Technology change and sustainable supply chain management in tea processing factories in Nyeri south sub county.

Abstract

Supply chain management effectiveness, efficiency as well as sustainability have weighty implications on every capability of an organization to meet demands of its customers, its general financial performance as well as its reputation. Supply chain performance refers to the extent to which a supply chain attains the requirements of the stakeholder as well as end-user regarding the appropriate indicators of performance at every point over time. This research sought to analyze the effects of technology change on sustainable supply chain management in Tea factories in Nyeri South Sub County. The study’s target population was 120 management level employees drawn from three Tea factories. The study employed a census sampling method since all the targeted employees were contacted for collection of data. A self-administered and semi-structured questionnaire was given to the target population. Analysis of primary data was done by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to produce mean, percentages as well as frequencies. A variety of variables aspects were presented by graphs, tables and pie charts. In order to enhance the validity as well as reliability of the instrument of data collection a pilot study was carried out. Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.7 was utilized to test the data collection instrument reliability. Data that was analysed was obtained from 112 respondents out of the targeted 120 achieving 93.3% response rate. Bivariate linear regression as was utilized to study the relation between dependent and the independent variable. The results indicated that technology change had a positive and statistically significant effect on sustainable supply chain management in Tea factories processing factory. In addition, the findings of the study further indicated that technological change leads to reduction of cost of the systems maintenance and reductions of system delays. The study recommends that tea processing factory should consider focusing on technological change with a view to ensure that most of the transactions are done using the computerized systems. Future research could focus on challenges tea factories in Kenya face when they focus on technology change with a view to ensure sustainable supply chain management.