Cardinal Health ranks No. 1 on Gartner's 'Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25'

STAMFORD, Conn. — Gartner on Monday released the findings from its third annual "Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25," ranking Cardinal Health No. 1. The top 25 ranking for 2011 identifies organizations using their supply chains to improve the patient care experience.

 

"Value chain leadership in a range of foundational and collaborative capabilities has allowed these organizations to make great strides in enabling high-quality patient care at optimal economic cost," stated Barry Blake, research analyst at Gartner.

 

"This year we see commonality between the strategies supply chain organizations from across the different segments are pursuing," Blake said. "Supply chain and customer segmentation, working capital optimization, resiliency, talent management, standardization and, of course, collaboration are mentioned in nearly every strategic supply chain document we've reviewed."

 

Cardinal Health captured the No. 1 spot this year. A complex combination of connected businesses, Cardinal Health combines the varied strengths of a medical surgical distributor, a pharmaceutical wholesaler and a large manufacturer. Its financials, relative to peers, remained impressive, even though its return on assets dropped this year, and its inventory turn performance remained essentially the same. Cardinal made significant gains in the opinion component of the poll, a reflection of the credibility it has established with healthcare providers, manufacturers and the analyst community, Gartner stated. "Cardinal has the closest thing to a 'one-stop shop' in serving providers and gets credit for having a unique ability to support its trading partners."



BD, which ranked No. 3, moved into the Top 5 for the first time in Gartner's ranking. Consistent financial performance in both ROA and inventory turns, along with a strong surge in peer recognition, particularly from healthcare providers, fueled its move up the ladder.

 

The top-25 rankings are:

1. 
   

   Cardinal Health

   
   


2. 
   

   Mercy

   
   


3. 
   

   BD

   
   


4. 
   

   Mayo Foundation

   
   


5. 
   

   Owens & Minor

   
   


6. 
   

   Johnson & Johnson

   
   


7. 
   

   Intermountain Healthcare 

   
   


8. 
   

   Abbott

   
   


9. 
   

   Novartis

   
   


10. 
    

    Geisinger Health Systems

    
    


11. 
    

    Cleveland Clinic 

    
    


12. 
    

    AmerisourceBergen

    
    


13. 
    

    Boston Scientific

    
    


14. 
    

    McKesson

    
    


15. 
    

    Bristol-Myers Squibb 

    
    


16. 
    

    BJC Healthcare 

    
    


17. 
    

    CVS Caremark 

    
    


18. 
    

    Baxter 

    
    


19. 
    

    Pfizer 

    
    


20. 
    

    AstraZeneca 

    
    


21. 
    

    UPMC 

    
    


22. 
    

    Alcon

    
    


23. 
    

    GlaxoSmithKline 

    
    


24. 
    

    Amgen 

    
    


25. 
    

    Kaiser Permanente

    
    

More detailed analysis is available in the report "The Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2011." For the full report, click here.

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