Caterpillar tops Gartner’s annual Supply Chain List for 2013

For the second time, Caterpillar has been named in the annual Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 list. Caterpillar tops the Industrial Manufacturing list as the global supply chain leader and earned the number 18 ranking among all industries, up from number 20 in 2012.

“Caterpillar continues to broaden its integrated supply chain initiatives. This leading industrial is focused on common designs and processes across its manufacturing and supplier network, a robust set of metrics to measure the value of sustainability across its product portfolio and building velocity in its commercialization process,” the Gartner report noted.

The rankings are scored on Gartner and peer opinion, Return on Assets (ROA), Inventory Turns and Revenue Growth.

Integrated Supply Chain strategies launched last year have contributed to a reduction in inventory across the enterprise and improvements in end-to-end response times. The Agility in

Mining programme has made significant reductions in inventory through the first half of the year, and is on track to continue meeting goals through the end of the year. The processes put in place through this programme, and similar programmes across the enterprise, will continue to strengthen Caterpillar's reputation as a global supply chain leader and ultimately result in achieving Enterprise Excellence.

“We are humbled to receive this award and recognition from Gartner. It is a testament to the achievements our teams have been making in improving our supply chain. This award should also encourage our teams that we are on the right track with our supply chain initiatives,” said Mark Ward, Caterpillar Production System Supply Chain Director.