In this management report, I will mainly mention about the operation of Apple Inc. From the production of IPhone 5S to the operation of Apple Inc. both will be included in this report. Supply Chain Management The supply chain of Apple to produce an IPhone 5S has co-operated with many suppliers all over the world. Here is a list that listed out all materials suppliers of Apple to produce an IPhone 5S - https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/pdf/Apple_Supplier_List_2014.pdf. Apple has deal with these suppliers to get the materials they needed, but materials can’t become an IPhone by themselves so Apple found Ho-Hai/Foxconn Technology Group as one biggest partner help to them to assemble and install the raw materials to an IPhone. And here is the lists that listed out the 18 final assembly facilities - https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/our-suppliers/ . And then the finished products will ship to the distribution centre and Apple retail store, the products shipped to retail store can be direct sell to end customers or through online sales. And lastly, the stocks in distribution centre will delivered to the other retail stores and then sell to the end customers. Above is the physical process of how an IPhone produced and sells. And the following will be the information process. The Verge stated that IPhone 5S and 5C have recorded a 9 million weekend sales on the first week the new IPhone released. http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/23/4761022/iphone-5s-5c-opening-weekend-sales-figures. From the news it is clear that Apple has produced 9 million before it released, and the quantity Apple prepared should be resulted from the market reaction of the previous experience and the number of pre-order; after they got... ... middle of paper ... .... 5 Edition. Cengage Learning The Verge. 2013. Apple sets another opening weekend record with 9 million iPhone sales. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/23/4761022/iphone-5s-5c-opening-weekend-sales-figures. [Accessed 25 February 14]. The Wall Street Journal. 2013. iPhone 5S Wait Time Drops as Foxconn Boosts Production. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/27/iphone-5s-wait-time-drops-as-foxconn-boosts-production/. [Accessed 26 February 14] THE GEOGRAPHY OF TRANSPORT SYSTEMS. 2013. IPad_Feddex_Offer. [ONLINE] Available at:https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en/appl5en/ipad_fedex_order.html. [Accessed 26 February 14]. VentureBeat. 2013. Apple restocks its shelves every 5 days, almost as often as McDonalds. [ONLINE] Available at: http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/01/apple-inventory/. [Accessed 26 February 14].
Access to distribution channels: Accessing major distribution channels might be challenging and it stands to be a significant barrier. Apple products are sold by third party retailers, Apple brick and mortar stores and on Apple’s website. It might not be too easy for a new entrant to convince a third-party retailer to prioritize its product over major products like Apple’s.
This stakeholder assembly is composed of organizations or individuals who purchase the company’s products. The main interest of Apple has been to always maintain their customers satisfied with coming out with the most innovative products at the most reasonable price. Even though Apple products have a slightly higher price due to their higher aesthetics, their quality, and most important because most of their customer support centers are located in the United States customers seem not to mind paying a little extra. On the Apple website it states, “Relocating these call centers overseas to places like India would reduce costs by at least a third. But we keep these jobs in the U.S. because it helps us deliver a better customer experience.”
Steve Jobs stepped down as the CEO of the company on August 24,2011. He gave Apple a series of successful products like ipod, iphone and ipad. But speculations rose as whether the company will continue to grow at the same pace when Tim Cook joined it. Some said that Apple is losing on innovation on new products or strategies while others criticized Cook on his way of working in the company. But, recent financial statements prove all of them wrong. Apple became the most profitable company in history last week. According to a report by guardian.com the tech giant made $18 billion in just three months by selling 34000 iphones from October to December. Apple now has $178 billion cash in the bank which gives
Once the coded year is put in, the formula can forecast each year’s global iphone sales to include 2015 which is forecasted to be 192.39 Million units. A scatter plot can also be viewed with this information. This is highlighted in figure 1-5.
Apple, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. "IPhone 5 Sales Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
The principal conclusions of this report show that the iPhone is a successful product that combines interesting features: iPod, internet browser and mobile phone, which satisfy the customer’s needs moreover it is also exceeding their expectations thanks to its fashionable design. However the UK current mobile market is very competitive, so Apple will have to deal with tough competition against established mobile phone manufacturers. The report finally comes up with some recommendations that can help improving Apple’s performance and the marketing environment for the iPhone, these are mainly:
If more issues were to persist with such a fundamental supplier it may prompt intervention from other parties or bodies that would impair the supply of a product which is already in high demand. It is therefore in the best interests of Apple themselves to work to address all such concerns within their supply chain accordingly and demonstrate the same leadership in terms of social responsibility as they have in technical development and innovation.
Apple Inc. is one of the world’s most successful companies when it comes to supply chain management. In its early years the company struggled forecasting demand and managing inventory causing many issues in supply chain including stock-outs. As years went on Apple began investing heavily in their supply chain, controlling many aspects such as overseas production, assembly and logistics. While Apple still faces some challenges including things such as technology, competition, global market share, and leadership, it is still ranked as a master company in supply chain according to Gartner Inc, making a great company to invest in.
International business-level strategy the assets and capacities set up in the nation of origin much of the time permit the firm to seek after the technique into business sectors situated in different nations. Apple's universal business-level procedure is making the best items and offers them around the globe and utilizations China as their main makes. The organization dependably needs to continue enhancing their item and keep concentrates on new advancement like the IPad, and the IPhone 5 that will be discharged toward the end of 2012. Their items are exceptionally selective, and one of a kind and each item is offering in various part of the world, their costs are somewhat high than any general
Consumers in India are incredibly price conscious, and Apple recognized that people were not going to go out and spend upwards towards six hundred American dollars, especially when many of them are investing in this kind of technology for the first time. Again, Apple chose to not make a product exclusively for India to cater to the cost conscious consumers. Instead, they have chosen to emphasize the iPhone 4, which they are able to sell more inexpensively because of the fact that factory infrastructure is already developed and the prices for the phones components have actually decreased. As a result, Apple has created a sustainable strategy that allows them to satisfy demands in foreign markets without having to tailor their
Apple did win the last quarter of 2014 for its major sales on the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, but Samsung quickly regained their spot back after the company’s older Galaxy phones sold at a vast rate, as a result of discounts and sales promotions.
The distinction between these current models and the past iPhone models are their size. The iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch display and the iPhone 6 plus has a 5.5-inch display. Both of these models also features a retina HD display with a curved body and NFC chips for an Apply Pay feature. [6] Both of these models had the best presale in the history reaching 4 million orders within the first 24 hours. In addition, both models breaks the previous 9 million record sales by selling 10 million within the first weekend.
Apple Inc. was established by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak on April 1, 1976 as a computer designer, developer and seller company. However, the company shifted its focus from only personal computer to include other consumer electronics such as portable media player and mobile phone in 2007. Apple Inc becomes one of the most popular makers in its field since it seems that its popularity has increased according to a report on www.statista.com that Apple Inc’s products sales was generally increasing throughout the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2014. On the one hand, it has increased its revenue from about 14 billion US dollars to more than 170 billion US dollars in 2013. All in all, the company is highly successful corresponding to its products’ development and their sales growth in world’s market.
Apple keeps product SKUs simple, the salespeople inside the stores have the in depth knowledge of the products. Just think that when you enter an Apple store and one of the sales staff greets you, you’re not asked, “How can I help you?” Rather they ask, “What would you like to do today?” They satisfy you by going to the heart of any technology user’s question, any question related to the technologyand the user is interested in.
Apple management must bridge the perceived innovation gap with some sort of product breakthrough. Otherwise, it is reasonable for the company to accept lower Street expectations built upon the premise that while the company remains an exceptional production, distribution and branded business, the days of unparalleled enterprising innovation and leadership may be ebbing.