Apple's Secret

I recently heard that Apple is nearly a trillion dollar company. This did not surprise me that much, but I was still very impressed and wanted to figure out some of the reasons on how they got to where they are today. Because this is a blog about supply chain, I wanted to see if the way Apple runs their supply chain can be a reason why they are so successful. Turns out, their supply chain is one of the driving forces of the success of their company. I found an interesting article that describes why, which can be found here.

They begin the article by describing the process they had to go through to get the tiny green button to turn on your MacBook when your front camera is on. They quickly found out that it is not possible for them to shine a light through metal. Apple figured out that it could be made possible to have a laser cut a whole in the metal in order for the light to shine through, but this would be very expensive. They needed to buy bulk of these lasers to get the project started. Their operations team was able to buy the lasers in bulk form a company in the United States.

That is just one example of how Apple has been able to buy the best materials for their products and make their products one of a kind. They have managed to make connections with all kinds of supply chains and are able to get themselves discounts on parts, air freights, and manufacturing capacity. Most companies were using ships to send their products over seas and to receive raw materials, but Jobs wanted to do it differently. He spent his own money to get his products in planes and to other countries. This resulted in quicker travels for his product, which customers enjoyed.

Another advantage that Apple's supply chain has is their stores. Apple stores always seem to busy and get a lot of attention. This allows supply chain workers to see what products are selling and what are not. By tracking this every hour of everyday, they are able to see what has the highest demand. Once they calculate what has the highest demand they are able to make more of that particular product, and make less of the product that is not selling. This lets them predict what they will be making so no times is waisted.

Apple would most likely still be successful without such a great supply chain, but they might not be where they are today. The way they run their supply chain has let them get their product to everyone around the world. Odds are, if you look at a fairly successful company, you will find that their supply chain is also highly ranked.

http://tech.pnosker.com/2013/11/08/product-architecture-convergence-apples-next-big-move/

-Jarrod Lincoln