Supply chain intelligence and its impact on business performance

Intense global competition has greatly influenced how organisations strive for survival and business success. The emergence of competitive intelligence (CI) and supply chain management (SCM) in dealing with such circumstances has resulted in the need to study further their subsequent impact on business performance. This study examined the use of intelligence in supply chain activities. It attempts to fill the gap in current research by investigating the role of supply chain intelligence (SCI) as a factor influencing a firm's competitiveness that is crucial for future business performance. Based on responses received from 174 firms, confirmatory factor and multiple regression analyses were used to test the research hypotheses. Results suggest that there are significant positive relationships between SCI and business performance. Thus, it validates SCI's contribution and emphasises its potential, if managed efficiently, to boost performance. This study has provided new empirical evidence concerning this. It is suggested that SCI should subsequently be adopted by business organisations as one of the measures to handle the increasingly competitive business environment.