INTEGRATING PROCUREMENT AND ON-SITE MATERIAL HANDLING IN THE FERTILIZER PRODUCTION INDUSTRY IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between integrating procurement and on-site material handling in the fertilizer production industry in Rivers State, Nigeria. Integrating procurement was measured using supplier integration, internal procurement integration, and information integration, while on-site material handling served as the dependent variable. A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised staff of selected fertilizer production firms in Rivers State, from which a sample of 142 respondents was drawn. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire, while the hypotheses were tested using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that supplier integration, internal procurement integration and information integration each had a significant positive relationship with on-site material handling. Consequently, all the null hypotheses were rejected. The study concluded that integrating procurement is a significant driver of effective on-site material handling in the fertilizer production industry in Rivers State. The study therefore recommended that management of fertilizer production firms should strengthen supplier collaboration, enhance internal coordination across procurement and operational units, and invest in integrated information systems to improve on-site material handling efficiency.