OREANDA-NEWS. Lenovo has been included in Gartner, Inc.’s 2013 Supply Chain Top 25[1], an elite annual list that encompasses some of the world’s leading brands in the retail, manufacturing and distribution sectors.  Ranked number 20, Lenovo attributes this latest public recognition to improvements in its operations that helped the company outperform its industry for four consecutive years, while expanding rapidly to become the world’s second largest PC supplier.

“Building a world-class supply chain has been critical to our rapid growth in PCs, and will be equally important to win in the broader market for smart connected devices such as smartphones and tablets,” said Gerry Smith, the former head of Lenovo’s Global Supply Chain and now president, Lenovo Americas.  “We believe our entry into Gartner’s well-respected Supply Chain Top 25 is clear proof that Lenovo has established the strong operational foundation necessary to keep expanding our business and raising the bar on customer experience.

“Over the past seven years, we’ve steadily improved our cost structure, delivery and cash management, while investing in our own in-house manufacturing capabilities to put Lenovo in a very competitive position, all of which contributed to our success,” he added.

Since 2006, Lenovo has orchestrated a dramatic transformation of its supply chain to improve speed, flexibility and efficiency.  During this period, it cut end-to-end costs by over 50%, improved product delivery performance by 167%, increased asset utilization by 10% and maintained industry-leading product quality.  All of these improvements were achieved while the company more than doubled its unit shipments and broadened its product portfolio.

Gartner, one of the world’s leading information technology research and advisory firms, announced the 2013 Supply Chain Top 25 rankings recently at its annual Supply Chain Executive Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Now in its ninth year, the Gartner Top 25 Supply Chain is an in-depth study of the operational performance and practices of companies in the retail, distribution and manufacturing sectors.  In addition to Lenovo, this year’s rankings included iconic brands such as McDonald’s, Amazon.com, Proctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Wal-Mart, Nike, Starbucks and Ford, among others.