AMR announces top 25 supply chains for 2009

Filed in archive Best practice on May 31, 2009

I have been covering annual ranking of the best supply chains by AMR Research for some years now and apparently this year Apple is still on the top of the list.

Companies like Unilever and Intel are now back again in Top 25 as this year was a very tense period for them in terms of credit and overall economic situation. AMR has announced that the companies which made it to the TOP 25 list, had put a strong emphasis on being customer centric in all parts of their supply chain: From NPD to planning and demand models.

One of the somehow different supply chains on the list is Walt Disney (No. 16) which has had a move toward intellectual property as embedded in a value chain. Disney continues to employ traditional supply chain practices like demand-driven replenishment for its DVD business and strategic sourcing in its theme parks, with new collaborative models for pure content distribution via the digital supply chain. By combining a physical products universe with a digital products universe, however, Disney is learning valuable lessons about how best to control and monetize its IP.

Also IBM (No. 4) capabilities are interesting to look at whose business has become primarily one of multi-year program management. The company's innovation around the "people supply chain" is breakthrough, and although many years of development certainly lie ahead, principles borrowed from traditional supply chain promise huge gains in the profitability and reliability of its burgeoning services business.

In the case you want to take a look at the whole list for 2009, please go here.