Factors Influencing Effective Procurement Management in Organizations; a Study of National Hospital Insurance Funds, Eldoret Branch

The purpose of the study was to find out the factors contributing to effective procurement management in organizations with specific reference to National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). The specific objectives of the study was to establish the effects of needs identification, delivery schedule, supplier relations management and product review and acceptance on procurement management at NHIF, Eldoret Branch

The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The target population for the study were 150 respondents. The target population comprised of procurement manager and 149 members of staff of different departments within the organisation. The sample size comprised of 63 respondents. The researcher used purposive sampling technique to select procurement manager and stratified random sampling technique in selecting employees. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used as instruments of data collection. The research instruments were validated and tested for reliability prior to field administration. The data was organized, edited, analyzed and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The data was analyzed using frequency tables, percentages, charts and graphs. The effectiveness of procurement management at National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) was found to be influenced by 21.5% of four factors that were studied; needs assessment (β=0.079), delivery schedule (β=0.173), supplier relationship management (β=0.123) and product review and acceptance (β=0.274). The overall coefficient of was R=0.548 which showed that there existed an average degree of correlation between the four factors studied and procurement management in organisations. To improve the procurement effectives, employees and other managers need to refrain from having conflict of interest by also being suppliers. This will ensure that good quality products and services are procured in the organisation. To improve SRM, close interaction should be enhanced whereby organisations will provide suppliers with information on the date, standards and quality of goods and services to be provided. The study is also significant in that it forms a useful foundation against which future studies can be undertaken by other researchers taking into account the suggestions for further studies. Findings of the study provide useful literature for other scholars who may wish to explore the area of procurement management and organizational performance further.