Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 22 Issue 8

Inventory Management and Control Systems in Covid-19 Pandemic Era: An Exploratory Study of Selected Health Institutions in Anambra State, Nigeria c) Objective of the Study The broad objective of this study is to explore the inventory management and control systems being used by selected health institutions, and its suitability and challenges in the Covid-19 era using the case of Anambra state, Nigeria. To achieve this, this study specifically sought to: 1. Ascertain the inventory management systems currently being used in health institutions and its level of effectiveness. 2. Determine the extent to which the inventory management systems pose challenges to health institutions in the COVID-19 era. 3. Examine the degree to which inventory management influence optimal stock levels in the COVID-19 era. d) Research Questions The following research questions were addressed in this study: 1. What inventory management systems are currently being used in health institutions and how effective are they? 2. To what extent do the inventory management systems pose challenges to health institution in the COVID-19 pandemic period? 3. To what degree do the inventory management systems influence optimal stock levels in selected health institutions in the COVID-19 era? e) Hypotheses Development H O1 : The inventory management systems currently being used in the COVID-19 pandemic era are not significantly effective. H O2 : The inventory management systems pose no significant challenges to health institutions in the COVID- 19 pandemic era. H O3 : Inventory management systems (proxies by re- order level system, periodic review system and economic order quantity model) do not significantly influence optimal stock levels in selected health institutions in the COVID-19 era. II. L iterature R eview a) Conceptual Review i. Inventory Management and control systems Inventory management (IM) simply refers to a process that consists of planning, organizing and controlling the flow of stock of materials from their initial purchase unit through internal operations to the service point through distribution to clients or customers. Agu, Obi-Anike and Eke (2016) defined inventory management as the sum total act of coordinating the purchase, manufacturing and distribution functions with a view to meeting the marketing demands and organizational needs of availing the product to its clients or customers. It equally refers to the collection of activities that are put in place in order to ensure that customers have the demanded product or service. Inventory management encompasses the development and management of inventory levels such as raw materials, semi-finished materials and finished goods. The only way of making adequate supplies of goods is 44 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue VIII Version I Year 2022 ( ) A © 2022 Global Journals of COVID-19. There are varied options which an institution can utilize in managing its inventory as a way of achieving improved product and service delivery and efficiency (Wanyoike & Tundura, 2016). Prempeh (2016) opine that the current assets constitute one of the fundamental assets in health institutions, it makes it very vital that the right quantity of inventory is maintained at any given time to avoid stock out, expirations and excess holdings. This could be the challenge with some health institutions that have been found with stock-out situation that they had to refer patients to external sources when prescriptions are made. b) Statement of Problem The system of inventory management being used in some hospitals could have their number of challenges presently due to corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic and its implication on health institutions. Some hospitals, thus, find it hard to balance the supply of inventory with current demand though every hospital would want to have enough inventories in medical supplies to satisfy the demands of its patients. Ideally, no hospital would want to hold too much inventory to due to the associated inventory holding cost (Agu, Obi- Anike & Eke, 2016). Previous authors such as Onuorah (2019), Bawa, Asamoah and Kissi (2018), Sporta (2018), Dedunu and Weerasinghae (2018), Atnafu and Assefa (2018), Musau, Namusonge, Makokha and Ngeno (2017), Onikoyi, Babafemi, Ojo and Aje (2017), Mwangi (2016), Etale and Bingilar (2016), Wanyoike and Tundura (2016), Agu, Obi-Anike and Eke (2016), Edwin and Florence (2015), Ogbo and Ukpere (2014), Koin, Cheruiyot and Mwangangi (2014), Anichebe and Agu (2013), and others have all examined the extent to which inventory management affect corporate performance of enterprises. There are abundant local researches in Nigeria that determined the relationship between inventory management techniques and firm profitability before the onset of corona virus disruptions in Nigeria. However, the studies always assumed that the presence of adequate inventory management techniques already presupposes that there is also an appreciable inventory control measure but the COVID-19 pandemic has faulted this assumption. To fill this gap, this study was conducted to explore the inventory management system (proxies by re-order level system, periodic review system and economic order quantity model) and inventory control (proxy by optimal stock level) using selected registered health institutions in Anambra state as cases of reference.