Masters of Leadership

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the September-October 2023 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

September-October 2023

Best of the best. Best in class. The elite. Whatever terminology you use to describe the top performers in industry, they all have one thing in common: Companies try to emulate them. That is not easy, of course, but honors such as the annual Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 provide a roadmap for firms hoping to reach the upper echelon. As we do each year here at Supply Chain Management Review, our September/October issue dedicates significant real estate to the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25. Why do we do this? Because our mission is to help inform you, the supply chain practitioner, in all the best ways to make your own supply chains more efficient and…

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Coming out of the COVID-19 era, supply chains have never had more visibility—and importance. More companies are investing in their supply chains and rather than cutting costs, they are stepping up and playing a broader, cross-functional role as partners in business outcomes. And this is increasingly being recognized as a value-add by the CSCO’s C-suite peers. Take the example of an electronics retailer that developed the ability to accept trade-ins and open-box items, refurbish them, and resell them as upcycled merchandise. Or the supply chain that redesigned products to leverage alternate bills of material so as to source parts on the fly, helping mitigate material shortages.

These are only two of the examples that leading independent business and technology research and advisory company Gartner highlighted in its Supply Chain Top 25 for 2023: Insights on Leaders report. The annual report, authored this year by Gartner analysts Mike Griswold, Simon Bailey, Stan Aronow, Claudia Clemens, Maria Nieradka, Gerhard Grimm, KC Quah, Joel Knox, Jim Romano, and Kimberly Ennis, identified three macro trends, made several recommendations, and offered a synopsis of the Top 25 supply chains for 2023.

Schneider Electric assumes the throne

Schneider Electric has claimed the top position on Gartner’s Global Supply Chain Top 25 for 2023. It is the first time the company has occupied the top slot. Schneider was followed on the list by Cisco Systems, which dropped from number one after three consecutive years as the top global supply chain. Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson and PepsiCo rounded out the top five positions. Joining the list for the first time in 2023 were Tesla (14), AB Inbev (22) and Dow (25).

“The leading companies on our list are notable for pursuing new avenues of growth at a time when disruptions remain a near constant threat,” said Mike Griswold, vice president team manager with the Gartner Supply Chain practice. “The best supply chain organizations are embracing the moment by both pursuing growth, while also evolving more sophisticated risk management approaches.”

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