. The study also adopted a descriptive design because it allowed an in depth description ofthe factors that determine the effective implementationof e-procurement as a business strategy for sustainable supply chainsin supermarkets in Nairobi. The study targetedall the supermarkets based in Nairobi and its environs and the researcher employed the use of questionnaires to collect data. The analysis of data was done using SPSS version 22 which provided a thorough description of the demographic information of the respondents and also used regression analysis to analyse mean and gave an elaborate relationship between factors affecting the implementation of e-procurement. Results from this study revealed that employee competence, management involvement and management commitmenthave a positive relationship to the effective implementation of e-procurement. Cost of implementation on the other hand had a negative relationship. These effects were also proved to be statistically significant through hypothesis tests.An R-Square of 0.485 was found implying that 48.5% of the independent variable, which were Level of Management Commitment, Management Involvement, Cost of Implementation and Employee Competence explained the independent variable, which was Implementation of e-procurement. A statistically significant F calculated value of 4.083(p = 0.005) also implied that the regression equation generated by the study predicts the dependent variable significantly well. The study therefore recommended that supermarkets should ensure that their employees are competent, reduce implementation costs and finally ensure top management and commitment if they are to effectively implement e-procurement. This will also ensure that they have sustainable supply chains.