Apple Supply Chain Analysis

1474 Words6 Pages
Introduction Apple INC is a globally recognized company which mainly deals in electronics, computer hardware and software. It was initially found in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The company’s business is expanding day in and day out and the company is highly recognized in the globe these days for its innovative designs, branding and products. The company has been through many phases since its birth. The matter of supply chain was of crucial importance due to its global outsourcing, production and distribution. The supply chain management of this company is highly regarded throughout the world and has remained in top-most positions among all the companies since 2013 onwards. Supply chain has been a keen matter of concern for the global…show more content…
According to a survey, Apple INC failed to meet the demand in 1995 due to lacking at the supplier end for some of the essential components. This was the time when apple had been served by a single supplier throughout. Later on, this company was falling and losing around $1 billion yearly. The company had expanded its product linings tremendously. Due to which the supply chain was becoming complex to manage. There is a clear and defined strategy for product development as well as the production and retailing of the products. Research and development is the first step for any product development. Which is followed by testing and market survey for the establishment. The product is pre-launched and pre-payments are made to the suppliers. The products of this company are launched timely and wisely with mass media fever which is the pre-launch of the product. The products are reviewed with time. Below is the supplier’s location around the globe for Apple…show more content…
The supply of Apples INC products are globally distributed. This is strategic because the products are designed in California while assembled in China. This strategy has led towards the reduction of cost as the assembling cost is lower in China. This is a part of supply chain map of this company. The material is mostly handled through air freight and the distribution is carried mainly through online store which was launched in 2003, by retail stores, wholesalers and carriers. Due to systematic and organized supply chain, apple has managed to stand among the top most supply chain oriented companies around the globe. Tim cook has taken measures to manage the supply chain of this company so as to simply the procedures. There is a clear distribution of chain to which the company contracts for others to outsource the material and the chains which Apple itself manages. Networking, components and assembling is outsourced while design, applications, branding and marketing is been taken by Apple itself. In order to avoid gaps, the company has also contracted with two Taiwan based companies to assemble iPads (L. Kraemer, 2015). There are certain changes which apple keep on doing to manage its supply chain throughout. One of such examples is the change of supplier from Japan to Taiwan with the development of the internal chip design. The structure of
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