For the third consecutive year, Apple has come in No. 1 in AMR Research's Supply Chain Top 25 ranking, the first time the same company has placed in the premier spot three years in a row. Analysts attribute Apple's success to its ability to consistently bring both operational excellence and innovation excellence to bear in some of the most competitive markets in the world. Apple has broken new ground in transforming a supply chain into a value chain by starting with the consumer experience and designing its network to serve that master first and foremost.
Procter & Gamble, Cisco Systems, Wal-Mart Stores, Dell, PepsiCo, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Research in Motion and Amazon.com rounded out the top 10.
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.
"By embedding product and process innovation in supply chain operations and consciously managing and shaping demand from a customer, production and fulfillment standpoint, the companies included in our Top 25 are doing a lot more than just shipping," said Kevin O'Marah, group vice president at AMR Research.
"Twenty years ago, a typical product company had supply chain reporting to manufacturing, with responsibility mainly for inbound materials management and outbound shipping," said Debra Hofman, research vice president at AMR Research. "New data shows that supply chain reports to manufacturing in only 6 percent of companies surveyed, while 61 percent have the head of supply chain reporting directly to the CEO, general manager or president of the business. It seems clear that supply chain has grown up and the business has taken notice."
