E-Inventory Management and Performance of Food and Beverages Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Abstract

Manufacturing companies in Kenya have been experiencing problems in the performance of their production and operations management. Stock-outs result from holding too little stock of the offending lines because the forecasts and material requirement planning controls are inadequate. High stock levels arise because too much stock has been purchased through bad forecasting, monitoring or controls. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of e-inventory management on the performance of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study had specific objectives, which were to determine the influence of material requirement planning and radio frequency identification on the performance of these firms. The research design used was descriptive, and the target population was individuals employed in food and beverage firms in Kenya. A stratified random sampling method was employed due to the heterogeneous nature of the population. Structured research data was collected and analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression analysis.

The study found that radio frequency identification had the second highest impact on the performance of food and beverage firms in Kenya, with a β value of 0.295 and a P-value of 0.004. Additionally, material requirement planning technology had the greatest influence on the performance of food and beverage firms in Kenya, with a β value of 0.316 and a P-value of 0.006. Based on these results, it can be concluded that food and beverage firms in Kenya should prioritize the use of radio frequency identification technology for better operational efficiency and performance. The study also recommends that management should focus on accurately forecasting inventory demands and providing inventory management training for employees.