The universe for companies considered is the Fortune Global 500. Financial performance (60 percent) and individual analyst assessments (40 percent) determined ranking.
AMR Research ’s third annual Top Supply Chain ranking, issued this past May, held several surprises, according to Kevin
“Overall this year, the effort companies are making to better understand customer demand is what really stood out.”
— Kevin O’Marah, chief strategy officer, AMR Research
O’Marah, AMR chief strategy officer. The universe for companies considered is the Fortune Global 500. Financial performance (60 percent) and individual analyst assessments (40 percent) determined ranking.
“The biggest surprise was Apple ,” says O’Marah. “Last year it wasn’t on the Fortune list, but this year it had such tremendous financials that it shot to number two. Apple’s not known for the tightest supply chain, but it clearly demonstrated with the iPod how powerful product design is to profitability of the supply chain.”
Another point of interest was the performance of mobile phone players. “It’s a hotly contested industry, with three companies being in the top 12, and Nokia as number one,” says O’Marah. “Overall this year, the effort companies are making to better understand customer demand is what really stood out.”
AMR ‘s Top 25:
Nokia
Apple
Proctor & Gamble
IBM
Toyota Motor
Wal-Mart Stores
Anheuser-Busch
Tesco
Best Buy
Samsung Electronics
Learn more about the ranking.
