Small And Medium Scale Enterprises (Smes)

Globalisation coupled with the advancement in information technology has created a high level of uncertainty among businesses all over the world. Companies and corporations all over the world irrespective of the industry have no choice but to improve their product and service provision if they are to survive in these turbulent times. In the field of manufacturing cost leadership strategy has always been seen as the best way to survive and this has been achieved through lean operation mechanisms. Many manufacturing firms have been able to achieve substantial increases in productivity by means of applying lean methods of production with the intention of reacting appropriately to this growing competition. The applications of lean production method

This could be effectively achieved if there is effective collaboration with upstream suppliers. This assertion holds true not only in big corporations and organization’s but also Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). This study therefore focuses on SMEs, with specific emphasis on supply chain management practices and performance (market, financial and operational) of SMEs in Sekondi-Takoradi area in the Western Region of Ghana. According to Arawati (2011) there is the need for businesses to focus on supply chain management practices since it enhances SCM activities and ultimately performances. From the perspective of Muhammad (2004), one way of achieving a competitive edge is through the implementation of SCM practices. It is therefore essential that a research is carried to have empirical evidence on how SCMPs affect the SMEs in

Relying on extant literature, the studies of Koh et al., (2007) and Bayraktar et al., (2009) came out with 12 SCM practices: outsourcing, subcontracting, close partnership with suppliers, many suppliers, close partnership with customers, holding safety, JIT supply, strategic planning, 3PL, supply chain benchmarking, stock, e-procurement, and few suppliers. Customer and supplier management, information sharing, supply chain features, and communication and speed were the constructs proposed by Chow et al., (2008) using a five point interval rating scale where five represents the highest degree.

In their research, Robb et al., (2008) using a seven-point Likert scale, came out with four constructs for measuring SCM practices.

This study will be adopting the construct proposed by Li et al., (2005) for measuring supply chain management practices. This is because it was developed based on different industries and hence suitable for the current research. These elements are strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, level of information sharing, level of information quality and