In Gartner’s eyes, there were 3 key trends among the supply chains that earned places at the top of the ranking.
First of those is what the research and advisory giant labels as ‘the purpose-driven organization', which refers to those companies “taking specific action against ambitious, science-based sustainability targets as well as goals grounded in social issues like diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The second key trend highlighted by Gartner is ‘customer-driven business transformation'. This concerns ability to adapt to shifting business conditions such as the huge variations in demand observed during the pandemic.
The third and final trend, ‘digital-first supply chains', relates to those supply chain leaders whose digital transformation has matured to the point that they are “digital first” when it comes to using technology “to enable more seamless customer experiences and more insightful decisions in supply and product management, at scale.”
As far as the results of this year’s ranking are concerned, the top 5 was almost completely unchanged from 2020. Schneider Electric and Nestlé were once again 1st and 2nd respectively. L’Oréal moved up to 3rd place, pushing Inditex back to 4th with Diageo once again ranked 5th.
Who are the superior supply chains in Europe? Find out now in the Europe Supply Chain Top 15 for 2021: https://t.co/XDRUqcM9Va #GartnerSC #SupplyChain @Gartner_SC pic.twitter.com/8VlQpTPQAm
— Gartner (@Gartner_inc) August 28, 2021
New companies joined the top 15 ranking this year too, including GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and AB InBev. Meanwhile, Adidas, Nokia and BASF dropped out.
As for the global ranking, Gartner places Cisco Systems in 1st place, followed by Colgate-Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson. Schneider Electric and Nestlé, who topped the European ranking, were next in 4th and 5th respectively.
Photo by Andres Canavesi on Unsplash