The role of supply chain intelligence on risk mitigation in manufacturing firms in Uganda

Abstract

Manufacturing firms in Uganda operate within supply chains characterised by high baseline risk exposure, driven by infrastructural deficits, institutional volatility, and limited access to formal risk-management instruments. This narrative review examines the role of supply chain intelligence (SCI) — defined as the systematic acquisition, integration, analysis, and dissemination of supply chain data for risk-oriented decision support — in strengthening risk mitigation capabilities within Uganda’s manufacturing sector. The review is organised around a three-dimensional analytical framework encompassing risk visibility, decision agility, and contextual fit. Drawing on a synthesis of the global SCI literature and the limited but growing body of empirical work from Uganda, the review assesses the conceptual foundations and enabling technologies of SCI, catalogues the risk typologies prevalent in Ugandan manufacturing, evaluates the mechanisms through which SCI translates into risk mitigation outcomes, and analyses the barriers and enablers shaping SCI adoption in developing-country contexts. The evidence indicates that while SCI offers genuine potential for improving risk outcomes, its effectiveness is contingent on alignment with Uganda’s institutional and infrastructural realities. The review identifies a critical gap between the volume of developed-economy SCI research and the near-absence of primary empirical studies grounded in Ugandan manufacturing, and calls for context-specific research that tests SCI interventions under the conditions that characterise Uganda’s supply chain environment.