Steve Jobs and Steven Wozniak founded Apple Inc. in 1976. Despite the company commencing its operations at a humble level and experiencing dozens of challenges, Apple Inc. has evolved to become one of the world’s most revenue-generating corporations. Under Tim Cook, the company has maintained its reputation amid stiff competition from giant companies such as Samsung and Nokia. Apple Inc.’s supply chain and global business get good credit for this success. The company has one of the most advanced supply chain and global operations. Since there years 2009, Apple’s stores have featured among the best twenty stores until the year 2013. Its global operation has expounded and is one of the most revenue-generating operations in the corporate industry. With such success though, Apple Inc. still has an opportunity to grow as it has some notable weaknesses which it can work on to improve both the global operations and the supply chain management.
Apple Inc. Supply Chain Structure
A research by Gartner has constantly placed Apple Inc.’s supply chain at position one since the year 2010 to 2017. In 2014 Gartner placed Apple in a new masters category for demonstrating sustained leadership in their supply chain and defining the very notion of a “solution” supply chain, blazing new trails with its demand creation capabilities. Apple’s supply chain structure is grounded on a simple plan the company has that drive its supply chain management ( Johnson et al., 2012). The plan is to develop a good strategy and acquire a license for the product or a strategy. It also involves acquiring a business third party. After that, the company conducts testing for the strategy before launching it and making it part of the supply chain management or strategy. The review ascertains the progress. It is this chain of plan that has made the Apple Inc. supply chain successful.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The supply chain structure Apple Inc. begins from the source as gathers its raw materials in the United States, China, Other Asians countries and across Europe. The company then flies all these materials to China where there is an assembly plant. In China, the firm assembles its products before taking them back to warehouses via UPS or FedEx. There are also warehousing facilities in Elk Grove where these products from China are stored ( Clarke &Boersma, 2017). The next step is to distribute them to different stores. The company distributes its products to online stores, retail stores and in different warehouses for the wholesalers. Apple Inc. also commands different stores where there are direct sales to different clients. Lastly, the entire chain management ends with return of the products and recycle and reuse programs. The company has been successful partly because of such complex structure of its supply chain management.
Apple Global business operations Functions
Apple Inc. has three strategies which make it succeed at the global stage. The first is brand loyalty. Across the world, Apple is a world-known brand that has its brand strategy and position hooked on quality and outstanding innovation in the technology industry. The brand rates at 91% with its source being the legendry founder Steve Jobs. The second strategy is the companies’ global marketing strategy. The “Keep it simple “slogan is world known, and it has made Apple outstanding. Also, its social media marketing platforms and online global stores marketing are part of the strategies that has seen the company gain a lot of attention and success ( Peraković, Husnjak&Remenar, 2012). The last strategy is the design. Apple Inc. ranks best in this matter. Apple Inc.’s design is based on simplicity, vertical integration, and outsourcing to a minimal. The minimalistic approach and the control over software and hardware have has transformed this company into a money machine in the world.
The first global operation is supply chain management. The company has its outstanding supply chain that stretches to Europe, Chain, and Asian countries. It mostly operates its supply chain strategies outside the motherland. The company also has its marketing on a global platform. Currently, Apple’s marketing tactics target a diverse regions ( Peraković, Husnjak&Remenar, 2012). It is the reason why the company focuses on social media adverts, YouTube channel and their webpage where they air different adverts. Apple Inc. has also globalized its sales. The company operates different stores in America and countries such as China and Europe. The company has also gone extra mile to acquire online retail stores. Apple customers in different countries need not search for the stores, but to shop online by visiting the company’s webpages ( Fujita &Hamaguchi, 2016).
Challenges and solutions
Current Threats and their solutions
Imitation is the current threat Apple Company is facing. Note that Apple was the first company to come up with a dual-camera phone. However, most of the smartphones that are produced currently by other competitors also have dual Cameras. It implies that the rate of imitation the company is facing is challenging and it must work smart to distinguish itself from other producers in the market. A solution to this threat is to invest in research and development sectors ( Peraković, Husnjak&Remenar, 2012). The company needs to work on this department to ensure that the product that comes from the laboratory harbors unique features that are difficult to imitate by other companies. The second weakness is competition. There numerous competitive companies in the market such as Samsung and Nokia. The best solution is to reduce prices, focus on the right strategies and also build a loyal and reputable brand in addition to quality and innovation.
Future Threats and solutions
Constant competition from Samsung is a big threat to Apple’s number one position, and in future, there are high chances that Samsung may dominate unless Apple reacts faster than them. The solution lies in reducing pricing, brand position, quality production, and uniqueness that which been the companies culture. Another challenge is its low score in other countries such as India. Other companies can take such chances to dominate the market. The solution is to find strategies to penetrate market in countries such as India to enable it dominate the world. A good marketing strategy can work in this case ( Delac, Silic&Krolo, 2011).
Summary of the Recommendation
From the evaluation of Apple Inc.’s global operations, and supply chain structure, there is a lot of positivity; however, this does not mean that there is no room for improvement. The first recommendable strategy is to work on product development as a way to reduce imitation. At the global platform, the company would be in a better position if its products are unique and cannot be imitated ( Ross, Beath& Sebastian, 2017). Further, it needs to boost its global sales and operations by strengthening its marketing in countries such as India where its sales are low. The company is also in need to find a solution to its operations in China. Note that, the center of the Apple Inc.’s supply chain operation in China. With China in need to acquire their Android, it leaves Apple at a vulnerable position, and it must work smart to avoid the slump that is potential as things stand.
Decision making and Assessment
The decision-making process, in this case, was based on a critical assessment of different strategies where Apple Inc. has done well as well as areas where it has recorded low performances. Different strategies were selected, and a comparative assessment is done between them to understand areas where the company has done well and criticize them appropriately before making a decisive conclusion.
References
Clarke, T., &Boersma, M. (2017). The governance of global value chains: Unresolved human rights, environmental and ethical dilemmas in the apple supply chain. Journal of Business Ethics , 143 (1), 111-131.
Delac, G., Silic, M., &Krolo, J. (2011, May). Emerging security threats for mobile platforms.In 2011 Proceedings of the 34th International Convention MIPRO (pp. 1468-1473).IEEE.
Fujita, M., &Hamaguchi, N. (2016). Supply chain internationalization in East Asia: Inclusiveness and risks. Papers in Regional Science , 95 (1), 81-100.
Johnson, K., Li, Y., Phan, H., Singer, J., & Trinh, H. (2012). The Innovative Success that is Apple, Inc.
Peraković, D., Husnjak, S., &Remenar, V. (2012, January).Research of security threats in the use of modern terminal devices. In 23rd International DAAAM Symposium Intelligent Manufacturing & Automation: Focus on Sustainability .
Ross, J. W., Beath, C. M., & Sebastian, I. M. (2017).How to develop a great digital strategy. MIT Sloan Management Review , 58 (2), 7.
