Impact of information technology on supply chain coordination : the case of manufacturing campanies in Nairobi

Abstracts onlycollected through distributing questionnaires to thirty six manufacturing companies. The study was aimed at examining the impact of information technology on the supply chain as well as determining the other factors that affect the supply chain. The study found out that information technology has a positive impact on information availability, decision making and information sharing among the supply chain. It also found out that incorporation of information technology in the supply chain boosts coordination within the supply chain leading to benefits to the supply chain members which include: larger profits for each member of the supply chain; reduced level of risk and reduced costs for each member as well as gaining access to a wider variety of resources. The study also determined that the supply chain is affected by other factors which are categorized into internal, inter-organizational and external factors. The internal factors are those factors within an organization while the inter-organizational factors are the factors between the organizations in the supply chain