Influence of Supply Chain Practices on Performance of Textile and Apparel Firms in Kenya

Abstract

Supply chain has evolved very much in a way that the current modern supply chains are competitive and global as compared to how they were in the past. Modern products in supply chains are characterised by product life cycles that are shorter, rapid production of new product through continuous product research and development, increasingly knowledgeable, well informed, and unpredictable consumers. Such changes have made supply chains to adopt better supply chain practices that can have a potential effect on performance in Kenya, where little is known regarding this relationship. This study thus aimed at determining the influence of supply chain practices on sup performance in apparel and textile industry in Kenya. The study assessed the influence of supply chain practices on Performance in apparel and textile industry in Kenya and used the following theories: theory of constraints, systems theory, and resource based theory, Supply-Chain-Operations-Reference model and value chain model. The study adopted cross-sectional survey design using quantitative approaches. The study population included 60 textile and apparel firms which are members of Kenya Association of Manufacturers. Data was collected through primary and secondary sources. Questionnaire was used as a primary data collection method, with focus on supply chain practices. Secondary data was used to collect data on various performance measures. Multi Variate Analysis of Variance analysis was used to analyse the data with a view to answering. Results of the analysis are presented through tables, graph and plots. The study findings indicated that there exists a positive and significant relationship between modularity based manufacturing, supply chain relationship management, supply chain integration, supply chain responsiveness and Performance. The results clearly indicated that supply chain practices are important factors in achieving improved performance of supply chains sustainably. The study proposes that manufacturers in textile industry need to first consider external integration in their supply chain practices as this will allow the firm to reap higher benefits from supply chain integration process. The empirical findings suggested that the manufacturers who adopted supply chain relationship management were able to gain benefits both financially and non-financially. The study findings affirm the benefits that accrue to textile firm’s Performance by adopting Performance based on Supply-Chain-Operations-Reference model. Future research can focus on a comparative study of the contributions of supply chain management practices that include supply chain practices and green supply chain management to the textile industry as well as other sectors. Another research can apply longitudinal study to corroborate cross-sectional findings and examine performance prior to and after adoption of supply chain practices in the textile industry at different periods.