INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE AND THE PERCEPTION OF BUSINESS EDUCATION LECTURERS FOR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF SUPERMARKETS IN SOUTH-SOUTH, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated inventory management software and the perception of Business Education lecturers for operational efficiency of supermarkets in South-South, Nigeria. The increasing complexity of supply chain dynamics, effective inventory management has become crucial for supermarkets to maintain competitiveness and profitability. To guide the study, the research employed two purposes of the study, two research questions and two research hypotheses formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The design of the study was descriptive survey. The population of the study comprised 182 Business Education lecturers in Public Universities, South-South, Nigeria. The sample of the study was the census of the population purposively selected for the study. A 35 item - researcher made questionnaire was used to collect the primary data which was tested for reliability using Cronchbach Alpha statistic and the reliability coefficient of 0.96 was obtained. The data was analyzed using IBM-SPSS software, version 25 to determine mean statistics for the research questions and the p-value of independent t-test for the research hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed slightly positive perception of business education lecturers of inventory management software (IBM Sterling Inventory Visibility and SAP S/4HANA for operational efficiency of supermarkets in South-South Nigeria. The findings further revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of (IBM Sterling Inventory Visibility and SAP S/4HANA and the perception between less-experienced and more-experienced business education lecturers for operational efficiency of supermarkets in South-South. Nigeria Based on the findings, the study concludes that a positive perception of inventory management software among business education lecturers is crucial for the development of a skilled workforce and the improvement of operational efficiency in supermarkets in South-South Nigeria. Hence, the study recommends training programs for lecturers on inventory management software, integration of technology-focused content into business education curricula to better prepare students for industry challenges.