3 June 2011 |
Adam Leach
Apple’s supply chain has been rated the best
in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
According to the
annual supply chain ranking compiled by research company Gartner (following
their acquisition of previous ranking publisher AMR Research), the
California-based technology firm scored consistently strongly in each category,
but particularly highly in the ‘peer opinion’ category
– which fellow supply
chain professionals are asked for their views
– and ‘Gartner opinion’ category
– which takes into account the view of Gartner researchers. The rank is based
on a range of factors, including financial performance, inventory and revenue
growth, in addition to opinions.
The technology
sector once again dominated the list. These companies took nine of the top 25
slots this year with Dell in second place and BlackBerry
manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) in fourth.
Gartner
vice-president of research Debra Hofman suggested that the image of the supply
chain as an independent of aspect of a company is disappearing. "What's
replacing it is a supply chain organisation, often reporting at the board
level, that includes the functions of plan, source, make and deliver.”
“The
consumer-oriented companies, with their need to renew product lines constantly
and their appetite for downstream data, have led the way in this change, which
may at least partially explain the steady drift away from industrial companies
making the list," she added.
The research also
revealed that the leaders set themselves apart from other companies in four key
areas. These were “how they deal with volatility”, “their approaches to value
chain network integration”, “their focus on sustainable execution” and “their
abilities to orchestrate”.
This year’s top
10 was as follows:
1. Apple
2. Dell
3. Procter &
Gamble
4. Research In
Motion
5. Amazon
6. Cisco Systems
7. Wal-Mart
8. McDonald’s
9. PepsiCo
10. Samsung
☛ A full ranking
can be found in the The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2011 report
