TITLE:
Supply Chain Management: Empirical Case Study of a Small-Scale Manufacturing Company in Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Samuel Dayo Odusina
KEYWORDS:
Supply Chain Management, Internal Chain, Customer Chain, Supply Chain Development Drivers
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.10 No.4,
June
9,
2022
ABSTRACT: The supply chain of a manufacturing company can be classified into three
categories namely: 1) supplier chain; these are a network of suppliers of raw materials,
machinery, and other requirements for daily operations for the company; 2) internal chain; these are departmental or
functional relationships within the organization like production, finance,
marketing, logistic and quality control departments all interacting together to
achieve the goals and objective of the company; and 3) customer chain; these are networks used for
products distribution to the final consumer which includes the product
distributors and retailers in the marketplace as may be applicable. In a
developing country like Nigeria where government infrastructures are poor or in
some cases none in existence, the survival of a small-scale manufacturing
company often depends on how effectively its supply chain is managed. In
Nigeria, suppliers of machinery and raw materials to most manufacturing
companies are from low-cost but high-tech countries like China or India. The
problem with the supply chain from these countries apart from the language
barrier between these countries and Nigeria is also that of product quality and
after-sales support services. The internal chain also requires funding to
employ an experienced and trained workforce to deliver the company’s goals and
objectives effectively and efficiently which is always a challenge for small
scale manufacturers including product marketing. In Nigeria, the management of
the supply chain by small scale manufacturers is further complicated by
unfavourable government policies. This empirical research is a review and
analysis of the supply chain management of a small-scale manufacturing company
located in Lagos Nigeria. The company performance for the past five years has
been on the decline and company management thinks there is a need for a review
of its supply chain management for business survival. The company’s supply
chain is analysed and compared with best global practices in this research and
recommendations made to the company management. The research outcome justifies
the company’s need for a strategic change in its
supply chain management for business sustainability and provides a learning
point to small-scale manufacturing companies from developing countries of
Africa.