SAMUEL Kalode Mikel
Department of Marketing
Faculty of Management Sciences
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between transportation management systems (TMS) and operational efficiency in bakery firms in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study focused on two major components of TMS – real-time tracking and route optimization. A descriptive research design was adopted. The population of the study comprised 24 bakery firms in Rivers State. The study collected data from 20 logistics and operations personnel in 24 bakery firms using structured questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using Pearson Product Moment Correlation via SPSS. The study revealed that real-time tracking had strong positive and statistically significant relationship with operational efficiency, while route optimization demonstrated very strong positive correlation with operational efficiency. The study concludes that TMS are essential to improved operational efficiency and recommends that bakery firms in Rivers State that seek improved operational efficiency should adopt TMS like real-time tracking and route optimization to enhance their ability to meet delivery targets and reduce wastes and redundancies.
Keywords: Operational efficiency, real-time tracking, route optimization, transportation management systems.