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Supply Chain Now
Macro Trends and Micro Moves: Inside the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2026
00:53:01
In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton is joined by regular co-host Mike Griswold, Vice President Analyst at Gartner, and special guest Laura Rainier, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, to break down the defining macro trends from the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2026.
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Laura Randier
This year our macro trends are autonomous workforce. And so autonomous workforce really looks at not necessarily a team of robots, right? But actually how do people and machines work together in this future and how do we prepare people, you know, going bigger than just preparing them with digital or AI literacy. But actually how do we help people think about the system, right? How do we build that system thinking capability? How do we enable people to orchestrate across the supply chain as they're kind of working alongside agents?
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Mike Griswold
Welcome to Supply Chain now the number one voice of supply chain. Join us as we share critical news, key insights and real supply chain leadership
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Scott Luton
from across the globe.
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Mike Griswold
One conversation at a time.
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Scott Luton
Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening wherever you may be. Scott Luton and always special co host Mike Griswold with you here on Supply Chain now. Welcome to today's show. Mike, how you doing today?
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Mike Griswold
Doing well, Scott, thanks. I'm super excited for the topic and to have Laura join us to talk about Gartner supply chain top 25.
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Scott Luton
Hey, that makes two of us. I think this as much as I enjoyed our last episode where we focused on vacation themed supply chain lessons, that was a lot of fun. But I think this is gonna surpass that great episode here today bringing back one of our faves. So, folks, today we're continuing one of our longest running and most popular series, Supply Chain Today and Tomorrow with Mike Griswold from Gartner. Mike, of course, serves as vice president analyst with Gartner. And today, as Mike has mentioned, we got a special repeat guest as we dive into a variety of learnings and key takeaways from the Gartner supply chain top 25 for 2026. Looking forward to lots of takeaways that's going to drive conversations across the globe here today. Mike, this is one of our, I think our favorite discussions each year. We can almost plan our summers around it, it seems. Are you ready to go?
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Mike Griswold
I am. This, it's as much excitement as well as just I think there's a lot to learn from these leading companies and I know at the end we'll get to kind of how people react to the list and the companies that we talk about. So, yeah, it's going to be a great show.
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Scott Luton
I'm with you. I echo all of those items. Okay. I want to introduce once again a wonderful repeat guest here today. Laura Randier is a senior director analyst in the talent and sustainability team at Gartner. Her research interests include sustainable supply chain circular economy, responsible sourcing and supply chain climate strategies. She helps industry leaders better understand and apply sustainability principles within the supply chain and in alignment with their organizational requirements and goals. Now, before joining Gartner, Laura worked for a global supply chain solutions provider in the areas of, as you might have guessed, supply chain sustainability, circular economy, responsible sourcing and diversity, equity and inclusion. She's also served on the steering committee of key business and multi stakeholder initiatives, including the Global Fashion Agenda and the United Nations International Labor Organization's Global Business Network on Forced Labor. So with all that said and a whole bunch more, I want to welcome in Laura Rainier, Senior Director analyst with Gartner. Laura, how you doing today?
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Laura Randier
I'm doing well, Scott. Thank you for having me.
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Scott Luton
Well, it is wonderful to have you back. And Mikey, Mike, thanks so much for bringing your very smart colleagues and friends to the show.
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Mike Griswold
Well, it's hard, Scott, because I have a lot of smart colleagues and, you know, finding the right one at the right Time can be challenging, but you know, it's this time of year that I think people want to dissect the top 25. And Laura is the perfect person to help us with that discussion.
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Scott Luton
Outstanding, Laura. That's high praise from the one and only Mike Griswold, huh?
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Laura Randier
Absolutely. Well received. Thank you, Mike.
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Scott Luton
Well, so you know, as I've mentioned a couple times, we love repeat guests around here. Laura, we really enjoyed our discussion. We had get this, I think because I did the homework, I did the math and math asked a lot. If I'm doing math, I'm taking on lots of challenging things. But I did my homework to about two years ago, Laura, is we, you and I recorded this podcast episode and we entitled it Living in a Resource Constrained World, Analysis and Solutions featuring Laura Rainier. And we had a great conversation, had a lot of good feedback around that. I can't believe that was two years ago because it feels like seven years ago. But Laura, all that leads me to my fun warm up question. That's been a very active two years. I'm thinking of my own personal journey. I bet it's been a busy one for you. Whether it's professional or personal, what's one of your favorite highlights in the two years since you joined us last?
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Laura Randier
Yeah, you know, I will say on the personal side, I just celebrated my youngest daughter's preschool graduation. And so I'll start there just on the fun side. But I think in terms of kind of the professional side, I would say having the opportunity to expand coverage and focus on on the future of supply chain, which is a big research project here at Gartner, as well as the top 25, which we'll discuss today. Right. So that opportunity to think about kind of broader supply chain strategy and how some of these issues that we discussed a couple of years ago kind of play into that broader supply chain strategy has been really exciting.
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Scott Luton
Outstanding. Well, congrats to your daughter, number one. And number two, I can't remember what group sang it, but we can't stop thinking about the future. And I love your pivot and look forward to learning from your perspective today. And Mike, I know you've had a busy couple years. What's the first thought and highlight that comes to your mind?
