Cover Story

CGT's annual roundup of the largest public companies in the consumer goods industry.

From acquisitions and divestitures to name changes and new leadership appointments, 2013 was full of memorable moments. This annual list of the top publicly traded consumer goods companies provides a snapshot of organizations that succeeded in upping their growth games.

Recognizing the People Behind the Technologies, Systems and Processes That Make the Consumer Goods Supply Chain Run

These 10 extremely diverse small to medium-sized businesses collectively illustrate a few important facts about the industry: consumer understanding is more critical than ever, brick-and-mortar retail is still vital, and organizational size no longer matters.

Despite valid reluctance, direct to consumer sales are part of the CPG industry’s future.

Inspirational executives driving change in their organizations — and beyond.

Recognizing the people behind the tools that bring insights to the organization.

This year's class of Visionaries does not disappoint. Whether focused on supply chain, analytics, sales and marketing, or innovation, the insights these leaders share on the pages to come are invaluable. CGT is proud to present 11 movers and shakers who are making a major impression on the industry, starting with a retail visionary most recently from Walmart.

When store supplies for Kimberly-Clark's retail partners are out of synch with production forecasts, it can have a very real impact on the $20.8 billion personal care products giant's sales. So, the company invested in data analytics software to provide far more visibility into real-time demand trends.

In the world of consumer goods, Amway is a rare success story. The company's direct-selling model has been nothing but successful, but this didn't come about by chance. Armed with a structered, yet flexible product development process, and growing network of external partners, Amway and its Open Innovation Team, is well on its way to turning a good business into a great business.

Although brick-and-mortar retail has been the focus of The Kroger Co. from the very beginning, omnichannel strategies are changing the future of how consumers are shopping. Since there is now a greater need for suppliers to collaborate even more closely with their retailer partners, Kroger created Program Mercury to seamlessly blend together the traditional in-store experience with digital, into a truly omnichannel consumer experience.

A short list of the best technology and service providers in the industry