Effects of strategic procurement practices on performance of county governments in Kenya. A case of Machakos county government

Abstract

Strategic procurement is becoming crucial towards improving both public and private organizations performance globally. In Kenya, County governments continue to lose a lot of public funds due to ineffective procurement practices. The study was pursued to examine the effects of strategic procurement practices on the performance of Machakos County government in Kenya. The study investigated the effects of supplier relations and strategic sourcing on the performance of Machakos County government. The target population for this study was 150 employees of Machakos County and was drawn from all the management levels. The study used census sampling method where all the respondents were observed in the study. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. The analysis included both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis comprised of percentages, Mean and Standard Deviation, inferential statistics that was based on linear regression and was used to establish the correlation between strategic procurement practices and the performance of the county and it helped in drawing a conclusion on the relations between variables and the nature of relationship based on a 95% confidence level. The findings of the study indicated that supplier relations (X1) (r=.845, P< .000) and strategic sourcing (X2) (r=.698, P< .000) have a significance effects on the performance in Machakos County. The study concluded that, if the county improved strategic procurement practices, the county would enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of procurement performance in the county government. This indicated that all the procurement practices factors (Supplier relations, Strategic Sourcing) have a significance influence on the procurement performance in Machakos County. The study recommended that there was need for the procurement function at the county government to enhance supplier relations in order to improve the quality of goods procured and services delivered; the county government should ensure that there is effective strategic sourcing in order to attain higher profits and efficiency in the organization.