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Mike Griswold
Yeah, I've got two similar to Laura on the personal side. My wife and I two years ago took a trip to Scotland that combined playing golf, whiskey and watching women's golf. So the Women's British Open was at St. Andrews. So we were in Scotland for a couple of weeks and we're able to do that on the Gartner side. I think for me, over the last couple years, being able to be involved with our keynote process and working with Lindsay Azeem, who's been on your show to talk about the keynote, and then Alan o', Keefe, who's on my team now delivering both Lindsey and Alan, both delivering the keynotes this year. Just to see the growth in the process, but also the growth in the insights that we provide our CSCOs and others at our events has been really, really cool to see.
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Scott Luton
I bet it has. And, you know, Lindsay loved her appearance here. Of course, we heard big things about our opening keynote at Supply Chain Symposium this year. I missed it, Laura and Mike. I was working. I was working way too hard.
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Mike Griswold
Yes.
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Scott Luton
But, you know, a lot of folks that connect the dots and didn't miss that episode, I heard a lot of great feedback. So, anyway, it's great to have you both here and I can't wait to dive into what's become a great vehicle over the years to drive many, many discussions across global supply chain circles everywhere. And that's the Gartner supply chain top 25. So, Laura, I thought we'd start with some of the top macro trends that y' all have identified out across global supply chain and certainly factor into an impact on all the companies that make up this year's top 25. So, Laura, where would you start there with those macro trends?
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Laura Randier
Absolutely. So what we often, like, get asked, right, as we talk about the top 25 is how do I learn from the top 25. Right. Maybe I'm not a leading company, or maybe I don't have the resources that some of these leaders do, but what should I take away? And so I think the biggest and, you know, most helpful takeaway is really looking at what we call the macro trends, which is kind of those differentiating capabilities that separate. Right. Or that. Or rather that. That we see those top supply chains deploying and leveraging and investing in. Right. And so each year we come up with three macro trends. This year, our macro trends are autonomous workforce. And so autonomous workforce really looks at, you know, not necessarily a team of robots. Right. But actually, how do people and machines work together in this future? And how do we prepare people, you know, going bigger than just preparing them with digital or AI literacy. But actually, how do we help people think about the system? Right. How do we build that systems thinking capability? How do we enable people to orchestrate across the supply chain as they're kind of working alongside agents? And so I Think some really kind of mature and interesting approaches to. Due to shifting. Right. For this new kind of autonomous operations era. So that's one. Right. Autonomous operation.
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Scott Luton
So, Laura, can I. We, as you know, we could probably spend at least the rest of the hour and then some on that topic. Mike, we talk a lot about this theme and I love how Laura put it because it's a combination of the beautiful human factor teaming up with the incredible golden age of supply chain tech and doing bigger things together. But your thoughts on that first big macro trend, Mike, we can probably ask
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Mike Griswold
Laura at some point if we want to put her on the spot and say which of the three are the most important. And. And I think Laura will probably tell us they're all important. I do think though, based on conversations you and I have had over time, Scott, around the importance of people. Right. Whether it's hiring people, retaining people, attracting people, keeping people, whatever it might be, that there is an undercurrent of you need, you're going to need people. And I think this, this autonomous operations perspective that Laura is describing, I think the important factor here is that, you know, there are still people involved and there's lots of discussions that we're having on, on my team around the role that people play. I was talking to someone the other day and they had a very interesting perspective, which is how do we move organizations from AI experimentation to enterprise value? And I think what's going to underpin that are people, right. And understanding kind of the role that people will need to play in this process. It's not a question of are people going to play a role. It's a question of what's the best use of people in this new environment that's going to create the most value for the organization.
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Scott Luton
Well said. You know, I was talking to a CSE over here, recently done big things in industry. And as we were working through our interview, Alara and Mike, I caught on quickly that in the first 10 minutes he was mentioning the accomplishments of, of the supply chain industry. And I think he said thanks to the people three or four times. Right. And it really, he was, you know, it was part of his conversation, but I could tell that's where his, his mind was. And it really echoes your sentiment there, Mike, and yours as well, Lara. So, all right, so we could stay there all the time the whole show, but the two of the macro trends, I think the next one, Laura, I believe network centric strategies. Is that right?
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Laura Randier
That's right. Network centric strategies. And so this is where, you know, I think if we were to put these trends in context, we think about kind of two big drivers, autonomous operations and just global volatility. Right. And this network centric strategies is one that kind of navigates, leverages one in order to navigate the other. Right. And so real focus on as we build our strategies and as we navigate a real volatile and uncertain global world, how do we ensure that our supply network is really at the core of that strategy? Right. That as we're making those decisions, we're considering the supply chain network as a differentiator and a driver of growth and then also ensuring that we're designing that network to be adaptable and to flex as conditions change. And that sort of proactive approach to an adaptable supply network, I think is a key part of this network centric strategy piece.
