Ethiopia has made enormous efforts in the leather industry to gain manufacturing capabilities that can be scaled up to other sectors. Those efforts have resulted in the industry shifting its role from raw material supplier to producer of value-added products for the global supply chain (GSC). However, the industry has faced severe challenges in generating the expected revenue, utilizing capacity, and finally coping with the global competitive environment. Studies reveal that manufacturing firms tackle similar challenges by improving their supply chain performance (SCP). The challenges that appeared in the leather industry of Ethiopia could also be solved by improving its SCP. Nonetheless, there is a lack of study on the basic characteristics and SCP of the industry after it has shifted its role. The main objective of this study is, therefore, to measure the SCP to know where it stands using a bench mark and identify the elements that contribute considerably to the low overall SCP in order to lay the foundation for subsequent improvement. To achieve the research objective, data was collected from primary and secondary sources through a questionnaire, survey, observation, and focus group discussion. The data is analyzed using the supply chain operations reference model (SCOR version 12.0). Accordingly, the overall SCP is found to be 67.33%, suggesting an average rating as per the set benchmark. The source process is identified as the most influential element for the overall low SCP, with a percentage gap of 17.23%. Taking corrective action on the identified elements could help the industry overcome the existing challenges by improving its SCP.
