Supply Chain Integration and Performance of Humanitarian Aid Organizations in Kenya

Abstract

Humanitarian organizations are struggling to obtain the highest possible performance from their supply chains by utilizing and adopting various supply chain designs. This is upon realization that despite the huge chunks of money pumped into humanitarian sector, stringent oversight by donors and expectations from vulnerable populations, humanitarian supply chains still respond in a sluggish, inefficient and poorly coordinated manner to emergencies. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of supply chain integration on performance of humanitarian aid organizations in Kenya. The study was anchored on the Relational View Theory and the Theory of Performance. Survey research design was employed for this study as it enabled the combination of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The study entailed a census survey of all the 330 humanitarian aid organizations carrying out their operations in Kenya with supply chain managers as the unit of observation. Objectively developed questionnaires were used to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics was used aided by SPSS version 24 to facilitate data analysis. The data was presented using a combination of statistical and graphical techniques. The study findings revealed that supply chain integration was positively associated with performance of humanitarian aid organizations. The study recommends that humanitarian aid organizations should improve the use of information technology and computerized structures to integrate supply chain processes and ensure distinguishability of internal activities and procedures. Additionally, humanitarian aid organizations are recommended to boost their supply chain integration by exploring and embracing advanced and emerging technologies such as big data analytics, internet of things, cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence and block chain. A multi-stakeholder approach that involves representatives from public sector, private sector, humanitarian sector, academia, military, beneficiaries and the media should be involved in drafting disaster management legislations and push for disaster preparedness to be enshrined in it. Further, humanitarian aid organizations have and will always play a crucial part in complex emergencies. This study proposed that all humanitarian supply chain actors come together and formulate a common response to complex emergencies, making use of the different competences of different players