Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Inventory Management and Organizational Performance (Study of Dansa Food Limited)
Inventory Management and Organizational Performance (Study of Dansa Food Limited)
net/publication/329659896
CITATION READS
1 15,525
3 authors, including:
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
APPRAISAL OF THE PERFORMANCE OF MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs) PROJECTS IN NIGERIA. (STUDY OF SELECTED MDGs PROJECTS IN IMO STATE) View project
Account Receivable and Organizational Growth ( Study of Agricultural inputs in South-West Nigeria) View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Peter-Paul Chukwuemezie Njoku on 14 December 2018.
Phebe Simon
Nutrient Solutions Limited, Lagos`
Menorahsig@gmail.com
Abstract
This study examines inventory control and organizational performance, using Dansa Food
Limited for study. There has been inefficiency and uncharted inconsistence to address challenges
associated with inventory control. The creation and maintenance of optimum inventory is very
essential for continuity of production, fuller utilization of men and machines and ability to meet
specific customers demand in time. A survey research was conducted with a purposive non-
probability sampling technique. The instrument of data collection and measurement was well-
structured and standardized questionnaire and five point weighted scale. The statistical tool used
for data analysis and test of research hypotheses was one sample t-test. The results of the
analysis indicate that inventory control has a significant positive impacts on the performance
parameters of organizations and therefore contributes to economic production quantity and
quality of Dansa Food Limited products at budgeted costs and scheduled time to customers and
hence profitability of manufacturing firms. The study therefore, recommends institution of robust
strategy and policy framework for effective inventory control and its sustainability for
continuous improvement of organizational performance.
1
Introduction
Historically, Inventory management globally has often meant too much inventory and too little
management or too little inventory and too much management. There can be severe penalties for
Inventory problem has proliferated, as technological progress has increased the organization
ability to produce goods in greater quantities, faster and with multiple designs. The public has
compounded the problem by its receptiveness to varieties and frequency design changes,
(Godana and Ngugi 2014). There is no doubt that since the mid80s, the strategic benefits of
For many organizations, there is no doubt that inventory management enhances their operations.
Organizations with high levels of inventories such as raw material, work in process and finished
good; can sustain production, ensure free flow of materials and offer a wide range of products,
activities with the purpose of getting the right materials, at the right quality and quantity, in the
right place at the right time and it is directly linked to production function of any organization
which implies that, the inventory management system operated, will affect the profitability of an
organization, directly or indirectly (Ahn, 200). Inventories are the stock of raw materials, work in
progress and finished goods held by a business organization to facilitate operations in the
2
Therefore, if a company fails to manage its inventory efficiently, it is likely to face profitability
problems (Block and Hirt, 1987). The goal of inventory management is to provide the
Inventory control helps organization to establish the proper inventory levels through the
economic order quantity and to keep track of this level through inventory control system, of
which many are manual such as Two Bin Method and Red Line Method, or computerized
Proper inventory control requires an organization to undertake stocking and use appropriate
method to value stock, so as to avoid under or over estimation of profits (Kotabo, 2002).
which cost form a large portion of production costs. Inventory costs include carrying costs such
as storage and insurance, ordering costs like transportation and store placement, as well as stock
out costs like redundancy and loss of sales. A company cannot achieve an outstanding
performance without proper and efficient control. Any theft, wastage and excessive use of
materials are of immediate financial loss and leads to poor performance of a company (Katobo,
2002).
Laugero (2002) noted that material control involved a systematic control and regulation of
purchase, storage and usage of materials in such a way to maintain an even flow. In recent years,
the manufacturing industry has been facing a number of challenges especially in inventory
companies.
3
There have been causes of materials over-stocking, which eventually get expired or out dated.
Under stocking, lack of stocking, materials theft by workers and delays in delivery of materials
to the sites, among others inventory control, can be done through introduction of different
measurers, so as to prevent the company from incurring unnecessary losses made by defuel
departments. The company should set up strict rules to procurement officers and store manager,
which they should follow during purchasing and storing of materials, to avoid loss of inventory.
Using Dansa Food Limited for the study, this company has existed for over the years with the
objective of maximizing profits and providing better services to customers at the right time. Till
date, the company does not focus on how much of each inventory item, the firm should hold in
stock, how much should be ordered at a given time and at what point inventory should be
reordered. This has greatly affected its production, sales and hence reducing its financial
profitability. It is therefore important for an organization to have a sound, effective and well-
organization.
