Nokia top in supply chain ranking

Supply Management, Jun 21, 2007 by Snell, Paul

[Survey]

Nokia has the best supply chain in the world, according to a study by AMR Research.

The Finnish phone manufacturer jumped from fourth place in 2005 to top of the list this year. The study ranks firms' supply chains, giving consideration to their financial performance and the opinions of AMR Research itself and that of their peers.

The report said: "As a pioneer In value chain strategy, Nokia has led in supplier development, sales and operations planning and collaborative product development."

Robert Andersson, executive vice-president, customer and market operations at Nokia, said: "In 2006, Nokia manufactured and sold 347 million mobile devices, which means 11 to 12 units per second. This would not have been possible without comprehensive planning throughout our whole demand supply chain."

Electronics manufacturer Apple was ranked second and consumer goods maker Procter and Gamble dropped from second to third. Supermarket Tesco was the highest ranked UK firm in eighth place.

PC manufacturer Dell, which came top of the ranking in both 2004 and 2005, was ineligible for this year's list, as it was restating its 2006 financial results.

Paul Snell

paul.snell@supplymanagement.com