Bangalore: Global research and advisory firm Gartner has revealed its annual ranking of the top supply chain organisations headquartered in Asia Pacific at its Supply Chain Executive Conference currently underway in Sydney, Australia.
The goal of the annual Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 research initiative is to raise awareness of the supply chain discipline and how it impacts business results. From the overall list of qualifying organisations, Gartner identified the top 15 performers headquartered in Asia Pacific, based on revenue growth, return on assets (ROA), inventory and peer opinion.
Of the top 15 supply chain companies from the Asia Pacific region, five are headquartered in Japan (Canon, Honda, Komatsu, Seven & I Holdings, Toyota), four in Korea (Hyundai, Hyundai Heavy Industries, LG, Samsung), two in China (Huawei and Lenovo), one in Australia (Woolworths), one in India (Tata Motors), one in Singapore (Flextronics) and one in Taiwan (ASUSTeK).
“While demand in Asia Pacific is growing, inflation, rising costs and a tightening labour market pose challenges for companies in the region,” said Vikas Sarangdhar, research director at Gartner. “Economic challenges in the rest of the world also amplify the risks, as a further sharp fall in exports to advanced economies and capital outflows would impact Asia both directly and through knock-on effects on domestic demand.”
Samsung still leads the Top 15 in Asia Pacific which is dominated by high tech, consumer electronics, automotive, retail and industrial products companies. Four companies entered the Asia Pacific listing for the first time in 2012. Most Japanese companies are still recovering from the natural and economic crises of 2011. These companies are now regaining their stability.
According to Gartner research director Debashis Tarafdar, Asia Pacific supply chain leaders have maintained momentum in the difficult economic environment by re-configuring their supply chains while staying focused on a demand-driven strategy.
“Companies leading the top supply chains in Asia Pacific have demonstrated capabilities in demand management, operational excellence and innovation,” said Tarafdar. “They are using best practices including demand sensing and shaping, segmentation and collaboration, to help manage demand volatility and deliver predictable results. To measure supply chain performance, they select the right metrics that are aligned to the company’s overall business objectives. They also build resiliency into supply network design, and implement risk management strategies across trading partner networks.”
“Earlier this year we announced Gartner’s Global Supply Chain Top 25 but regional rankings help to capture issues and best practices that are unique to each region,” said Debra Hofman, managing vice president at Gartner.
