Evaluating the Synergy Between Industry 4.0 Technologies and Lean-Green Practices in Enhancing Supply Chain Effectiveness

• Ada John

  ladoke Akintola university of technology

  Author

Sub-Saharan African manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face persistent challenges in achieving supply chain effectiveness amidst resource constraints, infrastructure deficits, and mounting pressure for sustainable operations. While Industry 4.0 technologies and lean-green practices have independently demonstrated potential for enhancing operational performance, limited empirical evidence exists regarding their synergistic effects within the SSA SME context. This study addresses this gap through a multi-case empirical investigation of thirty manufacturing SMEs across Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania, employing mixed-methods data collection including semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and operational performance metrics. The findings reveal that the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies—specifically IoT-enabled monitoring systems, AI-driven demand forecasting, and cloud-based analytics—with lean-green practices yields a statistically significant improvement in supply chain effectiveness. Quantitatively, firms achieving moderate-to-high integration levels demonstrated 89.4% improvement in on-time-in-full delivery performance, 34.2% reduction in operational waste, and 28.7% decrease in carbon footprint intensity compared to low-integration counterparts. The synergy effect was most pronounced in firms with established lean foundations prior to digital adoption, suggesting a complementary rather than substitutive relationship. The study contributes a validated framework for technology-practice integration, offering actionable guidance for SME managers, policymakers designing industrial digitisation strategies, and researchers examining sustainable supply chain transformation in emerging economies.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Ada John (Author)

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