This year’s Supply Chain Top 25 comes in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic and recovery efforts, and Mike Griswold, Vice President Analyst of the Gartner Supply Chain practice, takes care to put the success of this years ranked businesses in to that context: “With substantial amounts of the economy closed due the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders need an agile strategy that allows the supply chain organization to sense and respond to changes in the business context as they happen. Our ranking highlights companies that possess these strategies and other differentiating capabilities,” says Griswold in remarks to the press.
4 beauty multinational beauty makers stand out for their supply chain practices
Colgate-Palmolive ranks number 2 on the 2020 Supply Chain Top 25 from Gartner. Johnson & Johnson follows directly behind that at number 3. L’Oréal comes in at number 10 on the list. And Reckitt Benckiser (maker of Clearasil-branded acne care and treatment products) is at number 23.
The Top 25 are listed according to their composite score; and scoring takes into consideration peer opinion, Gartner opinion, weighted revenue growth, inventory turns, and more. And no company is considered for the list unless it meets “a general annual revenue threshold of $12bn.”
P&G and Unilever also qualify for what Gartner calls its Maters category, determined by having top composite scores over 10 consecutive years. But those two companies don’t appear on this year’s Top 25.
Gartner calls attention supply chain strategies that work well for multinationals today
In the media release announcing the 2020 rankings, Griswold calls attention to the value of Purpose-Driven Organizations, Business Model Transformers, and Digital Orchestrators.
Transparency and partnerships are key in today’s supply chain, says Griswold, explain further that “In the time of COVID-19, it has been a marvel to witness the strength and creativity of the supply chain community in keeping our society fed, supplied and healthy.” He credits “purpose- driven supply chain talent” for the sort of swift pivots that turned fragrance makers into hand sanitizer makers and apparel manufactures into PPE producers.
And he points out that opting for digital solutions sooner than later has helped many of this year’s Top 25 do well in an array of economic situations. Is will likely set them in good stead going forward. “In the current environment,” he says, “the natural tendency of many companies is to pull back spending, including money tied to transformational programs. Advanced supply chains are pressing forward, and in some cases, accelerating investments in real-time visibility, planning and agile supply execution capabilities that are well-suited for supporting uncertain demand mixes and volumes.”
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Deanna Utroske is a leading voice in the cosmetics and personal care industry as well as in the indie beauty movement. As Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com, she writes daily news about the business of beauty in the Americas region and regularly produces video interviews with cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and packaging experts as well as with indie brand founders.