The major decisions in inventory control of any organization, concerns the time to replenish an
order and the quantity of such an order. The failure to manage these two concerns has
significantly increased the total cost of the organizational performance (Dansa Food Limited), in
the past years. The increase in demand for the company products coupled with modern
production technology, resulted in vast number of different types of inventories and the control
has become a complex functions or process. Most of the challenges associated with inventories
control and how they impact on the performance of Dansa Food Limited, has not been explored.
No study has been carried out to ascertain the impact of inventory control on the performance of
4
the company, so as to provide avenue and generate ideas for better control mechanism, which
Up till date the company uses Bin card method, although supported by the use of computer,
according to the inventory manager. There exist run out of stock from time to time. The
complexities associated with inventory control. As a result, uncertainty and planning errors in
production do exist. In turn, these have resulted to under utilization of machinery, lost of man
hour, high production costs, poor businesses and low return on investment. Therefore, the
company find it difficult to comfortably cope with high number of employees and adjust to
performance requirements of modern production technology. When look into the type of
inventory management system adopted in Dansa Food Limited and the effect it has on the profit
The issues of the volume of the company’s resources consumed are not usually examined in
relation to inventory control system in place. The principles of scientific inventory control are
not adopted, which could have been simply enough, for even the clerical staff to operate without
needed, to assess the existing inventory control measures in relation to performance of the
Organization.
The main aim of the research work is to analyze the impacts of effective inventory management
5
Research Method
A descriptive survey was employed to explore an inventory management as a tool for project
cost control in dredging operation. A descriptive survey was considered because it is non-
experimental and it studies the relationship between non- manipulated variables in a natural
setting. It also allows the collection of a large amount of data from a sizable population in a
highly economical way. The choice of a survey design depended on the relatively large scale of
the sample. The data collected was primarily quantitative in nature. The research design covers
sampling and choice of data collection method and concludes with a consideration of problems
In order to find information about inventory management as a tool for project cost control in
dredging operation, there was questionnaire administration. Visual observation was also utilized
corroborate the information provided by the respondent on the questionnaire which was
personally administered.
The population in this research consists of Dansa Group of company, in Ikeja, Lagos state. The
sample size was randomly chosen to be 220; this is so because random selection removes the
The primary data collected was initially edited to detect and correct any omissions and errors to
ensure consistency and completeness. The demographic characteristics of the respondents were
analyzed using the simple percentage technique, research questions were analyzed using both
simple percentage and descriptive statistic which showed the mean and standard deviation, while
the research hypotheses formulated was analyzed using different ONE SAMPLE T-TEST. The
6
choice of these tools was as a result of the type of data obtained from the survey and the
assumption made about the background population. The data was analyzed with the help of
Neutral 5 2.5
Agree 25 12.5
Neutral 4 2.0
Agree 9 4.5
From the analysis, table.1 reflected that the duo inventory approaches of goods inspection at
reception and maximum attention paid to highest value inventory adopted by the firm of study
(Dansa Food Limited) are strong inventory approaches in reducing costs of manufacturing firms.
This finding is reflective of the fact that majority of the respondents strongly agreed to them
7
both. For the first approach, 82.5% (165) out of the 200 respondents strongly agreed that the
approach is undertaken in the firm of study; and for the second approach, 91.5% (183) still out of
the 200 respondents strongly agreed that such approach is carried out in the firm of study. But
however, the approach in higher use among the two is shown in the table below.
Table 2 clearly showed that the second approach (i.e maximum attention paid to inventory with
highest value) with a mean value of 4.8450 is highly in use in the firm of study more than the
other approach with a mean value of 4.7400, and thus has more impact as an approach in the
8
Strongly Agree 183 91.5
Total 200 100.0
Requisition Expenses Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
9
Manufacturing Industries Strongly Disagree - 0
are faced with costs of
checking orders and Disagree 4 2.0
maintaining records of Neutral
27 13.5
entire process
Agree 44 22.0
Strongly Agree 125 62.5
Total 200 100.0
Handling Costs Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
Neutral 9 4.5
Agree 21 10.5
Strongly Agree 170 85.0
Total 200 100.0
Storage Costs Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
From table 3, no respondent disagreed that manufacturing industries are faced with
transportation and freight costs. 1.5% (3) respondents played neutral to the question, 7% (14) and
91.5% (183) out of the total respondents agreed and strongly agreed respectively to the assertion,
10
especially as regards the firm of study, bringing to the fact that according analysis, that
manufacturing firms are faced with transportation costs
Furthermore, analysis in the second inventory costs category in procurement process shows
manufacturing firms are faced with requisition expenses. This can be attested to by a percentage
and number of respondents precisely 17% (34) and 73% (146) that agreed and strongly agreed
respectively to the statement.
