文章基本信息

标题：Supplier Appraisal: The Kenyan Retail Trader Perspective
本地全文：下载
作者：Stella Njeri Thairu ; Moses Oginda ; John Mark Obura 等
期刊名称：Business and Management Review
印刷版ISSN：2047-0398
电子版ISSN：2047-0398
出版年度：2012
卷号：2
期号：5
页码：61-74
出版社：Global Research Society
摘要：Retailing contributes significantly to Kenya’s economy. In 2010 wholesale and retail sector, with a growth rate of 7.3 % stood second at driving Kenya’s growth. However retail traders have continued to face a myriad of problems a majority stemming from their inability to cope with high quality demands from their customers, rapid technological advances that render stocks obsolete too fast, supply disruptions owing to competitive pressures and increased government interventions in customer and supply markets. The margins of the retail traders continue to diminish with many of them opting out of business. Businesses which traditionally kept their operations to production or wholesale level have proceeded downstream to engage in retail activities in order to get closer to their customers and enhance their profitability and sustainability. Many of these retail trades engage in fierce competition to sustain themselves as a measure addressing the challenges above. Unfortunately the poor state of affairs has continued and is expected to continue. The retail traders need to reevaluate their customer value chain and probably focus on upstream activities where the solution to their challenges could be lying. For example, it is noted that over fifty percent of a businesses’ cost for requisite products and services is in the purchasing activity itself, a cost which drives margins down significantly. No evidence in literature to show such considerations. This study sought to address this gap by conducting an exploratory study to find out what traders in Dagoretti Market, a retail trade crowded market in the environs of Nairobi, Kenya, thought about the concept of supplier appraisal and whether they practiced it. The basic premise of the study is that supplier appraisal is one activity that can be used to enhance business performance. The study adopted exploratory research design with a population of 401 and a sample of 196 traders. A response rate of 95% was obtained. Cluster, Simple random and purposive sampling approaches were applied. Primary and secondary data were used. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. Review of relevant documents gave secondary data. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics. Valid percentages mean and standard deviation were used extensively. Likert scale was also used to identify extent of significant attached to the supplier appraisal variables. A major limitation was in the area of language of research. Interpretation was used to solve this. Ethics was taken care of by comprehensively addressing the issues of concern to the respondents. Cronbach’s alpha reported internal consistency among the supplier appraisal areas at 0.73. The score for the importance of supplier appraisal areas stood at 2.26 and above, implying all were important. The results are expected to benefit public and private retail sectors alike. The government is urged to develop policy to enhance retail sector increase its appreciation of the benefits of focusing on purchasing activities as a means to solving some of the challenges bedeviling them. The retailers are advised to increase their emphasis on supplier appraisal and also take the next step of supplier evaluation whilst supplier is in performance. Researchers are urged to conduct further research to identify linkage between appraisal and supplier performance, purchasing performance or organizational performance within and beyond this sector.
关键词：Supplier; Retail trader; appraisal; customer value; value chain; upstream activitiesce.T