One Size Does Not Fit All

As noted in today’s news, Apple won big at the AMR Research Supply Chain Executive Conference being held at the Phoenician Resort & Spa this week. But there were other notable achievements, says SCMR’s editorial director, Frank Quinn. He’s attending the Arizona seminar, and tells us that it is a “standing room only” event designed to provide industry leaders with some sage advice.

Second-placed Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the only company to have been in AMR’s Supply Chain Top 25 for six years running, and it still commands tremendous respect among its peers, according to AMR Research. As one of the original pioneers of demand-driven principles in supply chain, P&G remains at the forefront of areas such as specialized production operations in emerging markets and has established new beachheads of leadership in other areas, including its use of innovation networks to tap external expertise for at least 50 percent of its new product ideas.

Cisco Systems has climbed steadily in AMR’s rankings for five straight years, moving up two slots to No. 3 this year, while five companies—Research In Motion (RIM), Amazon.com, McDonald’s, Microsoft and Inditex—joined the Top 25 for the first time in 2010.

“Many companies focus primarily on supply chain execution,” Debra Hofman, research vice president at AMR Research said. “With ever-increasing unpredictability of demand, leaders also focus on improving their ability to sense changes and patterns in their environment—changes in demand, design, supplier risk and more—earlier than their competition.”

“In designing your own supply chain strategy, take a cue from the leaders: Work outside-in, starting with your customers and working your way back and around your network of trading partners to design a profitable response,” Kevin O’Marah, group vice president at AMR Research said. “Remember that one size does not fit all, define how many supply chain types you have, and design a customized response for each.”

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