STAMFORD, CT: September 25, 2017. Gartner's latest European Supply Chain Top 15 ranks Unilever No.1 for the second year running with Inditex taking second place followed by H&M.
Echoing the results of Gartner's Global Supply Chain Top 25, the company has identified digital experimentation, speed to adaptability and a focus on sustainability as the leading trends in European supply chains.
"The bedrock of these successful trends are core foundational themes — common to all leading supply chain organizations — that have created a culture of excellence and relentless drive to continuously improve," said Stan Aronow, vice president of Research at Gartner.
"The companies in the European Top 15 [have] demonstrated strong growth of 6.8 percent, which is more than double the average growth of the global top 25," he explained.
According to Gartner all these companies have common themes including global scale, local responsiveness, multiple models through segmentation, collaboration across whatever network is required to achieve a goal, investment in talent, and a culture of excellence and masters of change.
The Top 15 are: Unilever, Inditex, H&M, Nestlé, Nokia, BASF, Schneider Electric, L'Oréal, BMW, Diageo, Reckitt Benckiser, GlaxoSmithKline, Adidas, Roche and Siemens.
Three new entrants have been added to Gartner's list this year with Adidas at No. 13, No. 14 Roche, and No. 15 Siemens. They replace three companies that have fallen off the list since 2016: British American Tobacco at No.13, Ahold Delhaize at No.14 and No. 15 Bayer.
For the current Top 15, Garner says transformation is not a one-time project but "a way of life". In addition to strong lean Six Sigma continuous improvement, and quality and standardization initiatives that maintain a focus on operational excellence, "they have dedicated resources to dream, pilot and drive disruptive change across the organization," said Aronow.
(Pictured: As part of its sustainable planet business model, this month Unilever acquired the organic herbal tea business, Pukka Herbs - founded in 2001 with 100 percent certified, organic and ethically sourced ingredients with a goal to benefit people, plants and planet.)