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Scott Luton
I agree. Flexibility is a great thing, Mike. I'm gonna go ahead and, and finish out because good things coming. Three, I'm gonna go ahead and prompt Laura to share this third macro trend, which I believe is end to end supply orchestration. Laura, if I've got that right and then I'm gonna invite your comments, Mike. So tell us about the third macro trend, Laura.
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Laura Randier
Definitely. I think this kind of end to end supply orchestration is really a don't go it alone. Right. Again, we're dealing with global volatility and so how do we navigate that more effectively with our value chain partners? And so that might include everything from kind of multi tier visibility so that we can start to really understand what's happening further up our supply chain and respond more quickly. But also circular strategies. Right. Which kind of takes us back to that discussion we had a couple of years ago. How do we utilize supply more effectively and capture more value out of that supply in order to navigate an environment with more choke points and more constraints? And so some interesting strategies here. I think we're seeing things like collaborative planning or forecasting across an ecosystem level as opposed to at a single node or individual organization so that we can optimize at that value chain level and mitigate some of the volatility that might happen across the value chain.
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Scott Luton
Laura, Flexibility. And then where you started that orchestration, you know, don't go it alone. Right. Mike, what do you think when you hear those two other macro trends, network centric strategies, end to end supply orchestration, your thoughts?
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Mike Griswold
It's really about when we think about those two kind of together, it's about, you know, one of the other words that we talk about a lot across the supply chain is resiliency. Right. One of the things we learned through the pandemic was the challenges of having kind of a singular view of your supply chain. It's my supply chain and just my supply chain and that's all I have to worry about. I think what we've learned through our research on this idea of ecosystems and this idea of networks is if you want to be resilient and be able to do a better job of handling disruptions, you need to think about your network and your ecosystem kind of together. Right. So that you're designing a network that is reflective of your entire ecosystem, not just what we maybe would have thought of in the past, which is just my own little piece of the world. And as supply chains become and continue to become more global and as Laura alluded to, I think we have more and more, you know, global pressures applied to supply chains. You, you can't go it alone. You have to think about things from an ecosystem perspective and how you think about that ecosystem should be one of the things that you think about when you're designing your network. So they go hand in hand. At least we think they do.
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Scott Luton
Yep. Well, you know, something you said there, I guess you could go it alone just like you could drive a car with one flat tire every day. But you're not going to get very far and it's really not going to be a good drive or good ride.
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Laura Randier
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Scott Luton
so Laura, I want to bring it home and kind of give some concrete examples of how these, these three macro trends are playing out in the industry, especially in the Gartner supply chain top 25. And folks, we're going to include the link where you can download a report. You can see all the companies on top 25 in the Masters and see some of the analysis that Laura, Mike and the team share. We include that link in the notes so you can go check it out. But when you. Laura, how do you see these macro trends playing out in industry and in the top 25?
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Laura Randier
Yeah, absolutely. I'd say if I start maybe from the last one and go forward right this end to end supply orchestration, a handful of different ways that we See it applied. But I think one of the really interesting ones is, is this concept of shared forecasting across the ecosystem. Right. And so where we see, for example, you know, Unilever's Project sky, where they are sharing forecasting data with their upstream partners in order to just have that same information, that same data across the full end to end supply chain. So that as. And this is really intended to kind of navigate volatile supply. Right. And so that it's sort of reducing that bullwhip effect that often can happen throughout the supply chain. So that we're actually ultimately reducing wasted product. Right. Because we don't need that safety stock on top of safety stock, you know, all the way throughout that, that supply chain ecosystem. And so thinking about that idea of kind of how do we optimize supply across the end to end supply chain in a way that actually enables us to optimize cost. Right, of course, as well, across the end to end supply chain. But yeah, I think some, some interesting examples of each of these. I think, you know, network centricity and sort of this adaptable supply network is one that we see a whole host of organizations really investing in. I think I might point to Amazon and kind of their approach to really truly investing very deeply and expanding their network to be closer to customer, to enable that distribution to just completely lean into their last mile delivery, which is always a differentiator for Amazon, but I think one that they're continuing to build on. Yeah. And then in terms of autonomous workforce, I think there's again kind of a few different ways that we can kind of see this manifest within organizations. One of them, I would say, is the focus on kind of process optimization before we get into actual delivery of like implementation of AI. Right. And so rather than kind of augmenting existing processes, we're seeing organizations start to really be focused on ensuring that the processes are right and that they're solving the right problems and that they're considering the AI in those processes and really that kind of reinvention focus. And you know, I would point to Schneider Electric as, you know, a leader who's really doing some interesting things. They're putting a lot of breaker around the way that they optimize their processes before they go ahead and, you know, truly implement and digitize and deploy AI agents in them.
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Scott Luton
Well said. And we're gonna, we're gonna circle back on Schneider Electric for good reason here later in today's episode. So Laura, no doubt I can see it. There's so many examples of these macro trends at work. So we would be here till the cows come home. But I want to get Mike weigh in how have you seen, you know, we've heard from Laura kind of how these macro trends are playing out across industry in the top 25. What are you seeing, Mike?
