Effect Of Lean Manufacturing Practices On Supply Chain Performance Of Manufacturing Firms In Kenya: A Case Of Food Manufacturing Firms In Nairobi County

Abstract

Poor performance of food and beverage companies arising as a result of an increase in costs can be indicated by the closure of a fast consumer goods manufacturer such as Cadbury Kenya which closed down its Nairobi plant due to poor performance. On the other hand, other manufacturing firms in Kenya such as the tea manufacturing firms have implemented energy efficiency practices so as to manage energy wastage and reduce production costs. Scholars argue that lean practices have a direct correlation to the overall performance of the supply chain process with over a half of the performance of the supply chain process being directly determined by wastage and costs. The importance of lean manufacturing therefore motivated this study to focus on establishing the effect of lean manufacturing practices on supply chain performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya: A case of food manufacturing firms in Nairobi County. The study specifically focused on time production, cellular manufacturing, pre-production planning and total quality control. The study target population were 29 Food and Beverage Firms in Nairobi County. The study employed a descriptive research design to collect quantitative data. A census was conducted on all the 29 Food and Beverage Firms in Nairobi County. The units of analysis were the procurement managers, production managers and operations managers. Quantitative primary data was collected through questionnaires and analyzed using statistical package for socials sciences. Descriptive statistics of the form of mean and frequency analysis was used to describe the population. On the other hand, correlations and regressions was used to test the study hypotheses. The findings were presented in form of tables and figures. The findings of the study indicated that the four lean production practices of just in time production, cellular manufacturing, pre-production planning and total quality control are positively and significantly associated with supply chain performance. The study concluded that just in time production, cellular manufacturing, pre-production planning and total quality control are positively and significantly influenced supply chain performance of food manufacturing firms. The study recommended adoption of just in time production practices such as availing labor on demand in order to manage labor costs, availing resources on demand in order to manage wastage, production on demand in order to manage inventory costs, ordering raw materials from the suppliers only when there is demand for production from customers, having a simplified production design to ensure timely production and having multiple skill workers to ensure faster production. The study also recommended food manufacturing firms to consider increasing their use of cellular manufacturing by having a scheduled cell based layouts for production, using group technology to produce similar products and prioritizing sequential production for similar products.