Apple Inc. is a multinational technology company whose headquarters are in Cupertino, California. The company designs, develops, and sales online services, consumer electronics, and computer software. Some of its key products are the Mac Personal Computer, iPhone, Apple Smart Watch, iPad, Apple TV digital media player, iPod, and the HomePod smart speaker. It is the world's largest IT Company according to revenue and the second largest designer and manufacturer of phones after Samsung. In 2015, the company was valued at over $700 billion, and it was the first American company to reach the $700 billion mark ( Clarke & Boersma, 2017) . It has over 498 retail stores that employ about 123000 employees. Their iTune store is the largest music retailer in the world. Currently, there are over one billion Apple products that are actively used in the world. Its annual revenues are more than $229 billion and have been ranked as the most valuable brand globally.
The interviewee was a salesperson in one of the Apple stores. They are required to create excitement and energy around Apple's products while offering a solution and getting the potential customers to purchase the products. They are required to learn all news regarding new initiatives and products. The company has a reputation for its customer services, and the salespeople are required to turn the curiosity into genuine and intense interest. The role of the salesperson thrives according to with their interactions with customers. Apple designed a brilliant technique of training its salespeople to communicate with clients, and to make them feel receptive, empowered, happy, and engaged. The five steps undertaken by the salesperson include a personalized welcome approach, understanding the customer’s needs, providing a solution to the client’s needs, resolving concerns or issues, and ending with an invitation to return or a fond farewell ( Clarke & Boersma, 2017) . The salesperson will be given a commission according to the sales.
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The biggest challenge in the role is converting potential customers into active customers. There are many potential customers who visit the Apple store and are interested in the products, but they do not buy the goods. The conversion rate in the store is about 50% against the desired 75% ( Lu, 2014) . The most interesting thing about the role is developing an emotional connection with the clients. Due to the well-developed approach of communicating with consumers, emotional connections are important during the process. Furthermore, when the clients develop an emotional connection with the salesperson, they are highly likely to buy goods in the store or even develop brand loyalty because of the quality customer service provided in the store. The apple store supply chain is diverse. The company buys materials and components from different suppliers and ships them to the assembly plants in China. The assembled products are then transported to call centers and central warehouses where they are stored before being supplied to retail stores and other distributors. When the product’s life ends, the customer may send the products to dedicated recycling facilities or nearest Apple stores.
The Apple supply chain has evolved over time especially in inventory management. Inventory depreciates quickly in technologies such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Due to changing technologies, the company has to update their products to address customer needs. Apple has a better inventory than Motorola, Dell, Blackberry, and HP ( Clarke & Boersma, 2017) . In 2011, the company managed to sell all the iPads it had manufactured. Other than the supply chain, they frequently collaborate with inventory management. The Apple Stores are required to turn inventory to minimize the products in the warehouses. Ultimately, fewer goods in the warehouses result to lower storage costs. Keeping fewer inventories is significant in all Apple stores.
One of the methods of managing risks in the Apple Inc. supply chain is managing inventory. Technology manufacturer should not hold may goods or products in stocks due to innovations or announcements from competitors that could rapidly reduce the value of the inventory products. Also, the company has accurate sales forecasts that ensure they do not have excess inventory. Apple manages to deal with reduced demands by having accurate sales forecasts that alert the company of any potential reduction in demand ( Lu, 2014) . Furthermore, some of the products may be transported to other Apple stores whose product demands are higher than the products supplied. The company has a formal sales and operations program. The responsibilities are distributed according to the operations. There are various roles such as Technical Operations Programs Manager, Apple Media Products Operations Program Manager, and Capital Expenditure Operations Programs Manager. It ensures that specific roles are shared among different managers.
Apple has a formal continuous improvement process that has given them a competitive edge over its main competitors. Some of its innovations include the iPhone and iPod. Despite the market being crowded with different competitors, they designed products to compete with themselves. The continuous improvement has increased the company value to over $700 billion. The interviewee has been a salesperson for five years but intends to climb the corporate ladder ( Clarke & Boersma, 2017) . He plans to be one of the Apple products’ distributors in the future because it will allow him to have a better income and investments. He has been saving a portion of his income and may receive a loan from a bank to begin his plans. One of the supply chain technologies is outsourcing. Outsourcing has allowed the company to reinvent products faster than if they depended on US factories. Moreover, it has allowed the retail stores to receive products faster and at a more affordable price.
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.
Lu, C. (2014). Apple Supply chain-The Best Supply chain in the World.