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Mike Griswold
Yeah, I'm seeing organizations oftentimes look to the top 25 in the macro trends as really a couple things. One, for some of the more mature companies, it's validation. So are we working on the right things like the Amazon example and the Unilever example and Schneider Electric? I think the other thing people Laura alluded to a little bit earlier, people are looking for inspiration. What are the things that I should be working on? And I think what we try to do in the report and the subsequent discussions we have around that is what are the things that anybody can do to start down the journey that some of these top 25 companies have, have embarked upon. When I was an analyst, I often and was covering the top 25, I would often get companies that would, that would say, hey, I love your macro trends but, but we're not fill in the blank, right? We're not png, we're not Unilever, we're not Amazon. So those things, you know, don't really apply to us. And my response back to them was well, they all started somewhere, right. You know, Unilever didn't wake up some morning and all of a sudden, you know, have this ecosystem. Right. So there are things that even early stage maturity companies can, can start on the road to these macro trends. And you know, we encourage people to not kind of get discouraged because you know, maybe you don't have the data infrastructure, maybe you don't have the size and scale of, of Walmart as a example. But there are things everybody can do to get started and that's really what we hope the takeaway is from the report is as people read each of the little blurbs we have on all the, on all the companies that they can find a company that looks like them. Right. We're going to talk a little bit about some of the new entrants and the folks that have reentered the list and hopefully companies can take some inspiration from those companies that maybe are just now cracking the list or companies that were maybe outside the list but have now made their way back doing some of the things that we talk about in these macro trends.
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Scott Luton
Yep. You know, a couple things you said shared there. Mike and Laura, welcome your, your thoughts. But you know, one of the things you mentioned, you actually Laura, you mentioned process optimization. Before we, you know, apply the latest and greatest technology. And you know that and runs me the phrase what's old is new again. Right. Because process optimization has been around for as long as industry has been. But it's like when we have technological revolutions, I think we realize again. So we get so giddy about okay, where can I apply AI, where can I apply this or that the other. And sometimes we, I know I've done it. Leaders can, can procure it, apply it, and all we do unfortunately is get. Make bad process much more efficient. That's no bueno for anybody. And then the second thing you mentioned, Mike, I think you touched on a bit is, is kind of re engineering work, right? Re engineering jobs. And Laura, I know this is near dear to you given all your work in the talent space. I was meeting with an executive yesterday on the show and he used this phrase he would encourage leaders to think of when we think of re engineering work in this era of technology, apply dignity and purpose to how to, to, to. To the workforce as we do that. And I, I just love that, Laura. I, I love that. I'll get you to respond to Mike's comments and anything I, I mentioned and then we're gonna move on and, and talk more about the masters.
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Laura Randier
Great. Yes. I think that is so critical and it doesn't change. Right. Given that we are adding these new tools and capabilities. I think your point on process optimization is an interesting one. And I think it's not even just that we're optimizing that we're not layering onto bad process, but actually it's also that we're not. We're. We're aware of the technology as we are redeploying or reevaluating our processes. Right. I think about it as I often think about like the invention of the automobile. Right. We used to maybe ride around on dirt roads and horse and carriages, right. And now you could add a car on a dirt road and that makes maybe that bad process faster. Right. But I think the, the invention of the interstate. Right. The ability to actually think about now that we've got this new tool, how do we use it most effectively in this new context? And so reimagine imagining what roles really should look like in that future is I think, where we see the leaders going.
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Scott Luton
Laura, well said. I like the analogy too, because you want to go faster, but you, you don't want to, you know, break your collarbone or your, your in internals because of the bumpy ride. Right?
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Laura Randier
Right.
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Scott Luton
A lot of good stuff there, Laura. Okay, so let's talk about the Masters.
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Laura Randier
Right.
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Scott Luton
And I think let's do this two ways. Laura, I'd love for you just to define that Master's category. So everyone's with us, understands what, you know, these super performers and then secondly the key insights from this group. So Laura, tell us more on both. On both points.
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Laura Randier
Great. Yes. So our supply chain masters, it is a category that recognizes long term leadership in supply chain. And so we have four masters and they have gotten there by achieving a, a really difficult kind of hurdle. Right. So what, what they need to do to achieve master status is actually to achieve be among the top five scores in as a result of our top 25 methodology for seven of the last 10 years. So kind of consistent long term leadership and it needs to be the top five scores among all companies, including other masters. Right. And so yes, our four masters this year include Amazon, Apple, P and G and Unilever and all masters who have actually been masters for quite a while and have sustained that long term leadership category. Always good to see. I think the work that they're doing, I think it's always inspiring. Certainly I mentioned some of the work that Unilever is doing around Project sky, but I think we can also talk about their autonomous workforce efforts, their training around systems optimization and systems thinking training beyond the sort of digital literacy and really investing in people and preparing for those new roles. Amazon doing fascinating things in terms of their network as I mentioned, but also in terms of augmenting employees, providing their delivery drivers with special tech sort of enabled glasses that can speed deliveries and make sure that they've got record of deliveries, et cetera. Right. So some really cool ways that they're augmenting with sort of physical technology. And then I'd point to you know, as well P and G and some of the work they're doing in sort of digitizing supply chain, in embedding AI across the supply chain organization. Some really leading things kind of happening there as well.
