The warehouse plays one of the key activities in supply chain by creating time utility to the product, hence adding value to the product to fulfill the requirements of a customer. It ensures that products are stored and availed whenever required.
With the demand for health commodities increasing, KEMSA has policies and procedures in place to ensure that stocks are well managed. The Authority has two warehouses in Nairobi and eight (8) depots across the country to enhance flexibility and quick response to customers demand.
The implementation of the new business model following devolution of health services ensures that customers are effectively and efficiently served. To achieve this, KEMSA through thorough scientific research realized that Mombasa and Kisumu depots should be upgraded to fully fledged distribution centres. Therefore, the authority is in the process of implementing the decentralization of distribution to offer better services to its customers.
KEMSA, has now acquired the main Embakasi warehouse and will soon embark on the relocation of stocks from Sunflag to Embakasi. This will improve efficiency as goods will be at one place and response time to customer orders will reduce as stocks will be under one roof. Economically, KEMSA will also save a lot in terms of rent, transportation between warehouses and depots to fulfill a customer order. This will move the authority to the next level where it will now serve its customers better and gain a competitive lead over its competitors.
Warehouse has also gone a long way in building capacity and infrastructure to facilitate free flow of products. On this note, there are qualified personnel in supply chain managing the warehouse and inventory. In addition, KEMSA continuously improves personnel skills and knowledge by offering tailor-made trainings designed to specific activities in the Warehouse. Other staff members are usually taken for overseas training in supply chain where they carryout benchmarking activities with the best practitioners in the market. This has improved performance as personnel are motivated.