DO FIRMS’ INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AFFECT THE LOYALTY OF THEIR CUSTOMERS? EVIDENCE FROM WATER BOTTLING

Inventory makes up a larger share of the present assets of industrial organisations, and water bottling companies are no different. As a result, careful inventory management can provide a significant competitive advantage in terms of retaining and/or expanding market share. This can be accomplished if inventory management solutions result in increased client loyalty. The purpose of this study was to see if inventory management strategies have an impact on customer loyalty. Five (5) water bottling enterprises in Ghana's Ashanti area were chosen. To determine such effects, this study used an explanatory research approach and multiple linear regression analysis. From these companies, 150 employees and 150 customers were chosen using a targeted and practical sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to collect primary information. Cronbach Alpha and common method bias are used to analyse the questionnaires' reliability and validity (total variance explained). When we adjust for customers' years of employment with the company and education, the findings reveal that lean inventory system and information technology are the twin inventory management systems that have a considerable positive effect on customer loyalty. In addition, as a control variable, a customer's educational background has a strong positive effect on their loyalty to the company. As a result, the study finds that combining a lean inventory system with information technology as a mixed technique for inventory management might be a beneficial tool for increasing consumer loyalty to businesses. When a lean inventory system and information technology are utilised to manage inventory, customers with a higher educational rank become more loyal. This paper's theoretical implication is that it is the first of its type in Ghana to investigate how inventory management techniques affect customer loyalty. It also provides guidance to business leaders on how to approach inventory management in a way that improves customer loyalty.

Please see the link :- https://www.ikprress.org/index.php/JGEMBR/article/view/6549