WORLD CLASS SUPPLY CHAIN BEST PRACTICES - LEARN FROM THE LEADERS!
Source: Gartner Top 25 Supply Chain 2014, 2015, 2016 / IN-NOVA Graphics
Welcome to the
“World class supply chain champions league”!
•
For many years now, Gartner conducts a
systematic poll among over 1000 leading global
supply chain executives. Initially invented by
AMR, this market reseach company got
acquired by Gartner.
•
Objective is to identify which companies these
top experts see as their role models, and for
what reasons. Which are the practices which
define these companies to be in the “top
champions league”?
•
Based on the inherent success drivers of a well
performing supply chain, High Tech and Fast
Moving Consumer Goods companies tend to
be among these super-champions. Why? Just
look at IN-NOVA’s Best Practices Evolution
Model.
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For many years now, Apple has been identified
as the Supply Chain Star - not based on the
fancy products, but because of the rigor with
which Apple implements relevant “leading
practices”, and controls its supply chain from
the very source, into the head of the consumer.
•
Amazon has also paved its way into this
champions league, again the real reason and
key driver can be found in our SC-Evolution
model. But it’s not the model why Amazon is so
advanced, but because they are one single
supply chain, following a fully integrated, highly
leveraged, end-to-end supply chain model.
•
Unilever is another interesting show case and
role model. Some 10 years ago the supply
chain top executive declared it as Unilevers key
goal, to be in the top league of the Top 25. At
those days, Unilever was a real laggard, who
was not recognized at all for supply chain
excellence. But the vision has come true - after
a first entry in 2008, the company has every
year reached a higher score - and evenutally,
in 2016, was the leader in this list!
•
Of course, only because Gartner has defined a
new super-super league … the Top 25 Masters.
Apple and Procter & Gamble have been taken
out of the listing, and put into an even higher
premium league, making space for others.
A brief comment on Gartner’s valuable research:
Besides the research of Top-SCM-companies, Gartner conducts significant research on a
wide range of leading-edge topics. Many of these are highly relevant for supply chain
excellence, and securing the successful future of your company. Please take the time to
have a look at their offerings, using this entry point: Gartner TOP 25 SCM
Some selected practices of the “World Class Champions”
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Building demand-driven value networks:
Very intense levels of “customer centricity”, and
understanding and integrating tightly with key
customers. On that basis, very high levels of insights into
customer demands, customer requirements, and joint
interaction to accomodate and mitigate
unpredictabilities.
•
Centralization of customer service in regional hubs:
Building economies of scale, establishing standardized
best practices in all centers, and achieve regional
proximity to customers. This allows to even have supplier
delegates for critical components being place in this
customer service center, or have them tightly
integrated into the order intake process.
•
High digitalization of processes:
This leads to better visibility into the entire production
and distribution network, and as a result much higher
levels of options in case of emergencies or urgencies. It
also provides a global network of consistent, real time
performance management. Another key area is to
integrate own data with upstream data to create and
ensure supply security, and to mitigate disruptions very
early in the process. Increasingly auto-replenishment
procedures are used based on internet-based smart
sensors embedded in the products.
•
Advanced analytics for the end-to-end chain:
The leaders have implemented and tuned algorithms to
convert disparate data points into operational insights.
In some cases, they link data from multiple systems
(CRM, Sales, Supply), and use learning algorithms to
predict a deal risk, or a delivery risk. In another case, big
data analytics were used to link product failure risks,
and absorbed performance data from the “real field”,
with creating new, advanced test routines for final
products to make them better in the future.
Source: Gartner Top 25 Supply Chain 2016