Gartner unveils Supply Chain Top 25 rankings for 2021

Gartner, Inc. has released the results from its annual global Supply Chain Top 25, identifying supply chain leaders and highlighting their best practices.

“In our 17th edition of the Supply Chain Top 25 we saw organisations continuing to deal with the effects of COVID-19 on their businesses. Therefore resiliency and agility capabilities became essential to survival,” said Mike Griswold, vice president team manager with the Gartner Supply Chain practice.

“Our ranking highlights companies that possess these strategies and other differentiating capabilities,” Griswold said.

Related: Gartner reveals how ‘fit’ and ‘fragile’ supply chains deal with disruption

Cisco Systems scored the top spot in the ranking 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.

“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,” said Griswold.

“Cisco’s agility helped them prioritse video conferencing and critical infrastructure capabilities for hospitals and vaccine research,” he revealed.

To recognise sustained supply chain excellence, Gartner introduced the “Masters” category in 2015. To be considered Masters, companies must have attained top-five composite scores for at least seven out of the last 10 years. All of last year’s Masters – Amazon, Apple, P&G, McDonald’s, and Unilever – qualified for the category this year.

“During times of disruption, these companies continue to lead by example and provide advanced lessons for the supply chain community,” Griswold continued.

“The Supply Chain Top 25 offer a platform for insights, learning, debate and contributions to the rising influence of supply chain practices on the global economy,” he said

Table 1. The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2021