Paper Title
Strategic Planning, Constraints, Effects and Implications For Manufacturing Companies in Africa

Abstract
Most manufacturing companies in Nigeria depend heavily on imported raw materials, plant and machinery for their operations. They have to procure these with foreign currencies. The exchange rates are rising daily and cannot be predicted. Cash flow requirements are difficult to estimate and at the end of production, product prices reflect the exorbitant procurement cost of imported inputs. The resultant high price adversely affects sales and ultimately plant utilization caused by decrease in demand for the products. Corporate planning is therefore ineffective in the circumstance. Hence, strategic planning which is essential for corporate survival in the long term is now gradually becoming a worthless exercise for such companies. Keywords- Strategic planning, manufacturing, Companies, Africa