The Effect of Inventory Management Practice on Electric Service Delivery: the Case of Ethiopian Electric Utility
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Date
2017-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The research objective was to assess the impact of EEU inventory management practices on
service delivery. The study was a descriptive research design. The target populations for the
study were employees working at head office and 3 regions in Addis Ababa. Simple random
sampling techniques were applied to select a sample size of 110 employees from both managerial
and non managerial positions. 97 employees (88.18%) response rate was obtained. Primary data
was mainly collected using self- administered questionnaires consisting of both open and closed
ended questions with 5 point Likert Scale. Data were also collected through documents
overview, interview and observation guide. The collected data were quantitatively analyzed
using SPSS to produce descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The key findings from the
study revealed that: The utility was not effective in practicing modern inventory management
techniques instead there is poor inventory management system that results under stocking,
overstocking, high cost, high customer complaints and poor service delivery. The study
discovered that poor procurement planning, purchase of unnecessary materials and bulk
purchase practices result the availability of excess amount of obsolete and non moving items.
The study also revealed that lack of adequate qualified and well trained staffs (i.e., skill gaps and
awareness) impede in implementing effective inventory management techniques. Moreover, Lack
of up to date inventory policy and procedure, poor recording and documentation practice, poor
communication, poor decision making among user departments, and poor inventory revaluation
system all aggravate poor service delivery of the utility. The researcher recommends that there is
need for EEU management to emphasize applying Optimized Inventory Management
Techniques, Implementing Integrated and Automated Inventory Management System, Recruiting
adequate and qualified staffs, Developing Employees Capacity, Implementing Proper Disposal
System, Developing Up-to-date Inventory Management Policies & Procedures. The study also
suggests that further study should be conducted to assess the Role of Management in adoption of
integrated and computerized inventory control systemKey words: Effectiveness, Inventory, Inventory management practices, Service Delivery,
Obsolete and Inactive inventories, Staff Skills, Inventory Record Accuracy, documentation
Description
Keywords
Effectiveness; inventory; inventory management practices; service delivery; obsolete and Inactive inventories; Staff skills; inventory record accuracy; documentation.