- [29:20]
Scott Luton
You know Mike, my favorite out of what Laura just shared, certainly my favorite one is her comments around several of the organizations investing in and augmenting the workforce and the people. You know, I think equipping this, the beautiful human element for this exciting current and new chapter the industries is more and more getting into. I think that's a, that's a, that's an onus on leadership to do that. And I really appreciate you calling that outlaw for sure. But Mike, what do you hear there from Laura and what are your owner observations in terms of what's going on with Amazon, Apple, P and G and Unilever.
- [30:00]
Mike Griswold
Yeah, those are. Scott, great points, great observations by Laura. I think the one thing I would add when I think about this year's Masters and their consistency and I think about kind of historically what we've seen from the Masters is their ability to kind of at the same time be able to invest, invest in the supply chain from the standpoint of keeping the lights on, but also invest in terms of how are we going to enable our supply chain to be that driver of growth, that competitive differentiator. You know, when you look at the Masters, they all have a very broad definition of where their supply chain starts and stops. And I do think that's one of those things, that span of control, you know, what's the remit of the supply chain? That is one of those things that, you know, the Masters have in common as well as some of our more leading companies, you know, in the list is how they define their supply chain and the span of control that they give their supply chain.
- [31:03]
Scott Luton
You know, I know we've mentioned Amazon a couple times. It's hard not to when you think of supply chain innovation. But, you know, at symposium this year down in Orlando, I sat down with Peter Larson, who of course is a central figure in Amazon Supply Chain Services, which is a fascinating development this year. So we'll see where that, where that goes from here. But hey, another reason to go to symposium, Mike. We talk about the, the industry networking all the time, but maybe we'll talk about events before we get out of here. All right, so Laura, really enjoy your perspective. I, I, I want to, I want to explore a different wrinkle though, because we've had some new entrants or maybe some returning entrance into this year's top 25 for 2026. Laura, what, what hits your radar there?
- [31:51]
Laura Randier
Yes, we have some new entrants, some returns. Taiwan Semiconductor was landed on the ranking for the first time and so really exciting to see some new faces. Taiwan Semiconductor, I think the scale at which they are operating their supply chain and certainly dealing with constraint supply and managing constraint supply, I think is a really interesting organization to dig into. We saw Toyota, Toyota was very impressive coming in at number 12 from outside of the ranking last year. So really exciting. They had been on the ranking some years ago, but good to see them back and really, really strong recognition from peers for Toyota. Dell Technologies also back at number 17. So pretty impressive, you know, coming right in at number 17. And yeah, and we saw Inditex come back as well. At number 25. And Johnson controls has been out for many years as well and came back in at number 20. So kind of good to see a little bit of a shake up in the top 25. We like to keep it interesting.
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Scott Luton
You do. And Mike, I tell you, the TSMC thing is fascinating. Their business, that sector, the role they're playing globally, it's such a fascinating part of modern global supply chain. But on a lighter note, Laura's getting us ready for college football because I'll tell you, if you just squint a little bit, you could almost the top 25 observations. It's almost like you expect to hear Texas and Alabama and maybe Clemson sometime return to top 25 conversations. But anyway, in terms of the new blood and the returning blood coming into the Gartner supply chain, top 25. Mike, your observations are.
- [33:38]
Mike Griswold
Yeah, I mean, every year, you know, as we go through the, you know, we think about the methodology. I know we'll come back to that in just a minute or two. You know, we're, we're always, you know, looking to see does the methodology reflect kind of the new thinking around, you know, what does a good supply chain look like. And I think when we, we expect anywhere from three to five, you know, ins and three to five outs, to Laura's point. So that, you know, there is, you know, some, you know, we like some volatility. We don't like chaos. Right. So we don't want that. I think what you see though, typically in either a new entrant or some of the returners like Inditex and Dell is you, you see organizations that aren't necessarily trying to chase to get back into the top 25. What they're doing is recognizing how does their supply chain need to evolve, how does the supply chain need to reflect the customer needs as well as the capability needs of a supply chain in 2026. And when, when organizations do that, right, when they figure out what do they need to have a high performing supply chain, the top 25 kind of results tend to become a byproduct or they tend to be an outcome. And I think that's reflected. You can go back in time and look at the history of the top 25. And people that left, you know, probably didn't react as quickly as they should have to certain macro environments. Maybe they did embrace the macro trends as quickly as they could have. But the flip side is true too, right? Companies that work their way back in have made a very conscious effort around what do they want the role of their supply chain to be. How are we going to invest in our supply chain? How is our supply chain going to lead us down some type of growth journey? So it always is interesting to see when we're all waiting on pins and needles for that to come out, to see that change. Right. And see that evolution in companies that maybe have been out for a little while and come back. We saw a couple of years ago when, when Nvidia basically came out of nowhere and landed in the top 25. We saw that a couple of years ago with Alibaba. Out of nowhere, they land in the top 25. And it's not because they were chasing the metrics or chasing the methodology they were chasing. We need a better supply chain. And when you do that, outcomes like landing in the top 25, landing in 26 to 50. Right. Leading your industry and our industry cuts, those are all byproducts that, that, that are beneficial to the organization.
