Who runs the world's best supply chain?

The votes are in … and the award for the best supply chain of the year goes to Nokia. The Finnish company best known for its mobile telephones ranked first on AMR Research's 2007 list of the top 25 supply chains. (See the accompanying table.)

In May, the Boston-based research firm released its annual report detailing which manufacturers and retailers demonstrate superior supply chain capabilities and performance. AMR bestows its accolades on companies that exhibit excellence in basic execution metrics, such as return on assets, revenue growth, and inventory turns.

Does it matter how outsiders view your company's supply chain performance? AMR has found considerable evidence that supply chain leadership has an impact on stock performance. It notes that the companies on its list have outperformed several U.S.-based stock market indices, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard & Poor's 500, and the NASDAQ.

"The importance of this leadership is hard to overstate," said Kevin O'Marah, AMR's senior vice president of research. For these companies, he added, success hinges on far more than cutting costs. "Companies in this year's Supply Chain Top 25 are able to respond quickly and efficiently to opportunities arising from market or customer demand," he said.

[For more information, visit www.amrresearch.com/supplychaintop25]