Factors Influencing Procurement Performance in State Corporations in Kenya- A Case Study of Kenya Ports Authority

In Kenya, the inefficiency and ineptness of overall implementation of procurement performance in many state corporations contributes to loss of over KES. 50 million annually. In addition, in over 50% of state corporations, the quality and quantity of procured goods and services do not meet the raised specifications during tendering and the actual procurement expenditure is normally higher than the budgeted procurement funds. Procurement expenditure could be minimized through effective implementation of procurement performance. The study used primary data which was collected through the use of questionnaires with respondents as the Procurement, Finance and line managers of Kenya Ports Authority. The specific objectives were to determine how procurement policy, procurement planning and procurement staff competitiveness affect state corporation procurement performance. The research design was descriptive in nature. Stratified random sampling method was used. The study targeted 6,476 employees of KPA working in the various departments and the sample size was 195. A modified Likert scale questionnaire will be developed divided into three parts. A pilot study was carried out to refine the instrument. The quality and consistency of the study was further assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Data analysis was performed on a PC computer using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Version 22) for Windows. Analysis was done using frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviation, regression, correlation and the information generated was presented in form of graphs, charts and tables. From the findings, majority of respondents have bachelor’s degree with other professional qualifications like CIPS which enhances professionalism in the procurement department. On working experience, majority of respondents have worked for between 6-10 years. On which department respondents work in, majority of respondents work in the procurement department. On position held by the respondents, majority hold the position of middle level procurement staff. It’s a policy for the procurement department to implement the procurement plan. Timelines are strictly observed in procurement planning this enhance efficiency in the department and service delivery for the organization. Staffs are regularly trained on new trends in matters procurement and this make to be at par in delivering excellent services in the organization. Conducting procurement performance appraisal at least twice in a year which enhances evaluation of the whole procurement processes Correlation between independent variable and dependent variable was 0.493, 0.412 and 0.241 for procurement policy, procurement planning and procurement staff competency. The coefficient of determination was 0.524 of 52.4%. The overall P-value of 0.00 which is less than 0.05 (5%) is an indication of relevance of the studied variables, significant at the calculated 95% level of significance. This implies that the studied independent variables namely procurement policy, procurement planning and procurement staff competency have significant effect on procurement performance of KPA. The study recommended that: Procurement policies set out by the organization should be known by all staff in the organization; that procurement planning should be a continuous process and not a onetime event: That staff working in the procurement department should be well trained in all procurement processes.