The trends driving Gartner’s Top 25

 Straight Talk with Brian Straight • July 13, 2025

Hello, and welcome to this week’s edition of Straight Talk. Inside, we discuss:

• Gartner’s Top 25

• AI adding headcount

• The cruising supply chain

• Putting tariffs to work for you

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Inside the Top 25

       (Photo: Getty Images)

The world’s top supply chains aren’t just optimizing for cost or efficiency anymore—they’re redefining the very purpose of supply chain management. According to Gartner’s 2025 Supply Chain Top 25, the most admired global companies are leaning into automation, AI, and environmental stewardship to drive business outcomes and societal impact alike.

At the top of the list for the third straight year is Schneider Electric, recognized for its advanced use of AI, network planning flexibility, and ability to link sustainability with strategic business goals.

“They’re showing that supply chain is no longer a back-office function,” said Simon Bailey, senior director analyst at Gartner and co-author of the report. “It’s central to business—bringing resilience and value in equal measure.”

Joining Schneider in the top five are NVIDIA, Cisco Systems, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson—a mix of tech, life sciences, and healthcare firms that all demonstrate clear, visionary leadership and a strong commitment to innovation.

In an interview with Supply Chain Management Review, Bailey talked about what makes the companies inside the Top 25 special. You can see the full Gartner Top 25 here. He identified three main themes: Agentic AI, autonomous operations, and water stewardship.

Water as strategy, not just for sustainability

One of the most surprising takeaways from this year’s research was the universal focus on water stewardship—not just water management, Bailey said. “We heard company after company talk about water in terms of resilience, not just ESG,” he said.

That shift is visible in companies like Danone (#10), Nestlé (#11) and General Mills (#17), which are embedding water stewardship into core operations. Danone, for example, is partnering with governments to restore ecosystems in water-stressed regions, while Nestlé is reclaiming water from slurry and converting it into clean water and fertilizer. “They’re thinking about how to replenish water,” not just use it more efficiently, Bailey explained.

Danone’s efforts earned it maximum points in Gartner’s ESG category, helping the company jump 12 places in the rankings.

From automation to autonomy

Another standout trend: the rise of autonomous operations. Companies are connecting previously isolated “islands of automation” into intelligent, self-regulating systems that span factories, warehouses, and even customer interfaces. Bailey explained that leading companies are not just implementing autonomous technologies, but connecting them in a way that maximizes benefits across the operation.

Unilever, for example, has integrated autonomous operations at its factory in China, linking production and warehousing to run with minimal human intervention. Lenovo is using AI agents to dynamically configure products in collaboration with customers. And Amazon continues to pour investment—$25 billion and counting—into robotics and voice-activated systems like those in development at its Shreveport facility, Bailey noted.

“Autonomy is no longer limited to physical processes,” he said. “It’s increasingly shaping how businesses are run.”

Agentic AI: Still emerging, but promising

While still in its early stages, Agentic AI—AI that can act on behalf of humans—is already being tested in areas like demand forecasting, contract negotiations, and rooftop planning. “We’re seeing leaders harness machine learning and actually allow the technology to take action,” Bailey said. “It’s not just analytics—it’s agency.”

These advanced tools are helping companies respond faster to disruptions, better serve customers, and align procurement decisions with broader business objectives.

What makes a Top 25 supply chain?

Gartner’s ranking combines financial performance, ESG impact, peer and analyst opinions, and a few intangible but critical factors—vision, maturity, and long-term excellence. Bailey noted that companies like Procter & Gamble, Apple, and Amazon—along with Unilever—are celebrated as “Masters” for demonstrating consistent, long-term leadership. “What sets them apart is how their supply chains drive business success year after year,” he said.

Even rising players are showing what’s possible. Novartis leapt 41 places in this year’s rankings, landing at number 16, fueled by a strategic refocus following a spinoff. “They’ve re-crafted their business around their identity as a life sciences company,” said Bailey. “Their financial indicators have all strengthened, and they’ve doubled down on delivering to their customers.”

The Masters

Of special note each year are the Masters companies. This year, Amazon, Apple, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever maintained their Masters status. These companies have met the criteria set forth by Gartner for this special category. To become or remain a Master, a company must have received that credit for at least seven of the last 10 years. If a Master’s number of credits drops below the seven required over 10 years, the company returns to the main ranking. No company fell out this year and no new company was added.

Each of the Masters have achieved special status because they continue to lead the way in terms of leveraging the supply chain to drive business outcomes. For instance, Amazon’s Shreveport facility has integrated advanced robotics systems, resulting in a 25% reduction in delivery costs. The facility exemplifies what Baily was speaking of in terms of autonomous operations, utilizing eight different robotics systems working cohesively to achieve the savings.

Apple and P&G have been Masters honorees 11 times each. Apple is focused on deploying automation and minimizing resource usage. P&G has recently implemented its Supply Chain 3.0 strategy (I covered its approach to supply chain in this SCMR magazine article).

Unilever, in its 7th year as a Master, is knee-deep in implementing its Unilever Manufacturing System methodology of autonomous operations.

A community of excellence

Beyond the competition for rankings, Bailey emphasized the shared commitment across the supply chain profession. “There’s a huge amount of respect in the community and a willingness to learn from each other,” he said. “My hope is that people read these examples, feel inspired, and ask, ‘How can we get there?’”

Ultimately, the Top 25 is about more than recognition—it’s a roadmap for supply chain leaders everywhere to rethink how they operate, collaborate, and lead.

AI = more people?

       (Photo: Getty Images)

A new study by procurement orchestration platform provider Zip has found widespread adoption of AI in procurement. Some are farther along, with 25% of those surveyed (210 U.S. procurement executives) saying they have automated nearly half or more of their procurement processes. Only 10.5% remain in the exploration stage, while 66% are using AI-powered platforms in some way. Predictive contract compliance (about 55%), automated purchase order management (50%), personalized procurement recommendations (49%), demand forecasting (43%), spend analysis (41%), competitive intelligence (28%) and sourcing (26%) are the top uses. Most interesting to me, however, was this number: 39.5%. That is the percentage of executives who believe implementation of AI in procurement will lead to a headcount increase. You can read the full report here.

Cruisin’

       (Photo: Getty Images)

I had the opportunity recently to take a cruise. It was nice to get away for a bit—we did a New York to Bermuda cruise over 7 days—but it was what I didn’t see on that cruise that got me thinking (and it wasn’t the lack of whales or dolphins). It was the supply chain. Even on vacation, I couldn’t help but think about the supply chain. Throughout the cruise, whatever I and my family needed, whether it was room supplies, food or merchandise to purchase, it was available. That is except for the “pink” drink at the onboard Starbucks on Day 7 (my daughter was a bit disappointed). As we all know, so much can go wrong in a supply chain, but what about servicing a supply chain where your primary customer (the cruise ship) is constantly on the move, going from port to port? Any never missing a beat. I just wanted to give a shoutout to the cruise industry supply chain for ensuring all of us cruisers can enjoy our trips and are not worried about not getting what we need, when we need it.

What I read this week

So much of the talk about tariffs is around the potentially negative impacts, but what if tariffs are the impetus needed for change? … Supply chain volatility doesn’t just impact the movement of goods, it is also changing the speed at which education must adapt. … A new poll finds a majority of Amazon Prime members would wait longer for shipments if it reduced emissions. … The top tech trend in logistics is not automation or self-driving trucks, it is route optimization software. … M&A has many positives, but it is also easy for a merger to derail your supply chain success. … Tariffs continue to create uncertainty and uneven flows of U.S.-bound imports says new data.