Role of project planning in sales volumes in the briquettes industry in Kenya: A case of Acacia innovations limited

Abstract

Project planning is the process of determining resources both tangible and intangible needed beforehand to achieve organizational goals. It is an essential aspect for success. Briquette manufacturing is fairly new in Kenya and most companies have an amazing concept but dismally fail at execution due to lack of planning. Production in Kenya dates back to the 70s but it has been limited to small scale, only recently are more studies being done on briquettes and their use, which has sparked a market frenzy. Globally, 41% of the world’s population are using non-renewable energy for cooking and heating. This represents a huge market share for the briquette industry globally. The projection in growth of sales is directly attributable to unavailability of cooking fuels especially in developing countries and briquettes are mostly preferred due to low emissions. The uptake of briquettes in Africa has however been low due to lack of awareness by consumers of clear advantages of the product. This study aimed at determining the role of project planning in sales volumes in the briquettes industry in Kenya. A case of Acacia Innovations Limited. A descriptive study design was used using quantitative approach (questionnaires). The target population was 100 and from this, a sample population of 80 respondents was included in the study. Stratified random sampling was used to collect data from employees of Acacia Innovations Limited. Primary data was used and collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Presentation of data was through tables and bar graphs. Information generated from this study will contribute to the briquettes industry in influencing utilization of project planning tools and contributing to the growth of sales in briquette manufacturing companies. The study found that majority (88.70%) of the employees at Acacia Innovations Limited were aware of cost estimation and forecasting metrics in place, while 11.30% were not aware of any cost estimation and forecasting metrics in place. Regression analysis was conducted to establish the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable (sales volumes). The findings revealed a positive and significant relationship between financial resource planning and sales volumes (β =.402, p=0.000<.05). The results also indicated that human capital planning and sales volumes were positively and significantly related (β =.247, p=0.000<.05), material requirement planning and sales volumes were positively but insignificantly related (β =.052, p=0.349>.05). Finally, the results showed that time management planning was positively and significantly related with sales volumes (β =.224, p=0.039<.05). Based on the findings the study concluded that the aspects of project planning adopted in this study: financial resource planning, human capital planning and time management planning positively and significantly influences sales volume in the briquettes industry except for material requirements planning which was found to positively but insignificantly influence sales volumes. The study recommended that the management of Acacia Innovations Limited should strive to implement project planning strategies such as financial resource planning, human capital planning, time management planning and material requirements planning because they have been found to influence sales volumes.