Organization Background
Apple Inc. is one of the leading companies in mobile phone technology industry around the globe. It is an American company with its production facilities in both the United States of America and China. It is headquartered in Cupertino, California. It is used in the development of smartphones, iPhone and computers. It was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. It came into inception in 1976. The focus of this study is on supply chain strategies and a recommended long term transportation strategy that will enable it to improve its transportation and logistics (Apple, 2019).
Products and Services
Apple Inc. develops and sells personal computers, smartphones, iPods and iTunes media browsers. The company products have been very appealing to its customers. Having a wide array of products enables the organization to serve a wide array of customers (Apple, 2019).
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Markets
The company serves the high-end market in many countries around the world using high quality and technologically advanced products. In 2018, the market share for the company in the smartphone market was above 50%. This implies that the organization has significant influence and control in the smartphones market. It has its operations in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America (Magee, Copacino, & Rosenfield, 2014).
Supply Chain Strategies
Apple Inc. has a highly diversified supply chain. It not only focuses on exporting its products to diverse markets across the globe but also initiates production of its products in diverse locations including the US, Taiwan, and China among others. Its products are often distributed locally via trucks, and abroad via ship and air. The entity has also adopted an online product distribution strategy, something that is expected to significantly enhance its distribution in the market (Kawa & Maryniak, 2019).
Current Freight Flows
Currently, Apple is distributing its products online. It has distribution networks within the United States of America, opening its mega shops while at the same time distributing its products via the use of middlemen. This has led to the increased ability of the organization to reach a high number of customers in the market. Equally, online distribution, as well as direct exports, has led to the increased sale of the products offered by the organization in the global market (Waters, 2018). Such strategies have nevertheless led to limited market reach as not many people in the developing world are conversant with online purchase of goods and services, and some lack internet connection.
Objectives
To identify a five-year transport strategy to enable Apple Inc. to reach people in all continents within a short time
To ensure that the new transport technology leverages on modern transport technology
To ensure that the recommended transportation strategy results in the delivery of the organization products to various locations with limited if any adverse effects on the environment
Transport Designs Recommendations
The new strategy will be multifaceted. The organization will thus identify international locations where it can initiate production. Initiating production in the location where the organization will be selling its products will increase its ability to cut the cost of operations. It will not only ensure that the organization can distribute its products within a short time to the customers, but will also ensure that there is limited level of carbon that is released to the atmosphere between the location where the organization develops its products and the location where it delivers these products to the customers in the market. Besides the opening of new production centers, the entity will increase its use of electric trains in the distribution of its products in China and other locations around the world (Waters, 2018). An electric train enables n organization to distribute its products in bulk. This will enable it to cut on its overall cost of distribution. Equally, electricity is a source of green energy. By distributing its products through the use of electric trains, the organization will reduce its reliance on transport vehicles that rely on nonrenewable sources of energy. This will result in the organization adopting a green strategy in its distribution, something that will promote social and environmental sustainability. Reducing the number of touch points through the use of direct routes in the distribution of its products will also cut on the risk of deterioration of the quality o9f its products as a result of mishandling in various loading points. This strategy is expected to cut the costs of transportation and emissions in the organization by 50% in the next five years (Ashmarina, Mesquita, & Vochozka, 2019).
Future Freight Flows
From the implementation of the above recommendations, it is evident that Apple Inc. will have a better transportation system. The new system will be faster and will result in lesser environmental and financial costs of distribution. By locating its production facilities near the market, the cost of transportation will also be significantly reduced. The new changes will also result in better transport through the reduction of touch points during the delivery of products reducing the chances of deterioration in the quality of such products as they are being transported (Xu & Shiina, 2018).
Conclusion
Based on the above study, it is evident that improved transportation will reduce the cost of transport while at the same time ensuring that the organization delivers its products to customers with speed. Improvement of the supply chain will also ensure that the products developed by the entity are safely delivered in the market. Continued use of online distribution will also enable the organization to deliver its products in multiple markets where the intended customers have access to the online platform.
References
Ashmarina, S., Mesquita, A., & Vochozka, M. (2019). Digital Transformation of the Economy .
Cham: Springer.
Apple (2019). About us. Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/
Kawa, A., & Maryniak, A. (2019). SMART supply network. Cham, Switzerland: Springer
Magee, J. F., Copacino, W. C., & Rosenfield, D. B. (2014). Modern logistics management: Integrating marketing, manufacturing, and physical distribution . New York: Wiley.
Xu, C., & Shiina, T. (2018). Risk Management in Finance and Logistics
Singapore: Springer
Waters, D. (2018). Global Logistics And Distribution Planning: Strategies for Management .
