Sustainable Inventory Management Practice and Supply Chain Performance of Major Retail Players in Kenya: A Case of Chandarana Food plus Supermarkets

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the effect of sustainable inventory management on the supply chain performance of major retail players in Kenya, a case study of Chandarana Foodplus Supermarkets. Specific objectives of this study were to assess the effect of green inventory practices, lean inventory management and electronic Inventory management on the supply chain performance of giant retailers in Kenya, a case study of Chandarana Foodplus Supermarkets. The study also sought to examine the joint effect of green inventory practices, lean inventory management and electronic Inventory management on supply chain performance of Chandarana Foodplus Supermarkets. It also assessed the moderating effect of environmental regulations on the relationship between sustainable inventory management and supply chain performance of giant retailers in Kenya. This research was based on the Resource-Based View as the anchor theory and supported by Lean Theory and the Green Inventory Model. The study adopted a case study design. The total population of this study was the entire staff of Chandarana Food plus Supermarket Parklands branch in Nairobi, Kenya, which stood at 1,489 employees spread across 29 branches in Nairobi. The target population of the study was the staff at Parklands branch which totaled to 277 employees. The study adopted purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze quantitative data. Inferential statistics was used in the form of simple and multiple regressions to test the extent of the relationship between sustainable supply chain indicators and supply chain performance of Chandarana Food plus Supermarkets. The study tested the hypotheses using a t-test where p-values were compared to significance levels. Descriptive statistics revealed that green inventory practices, lean inventory management and electronic Inventory management all had a significant positive effect on supply chain management with means ranging between 3.400 to 3.786. Regression analysis findings revealed that Green Inventory Practices predict Supply Chain Performance (SCP) considerably (β=0.738, p=0.0495) and Lean Inventory Management predicts SCP with high accuracy (β=0.882, p=0.0306). Additionally, electronic Inventory Management drives SCP significantly (β = 0.898, p = 0.0165). Findings also revealed that Environmental Regulations moderate SIM-SCP positively (β=0.755, p=0.046). Additionally, the p-value for green inventory practices (0.0495), lean inventory management (0.0306), electronic Inventory management (0.0165) and environmental regulations (0.0457), were all lesser than 0.05, which meant that all null hypotheses were rejected. The study concluded that green inventory practices, lean inventory management and electronic Inventory management had a significant effect on supply chain performance. The study contributed to sustainable inventory management theory by revealing the impact of green inventory practices. It contributed to practice by recommending standardized green procurement procedures to be institutionalized; unified lean waste management framework for supermarkets; phased technology integration roadmap to merge newer and older technologies and transition from ceremonial to strategic compliance to institute a cultural change. The study contributed to policy by advising regulatory authorities on supporting environmental regulations that promote a strong positive relationship between sustainable inventory management and supply chain performance.