Who operates the best supply chains?

The votes are in, and Apple Inc. has won the top spot in this year's AMR Research report on the world's best supply chain operations.

The California consumer electronics company, best known for its iPods and Mac computers, ranked number one on AMR Research's 2008 list of the top 25 supply chains. Telecommunications giant Nokia, last year's winner, dropped a notch to second place.

In May, the Boston-based research firm released its annual report, which ranks manufacturers and retailers based on superior supply chain capabilities and performance. This is the fourth year that AMR has conducted its survey, in which supply chain managers cast ballots online for the companies with the best supply chains.

AMR says that the goal of its survey is to show that supply chain excellence contributes to economic value creation. In fact, the research firm has found considerable evidence that supply chain leadership correlates to stock performance. It notes that the companies on its Top 25 list outperformed the averages for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard & Poor's 500, and the NASDAQ.

[Source: AMR Research, May 2008, www.amrresearch.com/supplychaintop25]