Production Planning and Customer Satisfaction in Table Water Companies in Edo State

This study aims to model the relationship between production planning and customer satisfaction in selected table water companies in Edo State. The production planning strategies analysed in this study were demand forecasting, aggregate planning, capacity utilizations and quality control; with the following dimensions in focus: product quality, product brand, availability of products, lead time and satisfaction with sales process.This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design approach. The population for this study comprised all registered table water companies in Edo State (527) and a random sample of two hundred (200) customers of table water companies in Edo State. Two (2) different sets of questionnaire were distributed to two hundred and twenty seven (227) production managers of Table water companies in Edo State and two hundred (200) randomly selected retailers of table water companies. Data collected was analyzed with descriptive statistics and then Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) software – Smart PLS (Partial Least Square) was used for model estimation. The study found out that production planning in Table water companies in Edo state does not have a significant influence on customer satisfaction. It was also discovered that out of four production planning methods (aggregate planning, capacity utilization, demand forecasting and quality control) only one (aggregate planning) had a positive and significant influence on customer satisfaction as it pertains to product quality, product brand, satisfaction with sales process, lead time and availability of products. This study presents an attempt to implement production planning techniques in table water companies in Edo state, Nigeria, with a bid to improve customer satisfaction.