Amazon has the world's leading supply chain, according to a new study.

Gartner has released its 11th annual Supply Chain Top 25, which highlights the retailer as having the most effective operations in this area.

Other companies recognised for their supply chain efforts include McDonald's, Unilever, Intel and Inditex, which were ranked from two to five respectively. Cisco Systems, H&M, Samsung Electronics, Colgate-Palmolive and Nike completed the top ten.

L'Oreal, Toyota and Home Depot all rejoined the top 25 after several years of not being included on the list.

However, Apple and P&G - which normally occupy the two top spots in the ranking - were absent as they have been promoted to a new supply chain 'masters' category in recognition of their achievements in this area.

Stan Aronow, research vice-president at Gartner, stated: "In this the inaugural year for supply chain masters, we want to recognise two companies demonstrating sustained leadership: Apple and P&G."

He added that P&G was one of the first businesses to "characterise and embed" the concept of a consumer-driven supply chain, while Apple was responsible for "defining the very notion" of a solution supply chain, which allowed it to make real progress with its demand creation capabilities.

Other companies that made it on to Gartner's top 25 include Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Walmart, 3M, Pepsi, Seagate and Nestle.

According to recent research from DHL and Cisco, the development of the internet of things is set to boost supply chain operations by $1.9 trillion (£1.3 trillion). The organisations forecast the technology will have a "game-changing" impact on the way businesses work in this area.