- [36:21]
Scott Luton
Well said. And I like where you started. Low volatility is to be expected and of course it can lead to some good pain and good gains. We want to avoid the chaos. Want to avoid the chaos. Okay, let's get back to the good stuff in particular. That's the Schneider Electric story. You know, this company hit my radar at least a couple years back. You know, Mike, I want to say a couple years back, you and I both were touting how their ecosystem approach view to investing in their suppliers during, you know, some challenging times. Right. And you know, here recently, last year, I had the fortune of meeting their chief supply chain officer, Marad Tamud. Had a wonderful conversation with him in person, no less, in Vegas at a great event that they hosted. And of course, Schneider Electric took the number one spot on the top 25 for no less than the fourth consecutive year. So, Laura, man, I'll have what they're having. What is driving that performance and recognition.
- [37:25]
Laura Randier
Yes. You know, Schneider Electric, I will say, you know, really great performance across the board, across the methodology. But I would point out particular leadership in community opinion. Right. And so highly regarded by Gartner experts, highly regarded by peers because of the leadership that they show. Right. And I think that is grounded in their vision. Right. And their vision is very integrated. They present a vision that's about growing the pie and creating EOS system value, which you sort of alluded to. Right. I mentioned their disciplined execution earlier around, kind of getting their processes in order before they go ahead and deploy AI solutions. I think they're also sort of disciplined and visionary in their integration of sustainability goals into their Supply chain. Right. They focus on, you know, not trade offs, but it's how do we actually leverage this to capture value to mitigate risk. I think a great example is some of the work they're doing in circular scaling, circular models that actually recover scrap metals and then inject them back into their supply chain. And they're doing this at scale in certain parts of the world and in France in particular is a real kind of, you know, I think a leading practice of theirs where they're really utilizing these valuable materials more efficiently and ultimately creating value out of that work. Right. Thinking about climate risk and how it impacts their business long term and then preparing for it and leading in a way that enables it to navigate that. I could go on, but I think some, some good, real alignment there between their various priorities.
- [39:02]
Scott Luton
Laura, well said. And Mike, I want to say I read in the New York Times here in the last week or two, Laura mentioned, of course, France, where Schneider Electric is based and headquartered, and the Times highlighted a plant that embraced AI but led with how can it support and invest and augment the workforce. And it really lauded this counter narrative. I mean, you know, we talk about it all, all the time. You know, certain jobs in any industrial revolution are going to be lost. That's just historical fact. But when it comes to leadership of how they can, we can take cutting edge technology and really use it to empower the workforce. Those are great stories. But Mike, your thought on the Snyder Electric, the great story that is Snyder Electric.
- [39:49]
Mike Griswold
Yeah, this is one of those where it's been very, I've been very fortunate to be, you know, part of the top 25 in Laura's role for a number of years a few years ago. But you could, those of us at Gartner, both involved with the methodology and the process and our industry analysts that talk to Schneider, this was one of those things where you could kind of see coming, right? You could see every year going from high teens to low teens to single digits to top five. And it's interesting because Schneider, I think is a great example of someone that was able to build on the successes of their supply chain strategies from the previous year. So they were not someone that all of a sudden, you know, you woke up some morning and they're in the top 25, right? They, they got in it and then continuously improve their supply chain to land, you know, where, where they are. If you look at the, the numbers across all of the, the metrics that are in the methodology, they do very well. I think what I would highlight and reinforce What Laura said is the community and peer components. Right. That's 50% of the methodology. And we have lots of organizations that financially do well, but for whatever reason have made decisions to not expose what they do to the broader community. Right. And part of the overarching goal of the top 25 is to raise the level of performance of everyone in the supply chain, raise a level of performance of the profession. And Schneider does a great job. I mean, yes, they're not giving out the secret sauce, but they're giving out stuff that others can use and others find valuable both in the peer network as well as what they share with us as analysts. So it is about financial performance, but it's also about giving back to the community. And I think Schneider is a great example of that.
- [41:55]
Scott Luton
Yes, completely echo. I think, you know, many, many of our co hosts, many, many of our audience members, many folks that I've known the industry for a long time, a common thread and some of their feedback when we've had Schneider, you've been involved in their programs or had them speak here, they're a very highly respected organization and that takes a long time to establish that track record which you're kind of alluding to, Mike. So ton of good news. We don't want this to be the Schneider Electric Hour, but I think the three of us have kindred spirits for that organization. Before I tell you, the methodology has come up a couple times and I want to ask you all a question about that, but is there anything else? Laura, you were, we were talking kind of pre show. I'm not envious of your role because you have all of this research insights and data and key takeaways from all these companies and there'd be so much to share. How in the world do you pick exactly what to share in these interviews? I don't know how you do it, Laura, but is there anything that in particular that we left out that you really want to share with our audience from this year's top 25? Not a fair question, but I'm going to just pose that to you.
