Effect of Management Information Flow and Warehousing Management Activities on Profitability of Cattle Dealers in Selected Cattle Markets in Lagos State, Nigeria

Logistics management is an essential ingredient for organizations in gaining higher profitability. The goal of logistics management was to optimize the number, size, and geographical arrangement of plant and warehouse facilities, select transportation methods, and control distribution costs. There has been shortfall in the supply of cattle and its products due to the considerable spatial separation of production area from consumption area and other ancillary factor. Also, most livestock/cattle supplier in Nigeria do not employed effective logistics management which in turn negatively affect meat/cattle delivery to their customers, inventories, and profit performance. This study examined the effect of management information flow and warehousing management activities on profitability of cattle dealers in selected markets in Nigeria. This study employed descriptive survey design. The target population comprised 4, 248 cattle dealers across the eight approved Abattoir/ markets in Lagos State. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to select the sample size of 437. A close-ended well-structured survey questionnaire was adapted, validated and used for collecting data for the study. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the constructs were 0.931. The response rate to the 437 copies of the questionnaire administered was 82.7%. Data were analyzed using structural equation model (SEM). Findings revealed that management of information flow had significant positive effect on the profitability of cattle dealers in selected cattle markets in Lagos State (β= 0.269, t=5.450, p-value<0.05). Warehousing management activities had significant positive effect on the profitability of cattle dealers in selected cattle markets in Lagos State β=0.391, t=9.085, p<0.05). The study concluded that logistics management had significant and positive effect on the profitability of cattle dealers in selected markets in Lagos State. It was recommended that internal structure and systems that allow free and timely flow of information between cattle dealers and primary producers/cattle farmers should be put in place. Further, there should provision adequate linkage between the different players involved in the meat production/ processing value chain. Also, a strategic approach to logistics management through embracing modern technology and employee training is recommended.