International Journal of Swarm Intelligence and Evolutionary Computation

Abstract

Technological Innovations as a Potential Vehicle for Supply Chain Integration on Basic Metal Industries

Alie Wube Dametew and Frank Ebinger

This study investigated the roles of technological innovation on basic metal industries and then developed technological innovation framework for enhancing sustainable supply chain integrations to basic metal industries. This sustainable supply chain integration assures mutual benefits and competitive advantage of manufacturing firms. Since the previous research work indicate that technological innovation have critical impact in promoting basic metal industries to improve their performance (in terms of productivity, information shearing, resource utilization, knowledge and technology transfer) and achieve sustainable competitive environments. The filed observation, questioner and expert interview result from basic metal industries indicates that the technological capability of local industries to invention, adoption, modification, improving and use a given innovative technology is very poor. As the result, this poor technological innovation were occurs due to improper innovation and technology transfer framework, noncollaborative operating environment between foreign and local industries, very weak national technology policies, problems research and innovation centers, the common miss points on basic metal industry innovation systems were investigated in this study. However the study indicates that to tackle such problems, adopting flexible innovative and sustainable technological innovation systems to manufacturing industries used as a vehicle for improving the performance and competitiveness of the firms. Also one of the conclusion of the article is that, through using the developed technological innovation framework in this study, basic metal industries improve sustainable supply chain integrations, improve innovation process and support an innovative culture for sector capabilities and achieve sustainable competitive advantage to basic metal industries.