- [43:03]
Laura Randier
To your point, there's so much that we can share. I think there's a lot of really exciting practices. I might add, you know, Walmart up 10 spaces to number three. So really exciting to see some of the sort of retail representation on, you know, Walmart, but also even JD.com advancing. I'm back to my football analysis. But I think there's some really good, good news stories, you know, and movements in, in that space as well. And, and just a Whole lot to learn from the research that we've done. So I won't, I won't bore you with too many more of the details for now, but, but please feel free to check it out because there's a lot in there.
- [43:42]
Scott Luton
I'm with you. And speaking of good stories, what Walmart has been doing for several years now, making leaps and bounds in gains versus its retail competitors, that's a great story that continues to give and give and give. Micah, anything else before we talk about methodology? Anything else you want to call out as well?
- [44:01]
Mike Griswold
Yeah, I think just maybe go back to what I had said earlier. Around these organizations have found ways to, from a funding perspective, find that balance between keeping the lights on and driving innovation. And these leading companies have within their supply chain, their chief supply chain officers have taken the responsibility of finding ways to drive innovation through the supply chain and then finding ways to let their peers know within the C suite, the value of the supply chain. I think if you were to canvas the masters in the top 25 companies, it's highly unlikely any of them would tell you we have a supply chain because we have to have one and we have a supply chain because it's a cost center. They would tell you we have a supply chain because it's integral to us driving growth and innovation. And that's really, I think, the overarching message that we want people to take away not only from this year's list, but all the list going forward is how can you use your supply chain as, as a growth driver?
- [45:06]
Scott Luton
Yes. Well said, Mike. Well said. All right, so Laura and Mike, I don't want to talk out of both sides of my mouth here at all, by any means. Mike, you know I've enjoyed the Top 25 program for as long as you and I have been co hosting episodes and largely to your, the points you've made, right. The awareness it creates, the benchmarking opportunities, the discussions, you name it.
- [45:30]
Mike Griswold
Right.
- [45:30]
Scott Luton
So I am a, I am a fan. However, we all have, look, there's lots of takes in the world of global supply chain. Some critics out there, respected critics, might point to the subjective element in part of the methodology. I think we've already touched on a little bit here and kind of call that out. So, Laura, I'd love to start with you and then get Mike's take as you hear, because I know y' all lean into all kinds of conversations, folks, you know, kinder spirits. Otherwise, when y' all have those kinds of conversations, you get that feedback. What's your response? How do You. How do you speak to that?
- [46:08]
Laura Randier
Well, I actually think, I am struck by how I think the community opinion component of our methodology is what makes it. It's our secret sauce. Right. It is actually what really differentiates the ranking. Right. There is a lot in the quantitative part of the methodology that effectively measures outcomes of supply chain excellence. But so much most of what we talked about today, right. In those background trends are not going to show up today in those financial outcomes. Right. Where it shows up is in our community opinion component through recognition from peers and through recognition from experts. And so we encourage those peers and experts to vote what they know. Right. If you don't have visibility into the entire supply chain, that's okay because someone else will have a different perspective on a different part of it. And when we put all of that together, we get a really good picture of what supply chain excellence looks like. Of course, we, to Mike's earlier point, work with a lot of very smart people who have a lot of really great insight into supply chain excellence and who's doing things well and their particular corner of the market. And so I, I guess I would. When I hear criticism around community opinion, I actually push back and say this ranking is so important and followed and valuable because of the community opinion element.
- [47:27]
Scott Luton
Okay, Laura, I like it. Mike, your thoughts?
- [47:31]
Mike Griswold
Yeah. There's no one lacks for an opinion on the top 25 as, as soon as it comes out. Right. And I think it's interesting because, you know, we've gone through methodology changes, we're going through methodology change 20, 27. And when we, when we talk to people, we pull focus groups together of people that are actively involved in the top 25. We get, we get lots of feedback on the quantitative side. But what we almost hear universally, to Laura's point, is don't touch the analyst and the community perspective because there's value in how people view each other. Now, one of the things we did this year is because one of the criticisms has been that the, the peer vote in particular was a,
- [48:21]
Scott Luton
I don't
- [48:21]
Mike Griswold
want to say a beauty contest, popularity contest. Right. People were voting brands that they knew and there were other brands that got no votes that were doing just as much stuff. So we provided in this year's iteration a little bit more education to the peer voters around the companies that they might be selecting. Right. Things like, and Laura can help me with this, but, but things like, where have they landed in the past? Some things that they've been working on so people were more informed. Now what Laura and I tell people all the time is in that community side. There's a very fine line between giving people information that they could use, helpful in casting a vote and being accused of leading the witness. Right. So there's a very fine line that I think we're still navigating, right, to find the sweet spot of here's like a really good body of knowledge for you to cast an intelligent vote and someone looking at that and saying, Gartner's trying to push you to a certain company. So there is a lot of support for, for the community, both on the peer side and the analyst side. We're doing our best to continually give people what we think is, is information that can help them cast their vote without, again, without being accused of leading the witness.
- [49:38]
Scott Luton
Matlock has never factored into an analogy here at Supply Chain now, but Mike, we did it. Yes, the good old Andy Griffith show back in the day, back in the 80s. All right, so, Laura, before I go, I want to make sure folks and I connect with you both. Mike also shared, I think, some very straightforward and genuine perspective there in light of the criticism. Is there anything else you want to add based on what he shared, Lauren, especially He referenced some 20, 27 changes. Anything else to add, Lauren?
