With the rapid development in the business environment, cost and price strategies no longer achieve the desired competitive advantage for companies, and it became necessary for them to double their efforts to maintain their market position, which led companies to focus on innovation and creativity in developing organizational processes, products and services, so that it is difficult or impossible for competitors to imitate these Roads or obtaining them and thus companies maintain their presence in the market as long as possible.

According to the foregoing, managers strive for distinction and exclusivity in all activities that the company practices, so the goal is not only to produce high-tech products, but rather to produce them in innovative and unconventional ways, and this can only be achieved by coordinating efforts between all company departments and branches in addition to suppliers and supply channels. With whom the company deals, competition in the business environment has moved from competition between companies to competition between companies' supply chains, i.e. from (company against company) to (supply chain against supply chain).

Due to the significant impact that supply chain design has on the growth and stability of the company, the study and exploration of supply chain management has attracted the interest of researchers and workers in the field of business administration. It - the supply chain - strengthens the reciprocal relationship between vendors and suppliers, as well as strengthens the relationship between suppliers and customers / customers, which leads to improved company performance and increased customer satisfaction.

In today's business environment, innovation is no longer limited to products or services, but rather goes beyond internal processes and divisions, including supply chains. All of that, which can take place within the company with the aim of creating new value for stakeholders. "

Despite the social and cultural norms, laws and regulations, weak technological development, and the restrictions imposed by some institutions in the country on innovation in the Sudanese business environment, companies have been able to grow and develop in terms of administrative processes and practices in the past few years. The increasing awareness of Sudanese companies about innovation in supply chains has become a source of continuity and competitive advantage.

Many research articles and articles have dealt with innovation in supply chains from a theoretical standpoint, while innovation in supply chains has not been sufficiently addressed from a practical point of view, so this article seeks to reduce the gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of innovation in supply chains in the Sudanese business environment By exploring the factors affecting the success of innovation in supply chains in Sudan. To achieve this, a number of environmental and organizational factors and the interactive relationships between these factors have been studied, which can be summarized as follows: The relationship of the company's strategic directions (exploration strategy and exploitation strategy) to innovation in supply chains, the effect of partnership with suppliers on the strength of the relationship between strategy and innovation in supply chains.

To study these factors, 146 questionnaires were distributed to 88 service and industrial companies in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Data were collected and analyzed to arrive at the results that formed this article.

The results concluded that there is a positive relationship between the company's strategic orientations and innovation in supply chains, provided there is a partnership with suppliers to enhance this relationship. Firms usually adopt differentiated strategies in terms of innovation. There are two main types of innovation strategies; Exploration strategy and exploitation strategy. An innovation exploration strategy means that the company intensifies its efforts to create and provide entirely new experiences, whether products, services, or processes by bringing in and using new external knowledge. Whereas, the exploitation strategy aims to provide new experiences by developing existing knowledge and resources available to the company without resorting to external sources.

A good and clear relationship between the company and its suppliers contributes to supporting and enhancing innovation in supply chains, as supply chains are nothing but a series of relationships between a different number of companies. The more relationships between companies are strengthened and integrated with each other, the better the performance of the chain as a whole and the performance of individual companies. So the integration of strategies between firms within a single chain increases and stimulates opportunities for innovation.

After ensuring the existence of the complementary relationship within the supply chain, companies choose the strategic strategy that they are compatible with. They may resort to exploration or exploitation in accordance with their capabilities and resources, and according to the requirements of the business environment within which they operate. It is well known that exploration strategies require a high amount of risk and the costs of financing them are high. Therefore, companies in developing countries usually adopt exploitation strategies that are commensurate with their modest capabilities, as they do not ask for any new resources, but rather the company depends on the exploitation of its available resources, which reduces Investment costs, and this applies to companies in the Sudanese business environment. In addition to weak corporate capabilities, lack of technical progress, poor infrastructure, weak economy, insufficient human capital, and unwillingness to invest in innovation, all factors give preference to exploitation strategies in those countries. The study showed that Sudanese companies invest in exploitation strategies in a manner. Greater than its investment in exploration strategies.

Companies in the Sudanese business environment, in both its service and industrial sectors, seek to embed innovation in their supply chains by building effective relationships and partnerships with internal and external suppliers and choosing strategies that fit their capabilities and capabilities in a way that ensures them keep pace with global progress in innovation in supply chains. It can be said that Sudanese companies are taking steps. Small and cautious on the road to innovation.

In conclusion, supply chains play an important role in corporate leadership and investing in innovation in them is one of the successful investments. Accordingly, this study recommends giving outlines to managers to help them choose between exploitation and exploration strategies that suit their companies by conducting more research that links the theory with the process. In this field, which helps in knowing and exploring other factors affecting innovation in supply chains in the Sudanese environment.