Same is applicable to other inventory costs, precisely, purchase order costs, receiving materials
costs, checking order costs, handling costs and storage costs. The analysis showed that
manufacturing firms are faced with these inventory costs. The figures and percentage backing up
the fact are clearly reflected in table 4.3.4 above.
But to ascertain the inventory costs that highly affect than the other procurement processing
Dansa Food Limited (firm of study), the table and chart below gives a clearer representation.
11
6
4.9 4.805 4.715
5 4.59 4.45
4.18 4.335
4
Table 4 and depicts the ranking of influence of the identified inventory costs in the procurement
process of the firm of study. The analysis clearly shows that transportation and freight costs with
a mean value of 4.9000 has more cost impact on the procurement process in Dansa Food
Limited, followed by handling costs with mean value of 4.8050, after it comes storage costs with
mean value of 4.7150, then follows requisition expenses with mean value of 4.5900, checking
order costs with mean value of 4.4500, receiving materials costs with mean value of 4.3350 and
12
Table 5 The relationship between inventory control practice and profitability of
Manufacturing industries
13
Table 5 above clearly showed first that maximum attention paid to inventory with the highest
value can give rise to profitability in manufacturing industries. This can be attested to by the
figures above. The figures showed that 10% (200) and 15% (30) of the respondents strongly
disagreed and disagreed respectively to the assertion, 8.5% (17) played neutral or have no
knowledge about the assertion, while 10% (20) and 56.5% (113) of the respondents strongly
agreed and agreed to the statement. This result qualifies the assertion that profitability of
manufacturing industries can be generated by maximum attention paid to inventory with the
highest value.
The second item in the table has results as thus- 19% (38) of the respondents strongly disagreed
to the statement in the item, 49% (98) disagreed, 15% (30) has no idea, while 10% (20) and 7%
(14) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed respectively to the item statement. The result
for the item points that the profitability of the manufacturing industries generated from inventory
The third item in the table shows that practice that gives rise to less capital tie up in inventory,
results to 30% of profitability in manufacturing industries. This is attested to by 64% (128) of the
respondents that in general agreed to the item statement. The figure is a sum of responses of both
14
Total 200 100.0
Budgeted Cost Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
Efficient inventory control help meet Strongly Disagree 18 9
budgeted cost of production activities Disagree 18 9
and reduces production cost overrun Neutral 29 14.5
Agree 31 15.5
Strongly Agree 104 52
Total 200 100
Scheduled Time Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
Production activities of Dansa Group Strongly Disagree 10 5
of company Plc are not completed Disagree 10 5
behind scheduled due to inventory Neutral 30 15
control Agree 50 25
Strongly Agree 100 50
Total 200 100
Products Quality Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
Rate of usage, Lead time and Stock Strongly Disagree 6 3
level at Dansa Food Limited affects Disagree 12 6
the quality of products Neutral 22 11
Agree 30 15
Strongly Agree 130 65
Total 200 100
Source: Field Survey August, 2016
In Table 6, the result for the first item (economic production quantity) shows that efficient
economic production quantity is strongly linked to inventory control. This attested by the
respondents responses, in which 63.5% (127) and 12.5% (25) of them strongly agreed and agreed
The result of the second item (budgeted cost) in the table shows that efficient inventory control
help meet budgeted cost of production activities and reduces production cost overrun. This is
qualified by the responses of respondents, where 52% (104) and 15.5% (31) of them strongly
15
In the third item which is scheduled time, result shows that production activities of Dansa Food
Limited are not completed behind scheduled due to inventory control. This holds as research
result due to respondent responses where 50% (100) and 25% (50) 0f them strongly agreed and
The result for the fourth and last item in the table shows that inventory control in terms of rate of
usage, lead time and stock level, affects the quality of products at Dansa Food Limited.
Ho1: The impact of inventory control on the performance of Dansa Food Limited, vis-à-
vis budgeted cost of production and economic production quantity is not significant.
Test Value = 0
Lower Upper
The one sample t-test above show that the, Tcal= 50.923 with p –value (sig) = 0.000 which is less
than 0.5 level of significance, we therefore reject the null hypothesis and conclude that inventory
control at Dansa Food Limited has significant impact on the scheduled time of production.
