E-inventory Management Systems and the Performance of Supermarkets in Nairobi Countyt, Kenya

Abstract

This study establishes the influence of e-inventory management systems on the performance of supermarkets in Nairobi County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the effect of electronic data interchange, electronic point of sale, bar coding and radio frequency identification on performance of supermarkets in Nairobi County. The study was grounded on the resource based view theory. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was employed and stratify random sampling approach was used to ensure representativeness of the population of the study. The target population was 158 supermarkets in Nairobi County and the study sample size was 113 supermarkets. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data and was administered to the heads of supply chain management in the respective firms through the drop-and-pick later method. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression equation were applied to analyse quantitative data with the help of Statistical package for social science (version 21.0). The study established a positive significant relationship between e-inventory management systems and performance of supermarkets. The study therefore concludes that e-inventory systems significantly improve performance of supermarkets. Consequently, the study recommends that supermarkets in Kenya should implement e-inventory management systems in order to improve their performance through reduction of operation costs and improved inventory control. Further, the government should give tax rebate on IT infrastructure related to e-inventory management systems to encourage up take of the systems by firm as a way of boosting their performance and growth. Finally, the study recommends that future research should focus on undertaking a comparable study incorporating a larger population as well as research on elements affecting the effectiveness of e-inventory management systems once they are implemented by supermarkets in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and contribute towards literature in the area of study