- [50:09]
Laura Randier
Yes, we will be making changes. Right. We're always looking to evolve the methodology and there will be changes to the ESG methodology next year. And so that will look quite different. Again, kind of more focus on performance outcomes than perhaps voluntary reporting initiatives, as it does today. And so looking forward to sharing those updates. You'll find them on gartner.com in say, August or so. So definitely look out for that.
- [50:39]
Scott Luton
Outstanding. And folks, you can, you can download I Did it earlier, dove into the free research that's available associated with the top 25. You can find that@gartner.com we'll try to include the direct link in the show notes. And Mike, that begs a question because there's some, you know, I mentioned symposium, Supply Chain Symposium takes place in Orlando and also in, I want to say Madrid. It's not Madrid, Mike. Barcelona. Barcelona. Thank you. Each year we had a great time. We had about 20 great interviews this year in May at Symposium. And of course, we've got a new procurement summit coming up soon. And then my other favorite, Mike, we've talked a lot about is the Supply Chain Planning Summit. Laura, are you going to be at a planning summit this year?
- [51:30]
Laura Randier
You know, I will not be at the planning summit, but I will see you at symposium. Absolutely.
- [51:35]
Scott Luton
Outstanding. Well, you know what the Planning Summit I tell you, Laura, I went to went to it for the first time last year, had a blast. Mike, it may make me a big old supply chain nerd, but I love talking planning. I know you do too. Anything you want to share about this year's planning Summit?
- [51:52]
Mike Griswold
Yeah, I think it's again, if anyone has any connection at all to planning, whether you run planning teams, whether you're a planner yourself, it is the go to place to be for planning insights, both on the technology side as well as the people and process side.
- [52:12]
Scott Luton
It is. And folks, you can learn more about symposium, Planning Summit, Procurement summit, all of Gartner programming and I bet, Laura, as we start to wrap up here today, what's the easiest way to connect with you? Whether it's about a top 25 or other parts of your research, other parts of your perspective, I bet you do a bunch of keynotes and, and consultations and whatnot. Laura, how can folks track you down?
- [52:36]
Laura Randier
Absolutely. LinkedIn is the place, so please reach out, connect with me on LinkedIn.
- [52:41]
Scott Luton
Outstanding, folks, outstanding. Laura really appreciated and enjoyed having you back here on the show at Supply Chain now. And Mike, I know, and I almost know what you're going to say because, because we've had, we've had the same exchange for seven years now. Actually, you know what, before I even go to Mike, Laura, is Mike Griswold working on his LinkedIn game? Can you officially say yes, Mike's advancing?
- [53:07]
Laura Randier
Not to my knowledge, but I'll let Mike answer that for you.
- [53:11]
Scott Luton
All right, Mike, how can folks connect with you?
- [53:13]
Mike Griswold
So Laura is a fair, a very fair and balanced observation of my, my LinkedIn prowess. Frankly, email is the best. Mike.griswold gartner.com I am working to keep up with LinkedIn, but email is probably the easiest for people to get a hold of me.
- [53:30]
Scott Luton
I'm with you. I'm with you, you know, and it gets harder and harder. Some of my dearest friends coaxed me to join WhatsApp in the last year or so. And after a couple months I had to back away. Turn it off, never open it again. I could not keep up. Laura and Mike and LinkedIn's getting tougher and tougher, so I feel your pain regardless. Laura Rainier, Senior Director Analyst at Gardner. Laura, keep up the great work. Great to have you back and let's not go two years without having a new conversation. How's that sound?
- [54:03]
Laura Randier
Sounds great.
- [54:05]
Scott Luton
And Mike Griswold, always a pleasure to have you join us here. Really enjoyed you and Lars take on the top 25 and far beyond. Let's keep up the momentum as we head into the hotter and hotter months. But Mike Griswold, vice president analyst with Gardner, thanks for being here.
- [54:22]
Mike Griswold
Thanks for having me, Scott. Laura, thanks. Great conversation.
- [54:26]
Scott Luton
Excellent conversation, folks. Hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I have. Hey, give us your feedback. You know, that's one of my favorite parts that we've been baking more and more into. Our monthly show with Mike is is sharing your comments, your perspectives, your take. So keep it coming. And hey, it's easier for us to find that if you tag Supply Chain now or tag Mike or tag myself, that'd be terrific. So we want to feature that more and more. But hey, whatever you do, take one thing. This is homework from Mike and Laurie here today. Share it with your team. Do something with it. Deeds, not words, folks. That's how we're going to keep driving good change here across our industry. And with that said, Scott Luton here challenging you. Do good, give forward. Be the change that's needed. And we'll see you next time right back here on Supply Chain Now. Thanks for buying.
- [55:13]
Mike Griswold
Join the Supply Chain now community.
- [55:15]
Scott Luton
For more supply chain perspectives, news and
- [55:17]
Mike Griswold
innovation, check out supply chain now.com subscribe to Supply Chain now on YouTube and follow and listen to Supply Chain Now. Wherever you get your podcasts.