Overview of company
Discuss about the Supply Chain Management And Activities Of Apple Company.
The aim of the report is to throw light on the supply chain management and activities of the company that has been selected. The company that has been selected for this analysis is Apple Company. It includes the description related to the supply chain management and its activities. It includes the supply chain of the brand and products of the Apple company and three business requirements of the customers and brands are achieved with the help of supply chain or not. It also includes the alignment of the supply China with the business requirement of Apple. The three ways of sourcing the arrangements in the supply chain are discussed with the strategic implication for each.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company with the head office in Cupertino, California. The company develops and sell the consumer electronics, computer software and the other online services. The company is well-known in the market because it is the world’s largest information technology company in terms of the revenue and the world’s 2nd largest mobile phone producer just after the Samsung Company. In addition, the company is known as the first US Company whose value is more than US$700 billion.
A supply chain is referred to as the system of organization, people, activities, resources, and information that are included in moving a product or service from supplier to the customer. The activities of the supply chain involve the conversion of the natural resources, raw material and the components into the finished product that is distributed to the end customer (Christopher, 2016). In simple words, the activities of the supply chain include retail, manufacturing, sourcing, procurement, returns, resale, demand management and many others. Apple is famous for the design and innovation in their products and ensures that their supply chain for the product is effective. The company will handle the inventory which is factor that might lead to the success of the business. According to the research conducted by Gartner, Apple supply chain rank 1st in the world in the every year from 2010 to 2013. This is the fact that the supply chain of Apple Company is too complex.
The supply chain is linked to the relationships, partners and the shareholders of the Apple Company. The supply chain comprises the coordination and collaboration with the channel partners which can be intermediaries, suppliers, and providers of raw material and the customers of the Apple Company (Stadtler, 2015). The company ensure that they are able to form the effective relationship with their suppliers, distributor and other which are essential for the management of the effective supply chain. Apple Company makes the procurement of material from the different suppliers and then gets them shipped to the accumulating plant in China. The company distribute the products through retails stores and other distributors. The customers of company can also send the products back to the nearest apple stores for the recycling facility which is essential to be fulfilled by the company.
Supply chain of the company
The company ensure the consistency among the purchaser priorities of the competitive advantage strategy and the supply chain capabilities that are specified with the help of the supply chain strategy that is known as Strategic fit (Hettiarachchi, 2018). The below image reflect that the strategy of the company is sophisticated agile supply chain strategy.
The 3 major activities that are important for the supply chain of the Apple Company include sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution.
- Sourcing is the process of finding the suppliers of the goods and services. The goal of the apple company is to form the connection with the suppliers in the different nations as this is the way through which they can expand the business.
- Manufacturing is the process in which the company produces the products which they offer to their customers (Hugos, 2018). Apple Company believes in producing the innovative products and get the products assemble with the services and technology. This fulfills the goal of a company that is to produce the products that can meet the needs of the customers. In addition, this will leads to the customer satisfaction.
- Distribution is the process through which the company can make the goods available to the customers. Apple wants to make the products easily accessible to the customers who can consume the products easily. The goal of the company is to enhance the reach of the products to the customers.
The above are the activities that support the company to meet the strategic goals for all the products that are offered by the company.
The supply chain of the company is different for the numerous products that are present in the market. Apple company two major products that are picked for the supply chain management include Apple iPhone and Mac personal computer. It is essential to understand the supply chain of the products first for understand the requirements of the customers and market needs of the brand.
IPhone supply chain
The iPhone is one of the most important and recognized product in the market. This product always comes with some innovation in it and this is most demanded product by the customers (Wisner, Tan and Leong, 2014). The below given is the supply chain of iPhone which include the design and development, sourcing, manufacturing then distributing the goods and keeping them in the warehouse.
Another supply chain of the product that has been selected Mac personal computer. The below given is the supply chain of the Mac personal computer. This is the same process which is done by the company for the iPhone but over here the sourcing of raw material is very important. Moreover, the company offers the facility of return of the products at the company’s store.
