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Apple's Supply Chain Secret

businessweek.com

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Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#21

Post by antoinehersen »

notatoad wrote: post #8
hswolff wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's Walmart's supply chain like?

ruthless. they handle so much more volume than any other retailer that suppliers are willing to sign anything just to be a part of it. all losses are passed back to the suppliers, which enables wal-mart to take huge risks. the sibling comment to mine references a huge volume of pop-tarts being shipped to florida in preparation for a hurricane. if during mid-shipment the weather changed, wal-mart would call up the sup…

If they make more money this way why are they getting screwed?

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#22

Post by teyc »

jacques_chester wrote: post #5
hswolff wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's Walmart's supply chain like?

They've often been considered one of the best supply chain operations in the world, and aggressively drive their suppliers to lower prices and increase volume. One classic anecdote is that leading up to a hurricane, Walmart did some data mining and found that poptarts sold like crazy when hurricane watches were declared. Within hours they had dozens of trucks heading to the Florida coast filled with poptarts and they…

Bottled water always runs out when there is an impending disaster.

And after the Brisbane floods, brooms, shovels and gloves were in short supply.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#23

Post by dotBen »

nailer wrote: post #17

> Most of Apple’s customers have probably never given that green light a second thought Most, I'm sure. But personally the first time I saw light shining through my metal laptop, I was amazed, a little delighted, and slightly confused about how they were doing it (because, as the article mentions, the holes are too small to see).

Same here. Once I figured it out, I wondered why they don't ever use the same technique to expose the Apple logo on the lid of the laptop - so that the lid is perfectly flush/clean when the screen is closed but the Apple logo is shown during use.

...now I know the answer: the lasers are so expensive and in such short supply it would presumably create a bottleneck in the production - esp given the surface area of the logo and thus the amount of holes needed.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#25

Post by yassim »

Seems to me to be an extension of the 'People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.'.

Say 'People who are really serious about making and selling a product should make their own production, supply and store chains' or 'People who are serious about their product should take ownership of all stages of that product.'

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#26

Post by kgermino »

dotBen wrote: post #23
nailer wrote: post #17

> Most of Apple’s customers have probably never given that green light a second thought Most, I'm sure. But personally the first time I saw light shining through my metal laptop, I was amazed, a little delighted, and slightly confused about how they were doing it (because, as the article mentions, the holes are too small to see).

Same here. Once I figured it out, I wondered why they don't ever use the same technique to expose the Apple logo on the lid of the laptop - so that the lid is perfectly flush/clean when the screen is closed but the Apple logo is shown during use. ...now I know the answer: the lasers are so expensive and in such short supply it would presumably create a bottleneck in the production - esp given the surface area of the…

Not to mention that, while it would be cool and notable (and maybe worth it for that alone) making the logo invisible when the computer is turned off eliminates a marketing opportunity. The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Removing the logo removes the distinctiveness of the computer when it is turned off.

Also, I'm not sure how the computer would look without a logo interupting it. I guess almost every other manufacturer comes close to this, but I think an Apple computer would feel wrong with a a view of unbroken alumninum.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#27

Post by ars »

notatoad wrote: post #8
hswolff wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's Walmart's supply chain like?

ruthless. they handle so much more volume than any other retailer that suppliers are willing to sign anything just to be a part of it. all losses are passed back to the suppliers, which enables wal-mart to take huge risks. the sibling comment to mine references a huge volume of pop-tarts being shipped to florida in preparation for a hurricane. if during mid-shipment the weather changed, wal-mart would call up the sup…

Your comment is fiction. Suppliers love walmart because walmart doesn't play those games with them, and walmart pays immediately, not after 90 or more days.

Do a little research next time.

The only people who really hate walmart are unions. Both consumers and suppliers love them. Small businesses have mixed feeling - yes walmart eats some of their business, but having a store near a walmart is great for them.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#28

Post by mistermann »

kgermino wrote: post #26
dotBen wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. Once I figured it out, I wondered why they don't ever use the same technique to expose the Apple logo on the lid of the laptop - so that the lid is perfectly flush/clean when the screen is closed but the Apple logo is shown during use. ...now I know the answer: the lasers are so expensive and in such short supply it would presumably create a bottleneck in the production - esp given the surface area of the…

Not to mention that, while it would be cool and notable (and maybe worth it for that alone) making the logo invisible when the computer is turned off eliminates a marketing opportunity. The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Removing the logo removes the distinctiveness of the computer when it is turned off. Also, I'm not sure how the computer would look without a log…

>The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple.

Exactly. Buying billboards on the most expensive streets in the world is very expensive. Having your customers sitting lined up in a row in coffee shops with their laptop lids with the lighted apple logo pointing outward to the street on these very same streets must be very valuable advertising. I'm constantly amazed when I walk by coffee shops and see the typical 75% apple market share, when just a decade ago they were really a niche player.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#29

Post by mistermann »

ars wrote: post #27
notatoad wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ruthless. they handle so much more volume than any other retailer that suppliers are willing to sign anything just to be a part of it. all losses are passed back to the suppliers, which enables wal-mart to take huge risks. the sibling comment to mine references a huge volume of pop-tarts being shipped to florida in preparation for a hurricane. if during mid-shipment the weather changed, wal-mart would call up the sup…

Your comment is fiction. Suppliers love walmart because walmart doesn't play those games with them, and walmart pays immediately, not after 90 or more days. Do a little research next time. The only people who really hate walmart are unions. Both consumers and suppliers love them. Small businesses have mixed feeling - yes walmart eats some of their business, but having a store near a walmart is great for them.

I certainly don't know for sure, but I've seen several documentaries with convincing footage, and read several forum posts, with corroborating replies from a variety of people, that indicate that WalMart does in fact screw over its suppliers, at least sometimes.

Calling the idea of this "fiction" is a bit disingenuous, imho.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#30

Post by gujk »

wallflower wrote: post #15

> When the iPad 2 debuted, the finished devices were packed in plain boxes and Apple employees monitored every handoff point—loading dock, airport, truck depot, and distribution center —to make sure each unit was accounted for. When I went to WWDC10, I was struck by the small detail of the conference security wearing black polos with the Apple logo and "Security" under the logo. At most conferences, the security is w…

(Wardrobe, not central casting)
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