SELECTED PROCUREMENT PRACTICES AND SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE OF THE SALVATION ARMY, KENYA WEST TERRITORY.

Abstract

Effective procurement plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning of supply chains. However, in many faith-based organizations, limited compliance with established procurement policies has often resulted in budget overruns, supply shortages, delivery delays, and poor-quality materials. Such issues compromise the sustainability of projects and weaken public confidence, even though these organizations depend largely on member contributions to support socially oriented programs.Unlike profit-oriented and government institutions, FBOs remain underexplored in procurement research. The general objective of this study was to analyze the influence of procurement practices on supply chain performance of The Salvation Army Kenya West Territory. The specific objectives were; to establish the effects of supplier relations on supply chain performance, to establish the effects of contract management on supply chain performance, to determine the effects of e-procurement on supply chain performance and to establish the effects of procurement planning on supply chain performance of The Salvation Army Kenya West Territory. The study covered the Salvation Army Kenya West Territory, which covers 23 counties in parts of west, north and southern parts of Kenya. In this counties Musudzu division, Turkana division, Shavihiga district, Eldoret division, Kisumu division, Moisbridge division and Lugari district were covered. The study was anchored on two theories namely; General system theory and institutional theory. The study employed purposive sampling. The study adopted an explanatory and descriptive research design using a target population of 84 respondents. Closed ended questionnaires were used based on a five-point Likert scale. Data was presented in form of frequency tables. Data was analyzed using regression analysis. Descriptive statistics were presented in measures like the mean, median and standard deviation. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient where values were above 0.70, confirming the reliability of the measurement instruments. Regression coefficient results indicated that supplier relations, contract management, electronic procurement and procurement planning had a significant correlation with supply chain performance given variable coefficient r; - 0.385, 0.268 ,0.140 and 0.436 respectively. Findings indicated supplier relations, contract management, and procurement planning had a significant effect on supply chain performance given coefficients 0.001,0.008,0.000 respectively with p-values < 0.05 while electronic procurement had insignificant effect on procurement performance given pvalue of 0.086 > 0.05. It was concluded that procurement practices affect supply chain performance. It was recommended that FBOs in The salvation army Kenya west territory to embrace supplier relations, contract management, and procurement planning as the coefficient of determination (0.584) was an indication that approximately 58.4% of variations in the supply chain performance measured through operational cost level and lead-time is explained by changes in the selected procurement practices. Since e-procurement contributed minimally due to non-adherence, strict compliance is recommended to improve supply chain performance. The findings of the study may be relevant to policymakers for the purposes of formulating policies and may also be part of existing literature that will be used by researchers and scholars.