EFFECT OF BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING STRATEGIES ON PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF FOOD MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Business process re-engineering facilitates manufacturing companies in adapting to evolving market demands, thereby enhancing their competitiveness and operational efficiency. As a result, it plays a pivotal role in elevating production performance. Nevertheless, food manufacturing firms in Kenya are currently contending with ineffective processes that have caused a rise in production costs and a decrease in output. Considering this challenge, the researcher assessed the effect of business process re-engineering on the production performance of food manufacturing firms. The study's specific objectives encompassed determining the influence of business needs analysis, strategic cost analysis, integrated production technology, and process optimization on the production performance of food manufacturing firms in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Survival-based Theory, Theory of Constraints, Social-technical Systems Theory, and Absorptive Capacity Theory. The current study employed a correlational research design encompassing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study's target population was the 13 registered food manufacturing firms in Nakuru County, Kenya. The unit of analysis was the 13 food manufacturing firms and the unit of observation was the 66 managers. This number was small and manageable thus, sampling was not necessary. Instead, census design was employed where all the 66 managers were involved in the study. Data was collected by questionnaires, and subsequent analysis employed both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. In data analysis, Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 was utilized. According to the descriptive findings, the manufacturing firms’ production performance was affected by the business process re-engineering. The correlation analysis findings indicated correlation coefficients (r=0.831; p=0.000), (r=0.406; p=0.005), (r=0.702; p=0.000), and (r=0.528; p=0.002) for business needs analysis, strategic cost analysis, integrated production technology, and process optimization respectively. All variables had a significant and positive relationship with production performance. As such, business process re-engineering affected the manufacturing firms’ production performance. The regression analysis findings revealed R-squared value of 0.849, indicating that 84.9% of the variability in production performance was explained by business process re-engineering. Hence, it can be concluded that business process re-engineering has a significant effect on the production performance of food manufacturing firms. The study recommends that food manufacturing firms should integrate business process re-engineering into their overarching operational strategy by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and aligning production processes with evolving customer needs. This study offers new insights by specifically connecting to the food manufacturing firms’ production performance. It addresses business needs analysis, strategic cost analysis, integrated production technology, and process optimization, which have been previously underexplored in the concept of BPR and context of food manufacturing firms.