World's best supply chains named

For the sixth year in a row, Apple has been named the world’s best supply chain by Gartner, a leading provider of technology research. The creative force behind the iPhone and iPad prevailed in the Supply Chain Top 25, a prestigious line-up of the world’s most successful supply chains. McDonald’s came in second place, while Amazon was ranked third overall. The survey was conducted through peer review and a thorough third party assessment which closely examined company-wide innovations, efficiency, networked supply systems and response to consumer demand. Based on their findings, Gartner has provided recommendations for businesses hoping to improve their supply chain. Buyers should “build resilience into supply network design and implement a robust risk management strategy”, “improve responsiveness to customer requirements” and “adopt complexity optimisation strategies to eliminate features, services and network capacity that do not add sufficient value to customers”. Gartner’s annual compilation is meant to raise awareness of supply chain management and its impact on business performance. This is the ninth year that the study has been conducted and companies have been ranked. Many household names appear on the list, like Nestle, Starbucks and Nike. This year, Ford, Lenovo and Qualcomm have made their debut appearance on the top 25 line-up. Managing vice president at Gartner, Debra Hofman, said: “We’ve been researching and writing about demand-driven practices since 2003, highlighting the journey companies are taking from the old ‘push’ model of supply chain to one that integrates demand, supply and product into a value network that orchestrates a profitable response to ever-shifting changes in demand.” The 2013 top 25 are as follows: 1: Apple 2: McDonald’s 3: Amazon 4: Unilever (new to the top five this year) 5: Intel (new to the top five this year) 6: Proctor & Gamble 7: Cisco Systems 8: Samsung Electronics 9: Coca Cola 10: Colgate-Palmolive 11: Dell 12: Inditex 13: Wal-Mart 14: Nike 15: Starbucks 16: PepsiCo 17: H&M 18: Caterpillar 19: 3M 20: Lenovo Group (new to the top 25 this year) 21: Nestle 22: Ford (new to the top 25 this year) 23: Cummins 24: Qualcomm (new to the top 25 this year) 25: Johnson & Johnson Cast UK is one of the country's leading professional level supply chain recruitmentconsultancies. Fill your next vacancy with us today!