OBIENU Azubuike Ndubuisi1, GLADSON-NWOKAH Juliet2
1, 2 Department of Marketing, Faculty of Administration and Management
Rivers State University Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt
endyzubbygmail.com; juliet.gladson-nwokah@rsu.edu.ng
Abstract
This study investigated strategic supplier partnership and supply chain performance of food and beverages firms in Rivers State. The study adopted a survey research design and was carried out in a non-contrived environment. The population of the study comprised 25 registered food and beverage companies. Based on the small size of the population, a census was conducted. Procurement/purchasing manager, logistics manager, production manager, customer-service manager and accounts manager of the firms were relied upon for primary data. The data was collected using questionnaire. After cleaning and sorting, data derived from 110 copies of questionnaire were found fit and used in the analysis.
Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the hypothesized relationships. The statistical package for the social science (SPSS) version 23.0 aided the test of hypotheses. The results revealed that strategic supplier partnership has positive relationship with supply chain performance of Food and Beverages Firms in Rivers State. The study therefore, concludes that supplier partnership is a key determinant of supply chain performance, and can be exploited to improve a firm’s competitive advantage. The study recommends that strategic supplier partnership should be continuously employed by food and beverages firms in Rivers State to enhanced on-time service delivery, improved decision making and operational flexibility, and ultimately improve their supply chain performance.
Keywords: Flexibility, on-time delivery, strategic supplier partnership, supply chain performance.