The Influence of operations strategies on customer satisfaction among automotive component manufacturers in Nairobi County

Abstract

With the increasing business competition and the need to become adaptable to the changing customer needs, firms are integrating operations strategies to improve and retain their customers. Due to different challenges facing automotive industries, these firms are not able to capitalize on their operations in order to deliver products and services as required by customers. The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of operations strategies on customer satisfaction with a focus on automotive component manufacturers in Nairobi County, with specific objectives being five, focusing on influence of quality, cost reduction features, delivery speed, flexibility and innovation on customer satisfaction. The study adopted the use of descriptive and inferential research design to analyze the collected data. The population consisted of 25 automotive component manufacturers in Nairobi County listed with Kenya Association of Manufacturers, while the focus was the employees of the firms, holding positions in either operations or marketing. The findings of the descriptive test indicate that the most commonly applied strategies are delivery speed and flexibility, while innovation and cost reduction features as least. The correlation analysis indicates that there is an overall significant strong positive association between operations strategies and customer satisfaction. The study recommends that automotive component manufacture firms should channel and ensure a proper management structure to implement operations strategies since they highly contribute to the operationalization of the firm and ensure focus on customer’s requirements.