Effects of Adoption of Inventory Control System on Customer Service Delivery: A Case of Chuka University College of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

This study investigated the effects of inventory control system on customer service delivery in Chuka University. The objectives were to identify the nature of inventory control techniques used by different departments in higher learning institution, to find out the extent of adoption of inventory control techniques by different department in higher learning institution and to determine the effect of inventory control techniques on customer service delivery in higher learning institution. The study employed the descriptive research design and the use of questionnaire in data collection. The sample was carefully selected from the population of 250 employees by use of purposive random sampling procedure. Purposive sample of seven departments providing customer service delivery was selected and sample size of 13 employees was selected from each department depending on the number of employees who provided reliable information. The data were presented using diagrams and tables. Analysis was done using frequencies and percentages. Hypotheses was tested for significance of relationship between dependent and independent variables using the chi-square. It was established that the stocks were well managed in Chuka University departments. It was found that various inventory control techniques like the JIT, two-bin and visual review were moderately employed by the departments in Chuka University. 38.4% of the employees recommended the JIT technique to be used most frequently and 30.8% suggest the TBS not to be used at all. It was established that all the stock control system were employed in Chuka University and were fairly implemented. The findings of this study will be used by the institution to come up with the appropriate inventory control model that fully satisfies customer service delivery. The recommendation is that management of the university should provide continuous training to familiarize employees on appropriate inventory control techniques.