Evaluating the efficiency of inventory management systems in Tanzania: a case of Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the inventory management system of TANESCO, a public utility company in Tanzania. The objectives were to identify challenges faced by the company which affects the efficiency of inventory management system, to determine how inventory control procedures and policies affect the efficiency of inventory management system of the company and also to determine how the company Inventory Management Systems affects the efficiency of the company’s inventory management.A descriptive research design was used in which a survey was conducted on 80 TANESCO staff members and 15 suppliers of inventories to the corporation. Stratified random sampling was used to select respondents who are based at TANESCO headquarters in Dar es Salaam and regional branches including Arusha, Moshi, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Kinondoni. Data was entered into the software package SPSS and analyzed using statistical tests and techniques. The findings reveal that involvement of the normal staff in the inventory policy formulation process, proper planning, communication between users and inventory staff as well as consideration on of technological factors facilitates an efficient inventory management system.It is therefore recommended to acknowledge the skills of both staff and users of the system, ensure proper coordination between user department and inventory staff so as to smoothern adoption of the new inventory system and benefit more from it as the organization.