Impact of Dock-to-Stock Time on Supply Chain Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi County, Kenya

Efficient supply chains enhance product delivery speed and accuracy, reduce lead times, and enhance customer satisfaction. However, the supply chain performance of manufacturing firms in Nairobi County is negatively affected by supply chain disruptions, inventory inefficiencies, transportation bottlenecks, poor demand forecasting, and inadequate technology integration. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of dock-to-stock time on the supply chain performance of manufacturing firms in Nairobi County in Kenya. This study was guided by the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory. The study adopted an explanatory research design with the target population being 1690 senior Heads of Department. The sample size for the study was 323 respondents obtained using Yamane’s formula. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used along with a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were frequency, percentages, mean, and standard deviation. Inferential analysis was carried out through correlation, and a hierarchical regression model was used to test the hypotheses. The study results indicate that there was a positive linear effect of dock-to-stock time (β1=0.105, p=0.027) on the supply chain performance of manufacturing firms. Dock-to-stock time (β6a=0.040, p=0.030, ∆R2=.004) and supply chain performance. The dock-to-stock time and supply chain performance of the manufacturing firm had a positive and statistically significant correlation (r= 0.630; p<0.01). The study further showed that 212(70.2%) of the respondents agreed that the supply chain contributes to maintaining high standards of quality, and 75(24.8%) disagreed that the supply chain contributes to maintaining high standards of quality. Moreover, 230(76.2%) of the respondents agreed that their production scheduling has become more reliable due to faster dock-to-stock processes and on the other hand, 58(19.2%) of the respondents disagreed that their production scheduling has become more reliable due to faster dock-to-stock processes. The study concluded that dock-to-stock time has a positive and significant effect on the supply chain performance of manufacturing firms in Nairobi County. The findings of this study can benefit manufacturing firms, supply chain professionals, industry regulators, policymakers and academic researchers.