Gartner’s Top 25: Ranking The Best Supply Chain Schools & Companies

TOP 25 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

University of Arkansas grabs the top spot for the second straight time while University of Tennessee and University of South Carolina round out the top three.

“Their performance is really notable across the board. They clearly are a large program, but they also focus on applied experience for their students.The robustness of their curriculum is really unmatched,” Chumakov says. “They have a really strong industry reputation. Arkansas students command really impressive salaries coming out of graduation or even before they’ve graduated. And they have actually really strong faculty and student diversity as well.”

Five schools busted into the top 25 after being left off in 2020. University of North Texas shot all the way to No. 6, the highest “jump” of any other school. Texas Christian University (No. 17), Western Washington University (No. 18), Wayne State University (No. 21), and Purdue University (No. 24) also appeared on the list after taking a hiatus in 2020.

“Two newcomers that made the list for the first time in 2022 were Western Washington University and Purdue University,” Chumakov says. “Western Washington's impressive entrance is really attributed to the breadth of their curriculum, and their internship and Co-Op requirements as well. Purdue’s strength lies in their size and their popularity within the industry.”

Schools with the largest leaps were University of Texas Dallas (No. 8) which improved its ranking by 11 spots, University of Illinois (No. 11) which jumped 9 spots, and University of Houston (No. 9) jumping 8 spots. Schools with the largest falls include Bowling Green State University (No. 25) and University Texas Austin (No. 13) which each dropped 9 spots, while Pennsylvania State University (No. 10) and Marquette University (No. 19) each dropped 7.

That also means that five schools on 2020’s ranking didn’t make it this year. Those include Michigan State University (No. 9 in ‘20), Howard University (No. 13), Miami University (No 18), North Carolina A&T State University (No. 21), and University of Wisconsin Madison (No. 22).

TOP 25 SUPPLY CHAIN COMPANIES

Gartner also ranks the Global Supply Chain Top 25, industry leading companies that have mastered the art of getting products into the hands of customers. This year, 19 companies achieved the highest possible environmental, social and governance (ESG) score, reflecting the growing importance supply chain leaders assign to these initiatives, says Mike Griswold in a release. He is vice president team manager with the Gartner Supply Chain practice.

Cisco Systems scored the top spot for the third consecutive year. It was followed by Schneider Electric (No. 2), Colgate-Palmolive (No. 3), Johnson & Johnson (No. 4) and PepsiCo (No. 5)

"Cisco continues to adapt in various ways to the changing environment, and its supply chain moves in alignment,” Griswold says. “ESG is a big focus, with circular concepts incorporated in the design, operations and consumption aspect of the products and the supply chain.”

To recognize sustained supply chain excellence, Gartner introduced the “Masters” category in 2015. To be considered Masters, companies must have attained top-five composite scores for at least seven out of the last 10 years. All of last year’s Masters - Amazon, Apple, P&G, McDonald’s, and Unilever – again qualified for the category this year.

“All of the Masters provide prime examples of how to deliver agility and responsiveness at scale for sustained periods of time,” Mr. Griswold added. “Other chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) can look to them and the other organizations in the ranking to learn their best practices.”

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