Supply Chain Innovative Practices and Customer Satisfaction: Insights from Manufacturing SMEs

Abstract In today’s highly competitive business landscape, SMEs face the challenges of meeting customer demands and expectations. To remain competitive, attract and satisfy customers, manufacturing SMEs must adopt innovative practices within their supply chain. This research investigates the influence of supply chain innovative practices (SCIPs) on customer satisfaction within the context of manufacturing SMEs. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was utilised to collect the data from 172 customers of manufacturing SMEs in Mwanza, Tanzania to gain comprehensive insights into the influence of SCIPs on customer satisfaction. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression (BLR) were used for data analysis. The research findings revealed that manufacturing SMEs adopt SCIPs, including digitalization and IoT integration, vendor-managed inventory, customisation, Just-In-Time, collaborative relationships, and lean manufacturing to a moderate extent. Moreover, the findings demonstrate a significant and positive correlation between SCIPs and customer satisfaction. We conclude that SMEs that successfully adopt SCIPs experience higher levels of customer satisfaction, which, in turn, positively influences customer loyalty and brand reputation. Therefore, manufacturing SMEs can capitalise on customer satisfaction, loyalty, and sustainable growth by strategizing SCIPs along their supply chain. The study contributes to the existing knowledge by providing valuable insights into the importance of SCIPs in improving customer satisfaction in manufacturing SMEs.