Abstract:To circumvent the possibility of business failure, small to medium enterprises in emerging economies face mounting pressure to increase the satisfaction of their customers. The adoption of supply chain management practices is critical to the provision of quality products and services as well as the satisfaction of customers by small to medium enterprises. This paper investigated the relationship between customer satisfaction, supply chain management practices and three input factors; namely, product quality, flexibility and product variety in small to medium enterprises. The study adopted a quantitative approach in which a four section questionnaire was distributed to 131 managers in small to medium enterprises based in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Hypotheses were tested using regression analysis. The results of the study revealed that product quality and flexibility predicted supply chain management practices. Supply chain management practices were also statistically significant, and mediated the relationship between customer satisfaction and product quality and flexibility. Based on these results, conclusions were drawn and appropriate recommendations were made. JEL Classification: L1Keywords: Product quality, flexibility, product variety, supply chain management practices, customer satisfaction IntroductionThat small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are renowned drivers of economic growth in emerging economies such as South Africa is a long-established fact. SMEs are well known for their contributions to the development and survival as well as revenue generators to any economy (Rosenbusch, Brinckmann and Bausch, 2011). Even so, government, institutions, practitioners, as well as researchers have extensively commended and acknowledged the importance of SMEs as contributors to economic growth in terms of poverty alleviation (Sui, Lin, Fang and Lui, 2006) (Bhutta, Rana and Asad, 2008), and innovators of new product and services as well as technological advancement (Shin and Lee, 2013). However, it has been observed that the survival and the continued existence of SMEs strongly depends on their ability to fully integrate supply chain management (SCM) practices in a strategic manner in order to provide quality products and services, and to provide product varieties that satisfy the dynamic needs of modern-day customers (Kim, Cavusgil and Cavusgil, 2013;Sharifl et al., 2013).Customer satisfaction is the key to SME business growth and continued existence (Chow, 2014;Sun and Kim, 2013). It has been identified as the key indicator that differentiates between high or successful business performance and a low or unsuccessful business performance within the business environment in present-day South Africa (Sharifl et al., 2013). In other words, when a customer is satisfied, there is a strong possibility that the customer might become loyal, which results in the improvement of organisational performance (Terpstra and Verbeeten, 2014). A chain of customers is established through word of mouth as a result of custom...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the lifeblood of every economy. However, in order for them to sustain their role of contributing to the mainstream economy, SMEs have to implement effective strategies in all of their business operations, inclusive of logistics. The function of logistics is important to SMEs because it is the quintessence of the organisation's relationship with suppliers and customers. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges encountered as well as the benefits realised by SMEs during the implementation of logistics strategies. A quantitative approach using the cross-sectional descriptive survey technique was used in which a three-section questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected sample of 131 SME owners and managers in Emfuleni Local Municipality in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Data analysis was conducted using simple descriptive statistics. The results of the study reveal that financial constraints, the lack of logistics skills among the workforce, high costs of information technology and rapid technological advancements were the most important challenges to SMEs. Challenges related to inventory and environmental management emerged as the least relevant. Enhanced competitive advantage, increased sales and a reduction in operational costs were the most important benefits to SMEs. Reduction in labour turnover and innovation emerged as the least important benefits. Based on the findings, several recommendations were proposed.

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Background: With the observed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in South Africa, coupled with varying levels of national lockdowns, food retail supply chains in South Africa were adversely affected. The pandemic affected international travel, global logistics, supplier production and stockpiles at the supply end, which resulted in shortages at retailers and increased prices for basic food items.Objectives: The purpose of this article was to provide insights into and a synthesis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food retail supply chain models in South Africa.Method: A general review of both academic and grey literature (including commentaries) was studied to draw insights into the issues of food retail supply chain. This was combined with an examination of websites and annual reports of the major food retailers in South Africa to find their responses to the pandemic related to their supply chains.Results: It was found that the investment in supply chains and local supply development and the technology by the large food retailers in the country have paid off in the ways that they have been able to respond to and contain the shocks of the pandemic and point to the local versus the international when thinking about new supply chain models for the post-COVID-19 world.Conclusion: The insights drawn from this article may be useful in building more resilient food retail supply chains in the South African context. This article charts a way for more focused analyses using empirical data to thresh out more nuanced insights that will benefit the food retail supply chain and create a more resilient food system in South Africa.