Faster To Market And Less Inventory -- Keys To Successful Supply Chains

Nov. 11, 2005

Supply chain leaders are 60% faster to market, carry 15% less inventory and complete orders perfectly 17% more than other companies. According to AMR Research's Supply Chain Top 25, published recently, supply chain leaders stand out in their ability to ...

Speaking at the Nexus 2005 Supply Chain Conference held in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Nov. 4, Proctor & Gamble, #2 on the list, explained why a strong supply chain is the lifeblood of business. "The consumer is the boss and has ever increasing expectations for products. They must be innovative, have value, have shelf presence, and customization and the consumer must have an in-store experience that is unique. When products are out of stock, the consumer's behavior changes dramatically and can mean significant loss of business for both the manufacturer and the retailer," explains Rick Ciccone, director, global supply chain operations for Proctor & Gamble.

"The shift must be from running a business off forecasts to running it from more reliable information that can drive the business," he said. "It is highly important that a dialog take place between retail supply chain and manufacturer supply chain," he said.

Dell tops the list for a second year in a row and seven new companies made the list this year: Samsung Electronics, Motorola, Cisco Systems, Texas Instruments, Nike, Publix Super Markets, Sysco.

Here is a complete list of the 25: