EFFECT OF SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE OF COUNTY REFERRAL HOSPITALS IN WESTERN REGION, KENYA

According to World Bank, supply chain performance has declined at an alarming rate resulting to a decrease in global GDP. This study sought to investigate effects of supplier management practices on supply chain performance of County Referral Hospitals in Western Region, Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine effect of supply chain collaboration practices on supply chain performance of County Referral Hospital (CRHs) in Western Region, Kenya; to assess effect of supplier selection practices on supply chain performance; to examine effect of supplier risk management practices on supply chain performance and to ascertain effect of lean supply chain practices on supply chain performance of County referral hospitals in Western Region, Kenya. The study was guided by relational theory, grey system theory, game theory and lean supplier competence model. Descriptive survey was used in this study. The study was conducted in Western region focusing on four County Referral Hospitals: Kakamega County Referral hospital, Busia County referral Hospital, Bungoma County Referral Hospitals and Vihiga County Referral Hospital. The study targeted 102 respondent and used Yamane’s formula to get a sample size of 81 respondents. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used. Primary data was collected using well-designed structured questionnaires and interview schedules. A pilot study was done at TransNzoia county. Reliability was tested using cronbach alpha test and as for validity, it was tested using content validity. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis included; frequencies and percentages while inferential analysis involved Pearsons product moment correlation analysis, simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis. Qualitative data collected from interviews was analyzed using content analysis. The data was presented in form of tables and graphs. Supply chain collaboration practices were found to have a positive and statistically significant effect on supply chain performance of CRHs in Western Region (B=0.641,F=50.417, t=7.101). The supply chain performance of the CRHs, was positively and significantly affected by supplier selection practices of the hospital (B=0.488, F=40.739, t=6.383). The supply chain performance of the CRHs was found to be positively, linearly and significantly impacted by supplier risk management practices (B=0.521, F=52.648, t=7.256).The supply chain performance of the CRHs was found to be positively, linearly and significantly impacted by the adoption of lean supply chain practices (B=0.491, F=29.253, t=5.409). Thus supplier management practices had an effect on County Referral Hospital's supply chain performance in Western Kenya. This study recommends that the County Referral Hospitals should adopt the supplier management practices so as to improve supply chain performance