Apple Company need to ensure that they are able to align their products supplies chain according to the needs of the customers and markets. The major 3 requirements the markets/customers of the products would have towards the supply chain include: –
Easy accessibility of product: – The customers and the market retailers of the product require that there is the easy accessibility of the iPhone and Mac Personal computer because these two products are highly demanded by the customers in the market. Moreover, at occasions, the retailers want to meet the requirement of the customers for which there is need of an effective supply of the products of Apple Company (Ayers and Odegaard, 2017).
Strategy of Apple Supply chain
Warehouse management: – Customer and marketers of the company want fresh products without any damage for which there is the need for the proper handling of the products. iPhone and Mac PC of Apple brand are very sensitive and breakable products due to which the brand need to manage the warehouse effectively. In addition, the products of the brand are expensive due to which there is need to handle the products with care. The careful dealing with the products is essential because this is the way through which they can offer the fresh and quality products which help in enhancing the reputation of the brand (Carter, Rogers and Choi, 2015). The warehouse management will help the company in managing the supply of the products.
Relationship with logistics provider: – The relationship with the logistics provider is very essential for the company. The company is well known in the market due to which they are able to form the strong relationship with the suppliers and this will support the company to overcome the leading challenges of the customer relationship. The maximum number of the business turns to the third party logistics providers for which they need to engage in the collaborative and the strategic approach. This relationship will help the company for the effective partnership and enhanced end-user service from shipping to customers (Kozlenkova, et al 2015). The relationship is essential to meet the changing needs of the customers in the current market for the company. The below given is the suppliers of the company to whom the Apple form the relationship for its product which is offered in the market.
The needs of the business include the basic needs of the customers and the market retails that are available in the market. Apple company need to ensure that business needs get to align with the supply chain of the products. Though, the company found the issues in the management of the warehouse because the transportation of product till the warehouse leads to the difficulty. This might leads to the impact on the effective management of the warehouse because the stock supply will get affected (Griffin, 2018). In addition, the relationship with the supplier is the only way through which the company maintains the supply chain. Apple Company has different suppliers from whom they source the products and these suppliers are available in USA, China, Asia and Europe. The major challenge that might be faced by the company includes the limited number of suppliers. The company should increase the number of suppliers from which they are sourcing the raw material for the products. Moreover, the company is depended on its partners to adhere the suppliers which are an emerging challenge for the company. Apple brand needs to bring some improvements in their products so that they can achieve their strategic goals.
Supply Chain of Apple Products
In the current century, the partnership models are common in today’s supply chain and it also includes arrangements of traditional sourcing with the collaboration and outsourcing (Mangan, Lalwani and Lalwani, 2016). Apple is also depended on the partners for the sourcing which is done with the help of the collaboration and outsourcing. The major 3 sourcing arrangements that are available in the supply chain include: –
The company follows the apple dual sourcing strategy with the help of which they can source its components from at least 2 suppliers so that they can decrease the risk and can have negotiation strength. Moreover, in the year 2016, the company make use of a dual-sourcing strategy for the cellular modems. The company sourced 30.0% of its modems iPhone from Intel and remaining from Qualcomm (Tanner, 2017). Before the implementation of the dual sourcing strategy, Qualcomm was the only supplier of Apple Company for the modem. In addition, there are some of the products that are sourced from the company from a single supplier. The below-given image reflects the list of the suppliers with the highest exposure in Apple company.
Sourcing from multiple suppliers will help the company in reducing the dependency on the single supplier of the company. The suppliers of the company are diversifying to reduce their dependence on Apple Company.
The supply chain of the product of the company is totally depended on the outsourcing partners who simply mean that the company’s supply chain is management by the partners of the company with the help of outsourcing. The logistics services of the company are done with the help of outsourcing which means the arrangements in the supply chain is done by the partners (Bag, 2016). Outsourcing works as a strategy which helps the company in getting the work done in another country. This shows that for the supply chain arrangements the company is depended on the outsource partners.