16
H02: There is no significant relationship between inventory control and budgeted cost of
Test Value = 0
Lower Upper
Efficient inventory control help meet 40.93 199 .000 3.92500 3.7359 4.1141
budgeted cost of production activities 7
and reduces production cost overrun
The one sample t-test above show that the, Tcal= 40.937 with p –value (sig.)= 0.000 which is less
than 0.5 level significance. We therefore reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is
significant relationship between inventory control and budgeted cost of production in Dansa
Food Limited. Thus a veritable avenue for reducing production cost and cost overrun at Dansa
Food Limited.
H03: The impact of inventory control on the product quality of Dansa Food Limited is
not significant.
Test Value = 0
17
Lower Upper
Rate of usage, Lead time and Stock 56.686 199 .000 4.33000 4.1794 4.4806
level at Dansa Food Limited affects
the quality of products
The one sample t-test above shows that the, Tcal = 56.686 with p- value =0 .000 which is less
than 0 .05 level significance. Therefore we therefore reject the null hypothesis and conclude that
there is significant relationship between the levels of inventory control and product quality in
Dansa Food Limited. Efficient inventory control is a sine qua non to product quality.
Discussion of Results
Inventory control is a planned approach of determining what to order, when to and how much to
order; and how much to stock so that costs associated with buying and storing are optimal
without interrupting production and sales of Dansa Food Limited products. The finding of the
study is expected to address the challenges posed by inventory control at Dansa Food Limited
❖ Adequate supply of quality products to customers as and when due without shortages
❖ Provision of reserve stock for variation in lead times of delivery of materials thus
❖ Maintaining timely record of inventory at all times and to maintain the stock within the
desired limit
18
❖ Efficient purchasing, storing, consumption and accounting for materials. All these are
tailored to cushion the effects of inventory cost at Dansa Food Limited such as ordering
The study assessed the impact of inventory control on the organizational performance, with
Dansa Food Limited as a case study. The results of the three formulated and tested hypotheses
indicate that inventory control has significant impacts on the cost performance objectives of
Inventory control ensures that economic production quantity of Dansa Food Limited is attained
and achieved at minimal cost. Also inventory control has significant impacts on the scheduled
time of production and quality of Dansa Food Limited products. The result of the study is in
conformity with Telsang (2010). It is an established fact that through the practice of scientific
inventory control, the stock can be reduced anywhere between 10 percent to 40 percent (Telsang
2010). Also effective inventory control reduces the costs associated with inventory management
such as production or purchase cost, capital cost, ordering and carrying costs.
Furthermore the results from the research questions asserts that the identified inventory approach
(es) are two, namely, (1) goods inspected at reception and (2) maximum attention paid to
inventory with the highest value. Also further results confirms that among the inventory costs
indentified as being operational in Dansa Food Limited, transportation/freight costs is the most
affecting inventory cost on the firm of study’s production and profitability; followed by
handling costs, then comes storage costs, requisition expenses and others.
The significant results of both the three tests of hypotheses and the research questions could be
19
Inventory control ensures improvement in customer relationship because of timely delivery of
goods and services as the company has numerous customers in different parts of Nigeria.
The demand for Dansa Products are always high, and therefore necessitates smooth and
uninterrupted production to avoid stock out. Considering the huge investment outlay of Dansa
Food Limited, efficient utilization of working capital is necessary and dependent on efficient
inventory control. The inferences from the results of tests of hypotheses, further indicates that
inventory control at Dansa Food Limited, will ensure economy in purchasing and operations, and
eliminates the possibility of duplicating orders. Inventory control also helps in minimizing loss
due to deterioration, obsolescence, damage and theft. It could therefore lead to overall significant
Conclusion
The manufacturing firm is a medium of job opportunities in the country. Effective control of the
inventory would go a long way to improve its annual turnover and profitability, hence sustaining
However, adequate attention is not paid to scientific methods of management of these inventories
• Inadequate fund
• Inaccurate forecasting
If every manufacturing firm will employ one inventory trained staff with little training. Some of
these scientific inventory techniques could be translated into charts, tables, graph which could
20
Seminars and lectures on inventory management techniques are also desirable and it is the hope
of the researcher that the funding in this study be useful to stakeholders/ manager in both
Recommendation
This research has established a number of factors militating against effective control of
inventories. Based on this finding and conclusion drawn, I now make the following
recommendation:
Since organization cannot relegate the importance of evolving and maintaining effective
inventory control system to the background. There is the need for them to adopt a proactive
attitude towards the issue. Being proactive requires maintenance of the right level of inventory at
any point in time. Organizations should avoid the dangers that are inherent in keeping too little
To achieve the above, it is recommended that organizations adopt the inventory keeping method
that best suits their operation. Here, just-in-time method could be considered as an option as it
has been proven to be effective in maintaining the right level of inventory and also prevent stock-
outs. There is also the need for organizations to train their personnel in the area of inventory
control management. What this means is that only trained professional with the requisite skill
The reason is obvious as most organizations inventory control programmers failed to achieve the
intended objectives due to lack of skilled and trained professionals to manage it. The present
advancement in technology, has made inventory control management easier with the use of
software. The implication of this, is that organizations have wide range choice of soft-ware that it
21
can adapt to its operations, in respect of inventory control system. In fact, the era of manual
computer based inventory systems will be more effective than using manual method.
