2017 marks the 13th year of the annual ranking, said Stan Aronow, research vice president at Gartner. "This year we have an impressive group of leaders with new lessons to share, including two more recent entrants from the high-tech and consumer product sectors," he said.

"Despite some striking performances, however, today's supply chain leaders face a much different business environment than just 12 months ago," Aronow said. "A general trend toward protectionism, as evidenced by Brexit and the policies of the current U.S. administration, has caused some companies to shift supply network design decisions and create contingency plans in anticipation of new trade policies. Continued investment in innovative supply chain capabilities will be required to meet this changing landscape."

Unilever topped the Supply Chain Top 25 ranking for the second consecutive year in 2017, followed by McDonald's, Inditex, Cisco and H&M. Two new companies made the Supply Chain Top 25, with Nokia rejoining after a seven-year hiatus and Diageo making the list for the first time.

Perennial supply chain leader Amazon joined Apple and P&G in qualifying for the "Masters" category, which Gartner introduced in 2015 to recognize sustained leadership over the last 10 years.

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