Influence of Buyer-Supplier Collaboration on Supply Chain Efficiency in Manufacturing Firms in Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

The present study therefore sought to establish the Influence of buyer-supplier collaboration on supply chain efficiency in manufacturing firms in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study was guided by Transaction Cost Theory and Systems Theory. The study employed a descriptive research design using quantitative approaches. The target population comprised 2 procurement staff in each of the 34 manufacturing firms in Nakuru County thus totaling 68 procurement staff. The study used a closed-ended questionnaire in collecting primary data that were piloted to ensure their validity and reliability. The collected data was summarized and analyzed with the aid of SPSS using both descriptive and inferential statistics and then presented in tables. It was found that service improvement, buyer-supplier collaboration and operational flexibility had a positive significant influence on and supply chain efficiency. The R2 value implies that 55.5% of the variations in supply chain efficiency can be explained by the variations in independent variables. The study concluded enhance buyer-supplier relationship that help enhance operational flexibility. It is thus hoped that the findings will help enhanced organizational performance of the said firms by cost reduction, enhanced service quality, increased flexibility, enhanced cooperation between suppliers and buyers, reduced times and reduction in wastages.