RELATION OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES WITH ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS: THE CASE OF ETHIOPIAN PULP AND PAPER S.C (EPPSC)

Abstract

To sustain a competitive advantage, a company should focus on over all practice of supply chain management. That passes on inbound, operation and outbound logistic sections. Therefore, the study is conducted to determine to what extent the supply chain management related with the competitiveness of the organization under study. That is Supply chain management is described by three practices. These are: strategic supplier relationship management, internal supply chain management and customer relationship management with the variable of organizational competitiveness; cost efficiency, technological advancement and demand condition. To achieve the study objective, explanatory research design along with quantitative approach has been employed. The target population of this study is 49 employees in EPPSc including professionals working on the areas of inbound logistics, operations and outbound logistics sections. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used. Primary data was taken from Survey. Statistical package for social sciences (version 20) was used in running the outcomes of the study. The data obtained from primary sources were analyzed descriptively. Pearson’s Correlation was used to determine the relationship between two variables. The response of employees showed that the company has loose supply chain practice which affects its competitiveness in the market. The study found a strong, positive and significant relationship between all SCM practices and organizational competitiveness. Among the three supply chain practices (SRM, ISCM and CRM), Strategic Supplier relationship management (SRM) was identified and concluded as the practice with the highest relation with the organizational competitiveness and the lowest practice from the other practices is internal supply chain or the operation system of the company.