Factors Affecting Road Construction Heavy Machinery Spare Part Supply Chain Performance: An Ethiopian Case

Abstract

Road construction, which requires heavy equipment, is one of the developing countries' leading priorities, including Ethiopia. In Ethiopia's case, this sector consumes the most prominent national budget, though challenged due to a shortage of spare parts that allow the deployed machines to work efficiently. Therefore, this study aims to assess the Factors Affecting Road Construction Heavy-Machinery SPSC performance: An Ethiopian Case. Based on the literature reviewed, the study has identified four factors that affect performance (responsiveness and efficiency): inventory level, information sharing, demand forecasting accuracy, and product pricing. A descriptive and explanatory research design was used in the study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were used in this research. For quantitative data, structured questionnaires were used. Besides, focused group discussions were conducted to collect more qualitative information. Out of 100 employees of the study organization, a sample size of 63 was taken using a stratified sampling technique. The response rate was 100%. The Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, percentages, correlation, and regression analysis with the help of SPSS version 26 software. The study results indicated that the inventory level, information sharing, demand forecasting accuracy, and product pricing collectively impact the SPSC performance significantly. These factors collectively explain 43.6% of the SPSC performance, while the rest, 56.4%, is explained by other factors which are not subject to this study, such as transportation-related and other variables mentioned in the qualitative findings. Further, the study revealed that, among the predictors (independent variables), information sharing-related characteristics have more remarkable predictive ability for SPSC performance (responsiveness and efficiency). In contrast, the other variables relating to inventory level, demand forecasting accuracy, and product price has no impact on predicting SPSC performance (responsiveness and efficiency), as far as the other variable information sharing-related factors exist. Moreover, the study recommends enhancing the quality of information sharing across SC members by employing the latest IT facilities that can enhance information sharing benefits the SPSC actors in Ethiopia. .