May 20, 2021
May 20, 2021
Contributor: Mike Griswold
Cisco tops the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for the second straight year, followed by Colgate-Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson finishing at second and third respectively. See what sets the top organizations apart.
Each year, Gartner analysts research the supply chains of hundreds of companies — and not just for their financial performance. We look at what peer organizations say and how these companies score on key activities such as environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). The top performers offer valuable lessons in supply chain excellence.
Explore the latest: Supply Chain Top 25 for 2022
After a year in which supply chains had to demonstrate unprecedented levels of agility and flexibility to rise to the challenges of the pandemic and other macroeconomic factors, we found that today’s differentiated supply chains go beyond just efficient logistics; they deliver on their organization’s purpose by:
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We are now celebrating the 17th edition of the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 that spotlights an impressive lineup of leaders, including a diverse set of four new entrants and new supply chain best practices to share. With organizations continuing to deal with the effects of COVID-19 on their businesses, resiliency and agility capabilities became essential to survival. Our ranking highlights companies that possess these strategies and other differentiating capabilities.
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Since 2015, we've also been acknowledging “Masters” to recognize sustained supply chain excellence. To be considered Masters, companies must have attained top-five composite scores for at least seven out of the past 10 years. All of last year’s Masters — Amazon, Apple, P&G, McDonald’s and Unilever —- qualified for the category this year, too. During times of disruption, these companies continue to lead by example and provide advanced lessons for the supply chain community.
Cisco Systems scored the top spot for the second consecutive year, followed by Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Schneider Electric and Nestlé. Four new companies joined this year’s list: Dell Technologies, Pfizer, General Mills and Bristol Myers Squibb.
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Strong revenue growth, strength in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, and recognition of leadership in the community opinion polls drove Cisco to the top spot for the second consecutive year. Cisco’s agility helped the company prioritize video conferencing and critical infrastructure capabilities for hospitals and vaccine research.
Apart from peer opinions and Gartner opinion, the rankings are based on scores on key attributes such as ESG, three-year weight return on physical assets (ROPA), and revenue growth and inventory turns (2020 cost of goods sold/2020 quarterly average inventory). Below is the list of Top 25 companies, along with their composite scores:
Table 1. The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2021
Rank |
Company |
Composite Score1 |
1 |
Cisco Systems |
6.37 |
2 |
Colgate-Palmolive |
5.58 |
3 |
Johnson & Johnson |
5.22 |
4 |
Schneider Electric |
5.07 |
5 |
Nestlé |
4.41 |
6 |
Intel |
4.40 |
7 |
PepsiCo |
4.37 |
8 |
Walmart |
4.23 |
9 |
L’Oréal |
4.05 |
10 |
Alibaba |
3.90 |
11 |
AbbVie |
3.78 |
12 |
Nike |
3.60 |
13 |
Inditex |
3.51 |
14 |
Dell Technologies |
3.47 |
15 |
HP Inc. |
3.46 |
16 |
Lenovo |
3.40 |
17 |
Diageo |
3.36 |
18 |
Coca-Cola Company |
3.34 |
19 |
British American Tobacco |
3.13 |
20 |
BMW |
3.13 |
21 |
Pfizer |
2.97 |
22 |
Starbucks |
2.87 |
23 |
General Mills |
2.83 |
24 |
Bristol Myers Squibb |
2.80 |
25 |
3M |
2.78 |
Note:
1. *Composite Score: (Peer Opinion*25%) + (Gartner Research Opinion*25%)+ (ROPA*20%)+ (Inventory Turns*5%) + (Revenue Growth*10%) + (ESG Component Score*15%) + 2020 data used where available. Where unavailable, latest available full-year data used. All raw data normalized to a 10-point scale prior to composite calculation. “Ranks” for tied composite scores are determined using next decimal point comparison.
Source: Gartner (May 2021)
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