THE MODERATING EFFECT OF GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEAN PRODUCTION PRACTICES AND SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE OF SUGAR MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN WESTERN KENYA

Abstract

Lean concept implementation in supply chain performance such as Just in Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM), and Total Prevention Maintenance (TPM). Organizations have gone through major changes to improve efficiency and to streamline operations. The study sought to determine the influence of just-in-time on supply chain performance, establish the impact of total prevention maintenance on supply chain performance, examine the effect of total quality management on supply chain performance, and to assess the moderating effect of government regulations on supply chain performance of manufacturing firms in western Kenya. The study was guided by lean,transaction cost and resource-based view theories. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted in the study. The target population was 95 employees comprising procurement officers, finance officers, production officers, quality assurance officers, operations officers, director of audit services, logistics, and firm engineers from 11 sugar manufacturing firms in western Kenya. The survey utilized a census approach, specifically targeting all 95 employees. The research employed primary data sources, with primary data gathered by administering closed ended questionnaires. Descriptive statistics was employed to present the data, displayed as tables, pie charts, and bar graphs. In this study, inferential statistics was used to test hypotheses and to evaluate data. Concisely, the researcher utilized Pearson correlation and linear regression models to show the association between lean production techniques and the supply chain performance of sugar producing firms in western Kenya. A pilot study was carried out in the Ramisi Sugar factory in Kwale County and involved 13 respondents. The findings from the pilot study were crucial in determining the reliability and validity of the instruments. An increased Cronbach's Alpha coefficient indicated a higher level of internal consistency, improving the research instruments' reliability.The rating of each variable was as follows ,Just In Time 0.93,Total prevention Maintenance 0.791,Total Quality Management 0.715,Government Regulations 0.879 and Supply Chain performance 0.904 all of them over 0.7 threshold to portend satisfactory reliability.Construct and content validity was done on the questinnaires. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS. On hypothesis testing, H01: Just In Time does not impact on supply chain performance in Sugar manufacturing factories in Western Kenya was rejected with a value of 0.001 being below the limit of 0.05. H02:Total Prevention Maintenance has no effect on supply chain performance in Sugar manufacturing factories in Western Kenya was rejected at a significant value of 0.001 which is below the limit of 0.05. H03: Total Quality Management has no significance on supply chain performance in Sugar manufacturing factories in Western Kenya and was rejected at a significance value of 0.001 is below the predetermined significance of 0.05. H04: Government regulation has no significant influence on the relationship between lean procurement and supply chain performance in Sugar manufacturing firms in Western Kenya was rejected at a significance value of 0.001 which is below the threshold of 0.05. The research revealed that performance is influenced by Total quality management.TQM, adequate staff awareness and training on the methodology, support from upper management, and resource allocation towards TQM empowerment could have facilitated this. Increased profitability, market share, sales volumes, and return on investment, in addition to enhanced customer satisfaction, will undoubtedly result from the implementation of Total Quality Management. The study suggests that manufacturing firms should prioritize JIT as a LSCM approach and allocate more resources for its adoption, while also investing in Total Quality Management for continuous improvement.