References
Agha, N.C. (2010). Inventory Management and Cost Control in Manufacturing Industries in
Nigeria. The Nigeria Journal of Management Research, 5 (2): 173-188.
Arnold, D. (2000). Seven Rules of International Distribution. Harvard Business Review; 78(6):
11-21.
Caplic, C and Sheffi, V. (1994).A Review and Evaluation of Logistic Metrics. The International
Journal of Logistics Management. 5(2): 23-37.
Coleman, B. (2000). Determining the Correct Service Level Target. Production and Inventory
Management Journal, 41(1):169-176
Colling, D. (1990) Industries Safety. Management and Technology. Englewood Cliffs, NY:
Prentice Hall.
Ghosh A.K. & Kumar.P (eds.) (2003).Production Management. New Delhi: Anmol Publication
Pvt. Ltd.
Godana B.E. and Ngugi K. (2014) Determinants of Effective Inventory Management at Kenol
Kobil Limited. European Journal of Business Management. Vol. 1, Issue 11, ISSN 2307-
6305. http://www.ejobm.org. London: McGraw-Hill.
22
Inyama, B.J. (2006). Management Theory: Principle and practices, New York: Harcourt Branch
Jovanovich Publishers.
Jay, H., & Barry, R. (2006).Principles of Operations Management.6th Edition. New Jersey;
Pearson Prentice Hall, Education Inc.
Larrson, S.E. (1995). Inventory System and Control Handbook, London: McGraw-Hill.
Letinkaya, S. & Lee, C.Y. (2000).Stock Replenishment and Shipment Scheduling for Vendor-
Management Inventory System Management Science.46(2):26-32
Miller, R. (2010). Inventors Control: Theory and Practice. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Ogbo, A. I. (2011). Production and Operations Management. Enugu: De-verge Agencies Ltd.
Peterson, R. & Silver, E. (1998).Decision system for Inventory Management and Production
planning. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Potilen, T & Goldsby, T. (2003). Vendor- Managed Inventory and Supplier- Managed Inventory
Programs: How Economic Value Added can help sell the Change. International Journal
of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 33(7): 689-707.
Rosenblatt, B.S (1997). Modern Business- A System Approach (2nd edition) Boston: Houghton
Muffin Co.
23
Stock J.R & Lambert, D.M. (2001). Strategic Logistics Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Smaros S.J., Lehtonen, J.M. Appelquist, P. & Holmstrom, J. (2003). The Impact of Increasing
Demand Visibility on Production and Inventory Control Efficiency International Journal
of Physical Distribution and Logistics, 33(4): 445-565.
Telsang M. (2010) Industrial Engineering and Production Management S. Chand and Company
Ltd. New Delhi – 110055
Tersine, R.J. (1994). Principles of Inventory and Materials Management, 4th Ed. New York:
Elsevier North-Holland.
Vickery, S. Calutone, R. and Droge, C. (1999). Supply Chain Flexibility: AN Empirical Study:
Journal of Supply Chain Management. 35(3):71-83.
Walter, M. Johnson, E. and Davis, T. (1999). Vendor Managed Inventory in the Retail Supply
Chain. Journal of Business Logistics, 20(1): 479-498.
Zhang, Q. Vonderembse, M.A. and Lom, J.S. (2005). Logistic Flexibility and its Impact on
Customer Satisfaction” The International Journal of Logistics Management, 16(1): 89-96.
24