INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECT PLANNING IN THE NIGERIAN FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been known as vital technologies that are associated with production mechanisms for technological progress. The study examined the impact of ICT on project planning activities in Nigerian food and beverage industry. Data from primary sources were obtained through the use of questionnaire and interview scheduled on one hundred and seventy five (175) purposively selected users of ICT across three Departments of food and beverage firms in Nigeria. This was with a view to elicit information on the level of outputs and significance of the application of ICT to the performance of the industry. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the analysis of variance shows that there were significant difference in the mean rank of respondents’ opinion on ICT to improve quality (F=110.07, P = 0.05), reduce cost (F=110.07, p<0.05), improves process (F=140.93, p<0.05), and reduce processing time (F=184.36, p<0.05). Evidence shows that Internet usage, Virtual Private Network (VPN), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) had strong impact on product quality, process improvement, cost and time reduction. It was concluded that the absence of ICT in the firm will slow down the effective coordination of raw materials.