E-Procurement Adoption Challenges within the Procurement Cycle at the IFRC, Kenya

Background: Procurement is a fundamental organizational function involving sourcing, negotiating, and acquiring goods and services essential for operations, and it is especially critical in humanitarian contexts where it directly affects the speed and quality of aid delivery. With rapid technological advancement, e-procurement systems have emerged as a key innovation, using digital platforms to manage procurement activities such as sourcing, tendering, contracting, payments, and auditing, thereby improving transparency, accountability, efficiency, and cost control. While many governments and organizations, including those in Kenya, have made progress in digitizing procurement to improve transparency and reduce inefficiencies, implementation remains uneven, particularly in humanitarian settings where procurement is often time-sensitive and complex. In Africa, and Kenya specifically, progress is evident but continues to be constrained by infrastructure gaps, limited technical capacity, and resistance to change. Despite its recognized benefits, including cost reduction, improved compliance, and enhanced supply chain efficiency, e-procurement adoption in humanitarian organizations remains inconsistent due to challenges such as system integration difficulties, inadequate infrastructure, weak regulatory frameworks, and user resistance. Objective: The main objective of this study is to analyze E-procurement adoption challenges within the procurement cycle at the IFRC, Kenya Method: Guided by the Process Performance Theory and the Technology Organization Environment (TOE) framework, the research adopted a descriptive and a correlational research design within a quantitative framework purposively targeting 94 procurement staff at IFRC in Nairobi. Data were collected between June and August 2025, achieving a 95.7% response rate (n = 90). Findings: Using the Likert-scale to quantify the extent of agreement or disagreement with various challenge statements, a descriptive statistical analysis was conducted revealing technological challenges with recurring technical issues (mean = 2.6, SD = 0.97), organizational challenges including inadequate staff training (mean = 2.6, SD = 0.95), regulatory challenges in enforcing policies and guidelines (mean = 2.6, SD = 0.96) and operational challenges including integration of supplier databases and contract management tools (mean = 2.7, SD = 0.92) Conclusion and Recommendation: The study recommends strengthening organization-wide capacity-building and training programs; enhancing ICT infrastructure and system integration; improving supplier integration and external stakeholder engagement; and strengthening leadership support, governance, and policy enforcement.