Therefore it is vital that companies are able to balance operational excellence with innovation excellence, he added, as he listed some of the global brands that have been recognised in analysts firm AMR's Top 25 Supply Chain Ranking.

Ranked top is Apple for "transforming its supply chain into a value chain, starting with the consumer experience and designing its network to serve that master first and foremost", said Owens.

In second place is P&G, which established new leadership footholds in other areas, including its use of innovation networks to tap external expertise for at least 50 per cent of its new product ideas.

"The company's recently released supplier sustainability scorecard is a model of practical but still ambitious target setting for a supply base that impacts many key environmental resources, including water, energy, emissions and waste," said Owens.

These top companies seemed to consistently exhibit the following three themes, he added.