Title: Effective inventory management among Malaysian SMEs in the manufacturing sector towards organisational performance

Authors: Lee Kah Mung; Joshua Loo Teck Khun; Shaian Kiumarsi

Addresses: Business School, SEGI College Penang, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia ' UOW KDU Penang, Penang University College, 32, Jalan Anson, George Town, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia ' Graduate School of Business (GSB), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia

Abstract: In several manufacturing firms, inventory constitutes most of the current assets, and this underscores the importance of inventory management as a fundamental issue for the majority of the firms irrespective of their sizes. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to assess the factors that influence the effectiveness of inventory management of Malaysian SMEs in the manufacturing sector. The study employs PLS-SEM technique to test the hypotheses. The main findings show that documentation and records, inventory control system and qualified personnel have positive effects on effective inventory management of Malaysian SMEs in the manufacturing sector. The study also reveals that effective inventory management has a mediating effect on the relationship between documentation and records, inventory control system, qualified personnel and organisational performance. Therefore, the study recommends that Malaysian SMEs in the manufacturing sector should improve their approaches to embracing effective inventory management practices in order to enhance organisational performance.

Keywords: organisational performance; effective inventory management; documentation and records; inventory stock control system; inventory optimisation philosophy; qualified personnel.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIEM.2023.134422

International Journal of Internet and Enterprise Management, 2023 Vol.9 No.4, pp.281 - 302

Received: 28 Jul 2019
Accepted: 18 Jun 2020
Published online: 23 Oct 2023 *

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