PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN ETHIO TELECOM

Abstract

The key to growing your business is not your strategies, your technology, or your people. It is your ability to manage the chain of vital inputs that you need to create your product and services. Every company has one, and every company relies on one for its survival — but not every company realizes that the secret to its long-term success lies in its ability to improve and perfect its supply chain. Supply chain management in Ethiopia is at an infancy stage and as per the World Bank logistics performance index, Ethiopia is standing at 123th place from the world manifesting the lowest performance in supply chain management. Many companies in Ethiopia does not even have supply chain management department in their organizational structure. Due to that the company suffers many challenges in managing its supply chain efficiently and effectively. The main objective of the study is to find out the major challenges of supply chain management in ethio telecom with respect to their causes and forward possible solutions to mitigate the challenges. Data for the study was collected from different sections and departments in the supply chain. The major data collection tools were interview, Questionnaire and Focused Group Discussion. The results indicate that the major constraints can be categorized into three main groups. I.e. Internal Challenges, External Challenges and ERP System related challenges. Based on the finding strengthening internal and external integration with stakeholders can be the ultimate solution.