Unilever, Inditex and H&M top supply chain list

Gartner recently unveiled its ranked list of the top Europe-based supply chain bodies, with Unilever coming top of the continent. Some 15 bodies with European headquarters made up the list, announced at Gartner’s Supply Chain Executive Conference. It included a top five which saw Inditex in second place, H&M third, Nestle fourth and BASF fifth. Other than BASF, all of these companies appeared in the first half of the top ten last year, too. BMW came sixth, Volkswagen seventh, AstraZeneca eighth, Danone ninth and L’Oréal tenth. Danone, L’Oreal, 14th-ranked Diageo and GlaxoSmithKline (15th) were newcomers to the top 15 for 2013. Several things were taken into account in the creation of the list, including Gartner’s analysts’ views and those of peers, as well as financial metrics. “Top European supply chains span the automotive, chemical, consumer products, life science and retail sectors and are headquartered in a variety of European countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK,” Gartner research director Christian Titze commented. He added that supply chain executives could make use of Gartner’s results as a way of developing and implementing “more integrated, collaborative and demand-driven supply chain strategies”. The supply chains on the list brought a big variety of best practices techniques “to the supply chain community”, he added. These ranged “from advanced collaboration practices with upstream and downstream partners, to innovations in demand sensing and shaping capabilities, to integrated business planning that brings sales and operations planning to the next level”, he explained. Gartner also has a larger global Supply Chain list, which is 25 companies strong and saw Unilever placed fourth, Inditex 12th and H&M 17th. Its Supply Chain Executive Conference 2013 has recently come to a close in London, after running September 23th to September 24th. The full European list in order comprised Unilever, Inditex, H&M, Nestlé, BASF, BMW, Volkswagen, AstraZeneca, Danone, L’Oréal, Syngenta, British American Tobacco, Tesco, Diageo and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Looking for supply chain jobs? At Cast UK our team of expert consultants can help you find your ideal role.