The Effect of Inventory Management Practices on Service Delivery: A Study of Sawula General Hospital, Southern Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of inventory management practices on service delivery of Sawula General Hospital. The study employed both descriptive and explanatory research designs to conduct this research. It contained a qualitative and quantitative component that enables the researcher to assess the study easily. The total population of this study was 459 and the researcher takes 293 as sample size from staff’s members, Health department experts and patients. The sampling technique of the study was stratified sampling technique. Primary data were mainly collected using self- administered questionnaires consisting of closed ended questions with 5-point Likert Scale. Data were also collected through questionnaires and interview. The collected data were quantitatively analyzed using SPSS to produce descriptive and inferential statistics and regression analysis. The key findings from the study revealed that there is gap on Sawula General Hospital was relation to applying poor inventory management practice which caused dissatisfaction of the patient/client with the service delivery. Moreover, the finding shows that the inventory management practice was also challenged by shortage of budget and lack of training on inventory management, bureaucratic process and lack of computerized system to manage the inventory. Based on the major findings, the study recommends that applying the scientific concepts of inventory management practices and implementing awareness creation mechanisms to develop patients’ perception of service delivery to increase proper inventory management which realize improved customer service and inventory management by responsible bodies. Moreover, it was also recommended that, the hospital should create ways in solving the critical challenges by allocating enough budgets, avoiding bureaucratic process in procurement, filling knowledge gaps through different trainings.