The company has the extensive network of the 3rd party suppliers in the supply chain of its products (Sutter, 2017). Considering the research, the company has 785 suppliers in more than 31 countries (Australian Institute of Company Directors, 2015). The company has a long-lasting relationship with the suppliers due to which they came to the agreement with the supplier. In addition, this is the only way through which the company can bring the decrease in the prices of the raw material that is sourced by the company. Along with this, the company is able to source the strategic raw material and the guarantee high volume of production of products helps the company. Along with this, the long-term relationship with the distributors of the product also helps a company in making the product available to the final customers which are the main aim of the company that is required to be fulfilled.
Alignment of a supply chain with the business needs
Conclusion
In the end, it can be concluded that the Apple Company follow the supply chain effectively so that it can achieve the goals of the company. The supply chain activities help the company in accomplishing the goals of the company. The supply chain of the two major products that is iPhone and Mac PC is discussed in the report which shows the how they make the product available to the final customers. Moreover, this also includes the need of the customers and market from the supply and its alignment to the company needs. Though, some of the challenges between the relationships are faced by the company which is discussed. In the end, the Apple company souring arrangements are discussed that contribute to the success of the company because which the arrangement of sourcing the company can’t achieve the goal. Currently, the company is focused towards the multiple suppliers sourcing strategy that is implemented by the Apple company.
References
Australian Institute of Company Directors (2015) A case study of Apple’s supply chain [Online]. Available from: https://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/advocacy/governance-leadership-centre/governance-driving-performance/a-case-study-of-apples-supply-chain [Accessed on 6th June 2018]
Ayers, J.B. and Odegaard, M.A. (2017) Retail supply chain management. CRC Press.
Bag, S. (2016). Flexible procurement systems are key to supply chain sustainability. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 10(1), 1-9.
Blank, K. (2015) Apple: A Global Leader in Supply Chain Management [Online]. Available from: https://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2015/06/apple-a-global-leader-in-supply-chain-management/ [Accessed on 6th June 2018]
Carter, C.R., Rogers, D.S. and Choi, T.Y. (2015) Toward the theory of the supply chain. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 51(2), pp.89-97.
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Griffin, A. (2018) Apple Reveals Latest Supply Chain Responsibility Report, Revealing New Details About How iPhones And Other Products Are Actually Made [Online]. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/apple-supply-chain-responsibility-report-latest-update-2018-2017-iphone-release-a8245146.html [Accessed on 6th June 2018]
Hettiarachchi, H. (2018) Apple’s Supply Chain Strategy [Online]. Available from: https://www.academia.edu/30915118/Apples_Supply_Chain_Strategy [Accessed on 6th June 2018]
Hugos, M. H. (2018). Essentials of supply chain management. John Wiley & Sons.
Kays (2018) Apple Supply Chain [Online]. Available from: https://kays.makehauk.co/apple-supply-chain/ [Accessed on 6th June 2018]
Kozlenkova, I.V., Hult, G.T.M., Lund, D.J., Mena, J.A. and Kekec, P. (2015) The role of marketing channels in supply chain management. Journal of Retailing, 91(4), pp.586-609.
Mangan, J., Lalwani, C., and Lalwani, C. L. (2016). Global logistics and supply chain management. John Wiley & Sons.
Stadtler, H. (2015). Supply chain management: An overview. In Supply chain management and advanced planning (pp. 3-28). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Sutter, B. (2017) 3 Ways To Make Customer Service Your Best Supply Chain Strategy [Online]. Available from: https://www.waspbarcode.com/buzz/supply-chain/ [Accessed on 6th June 2018]
Tanner, P. (2017) How Suppliers Are Reacting to Apple’s Dual-Sourcing Strategy [Online]. Available from: https://marketrealist.com/2017/06/how-suppliers-are-reacting-to-apples-dual-sourcing-strategy [Accessed on 6th June 2018]
Wisner, J.D., Tan, K.C. and Leong, G.K. (2014) Principles of supply chain management: A balanced approach. Cengage Learning.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
