Factors that Affect the Quality of Inputs in Manufacturing Organisations: A Case Study of Nampak Kenya Limited

Supplier selection, Supply base reduction and supplier development among other factors plays a vital role in ensuring that manufacturing organizations get an acceptable quality of inputs from their suppliers. The purpose of this study is to carry out a research on how the above factors affect the quality of inputs in manufacturing organizations in Kenya. Studies carried out by previous researchers showed that manufacturing organizations lose a lot of money and time patching up issue brought about by poor quality of inputs which leads to scrap, rework and repair, trouble shooting, concessions, and downgrading and even losing future job opportunities.
The research was carried out in Nampak Kenya Limited which is a food packaging company with both local and international suppliers of its raw materials. A questionnaire, interview guide and observation guide were all used to collect the data. A response rate of 92% was obtained. Based on the research findings 89% of the respondents indicated that supplier selection criterion affected the quality of input in manufacturing organizations.83.9% held it that supply base reduction greatly affects the quality of inputs and 61% said that supplier development greatly affects the quality of inputs in manufacturing organizations. The study concluded that manufacturing organizations in Kenya need to improve on their supplier selection criterion, reduce their supply base and also need to develop their suppliers rather than getting new ones all the time.