The impact of sustainable supply chain practices in product quality

An Analytical Exploratory Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Employees at the Imam Ali Al-Hadi (peace be upon him) Factories Vegetable Oil / Maysan Branch

A Thesis Submitted to the College of Administration and Economics at the University of Karbala in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration

Submilled by

Saja Abdul Hussein Abu Shaiaa Al-Juwaibrawi

Supervised by

Professor Dr.

Mahmoud Fahd Abdel Ali Al-Dulaimi

Abstract

The study aims to demonstrate the impact of sustainable supply chain practices on product quality at the level of Imam Ali Al-Hadi (peace be upon him) vegetable oil factories in Maysan Governorate. In order to achieve this, the sustainable supply chain variable was measured in five sub-dimensions, which are (sustainable purchasing, sustainable manufacturing, sustainable storage, sustainable transportation, reverse logistics), and product quality was measured in six sub-dimensions, which are (performance, credibility, features, serviceability, aesthetics, perceived quality), The study started with a major problem that the factory suffers from lack of interest and modern technologies, and it also relies on old tools in its production, which negatively affects the development of product quality. Through this problem, the study included several questions revolving around the nature of the relationship between its variables in the field, the most important of which were (What is the level of availability of the dimensions of the sustainable supply chain variable in the factories of Imam Ali Al-Hadi (peace be upon him) vegetable oils / Maysan branch?), (What is the level and direction of the correlation relationship between the sustainable supply chain and product quality in the factories of vegetable oils / Maysan branch?), and the importance of the study emerged that the results of the correlation and influence relationships between the study variables, which will be delivered in the field, can help the factory management on the variables with the greatest correlation and the greatest influence to give them priority in crisis analysis and pay more attention to them.   The study community included Imam Ali Al-Hadi (peace be upon him) factories for vegetable oils in Maysan Governorate, and the study sample amounted to (184) workers. The questionnaire was used as the main tool in collecting the data and information needed for the study. For the purpose of analyzing and processing the data statistically, the study relied on a set of statistical programs (SPSS V.25, Amos V.25, Microsoft Excel). The study reached a set of conclusions, the most important of which are: The sustainable supply chain variable achieved a high degree of importance at the level of the study sample factories. This indicates the management’s reliance on following sustainable purchasing procedures and rationalizing manufacturing processes in order to reduce waste and provide appropriate storage conditions to preserve stored resources. Some recommendations were also issued, the most important of which is that due to the novelty of the current study variables, it is necessary to direct the factory management to stimulate production lines and marketing activity to provide new ideas for vegetable oil products in terms of packaging, variety of weights and different designs, and facilitate the transfer of products to direct sales outlets and wholesalers in the best possible way.

key words: sustainable supply chain, product quality.