Grading The Best Supply Chains
Gartner, Inc. recently released the findings from its ninth annual Supply Chain Top 25. The Top 5 includes three from last year — Apple, McDonald’s and Amazon — and two that are new to the Top 5 but have been rising steadily — Intel and Unilever — while the three new companies joining the top 25 this year are Ford, Lenovo and Qualcomm.
Apple tops Gartner’s ranking for a record-breaking sixth year in a row, continuing to outpace everyone else by a wide margin. Apple was ranked No. 1 again by the peer voters, capturing 75 percent of the highest possible points a company can get across the voting pool. Nos. 2 and 3 switched places this year, with McDonald’s capturing the No. 2 slot and Amazon coming in at No. 3. This, however, was not reflected in the peer voters’ opinion. Amazon ranked a very close second behind Apple in the peer vote, almost completely closing the opinion gap from previous years and fast gaining on Apple’s voting position.
The goal of the Supply Chain Top 25 research initiative is to raise awareness of the supply chain discipline and how it impacts the business. However, it is not without its critics.
In Why I No Longer Believe in the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25, Lora Cecere from Supply Chain Shaman argues that while the intent of the Top 25 is good, there is room for improvement with the methodology. For example, companies are assessed by the same metrics regardless of industry rather than the metrics that matter to that industry. Cecere says this favors consumer electronics and e-commerce supply chains. She also cites a simplistic approach and an over-dependency on Return on Assets, among others. Read the entire post here.
What do you think Supply Chain Top 25?
The 2013 top 25 are:
1 Apple
2 McDonald’s
3 Amazon.com
4 Unilever
5 Intel
6 P&G
7 Cisco Systems
8 Samsung Electronics
9 Coca Cola Company
10 Colgate-Palmolive
11 Dell
12 Inditex
13 Wal-Mart Stores
14 Nike
15 Starbucks
16 PepsiCo
17 H&M
18 Caterpillar
19 3M
20 Lenovo Group
21 Nestlé
22 Ford Motor
23 Cummins
24 Qualcomm
25 Johnson & Johnson
