Apple's Supply Chain Secret • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#41

Post by gnaffle » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 8:58 AM UTC

jvdh wrote: post #32

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).

Actually, I think that the sleep-light on the MacBook Pros came first. The small bar of light that's right next to the IR receiver on the front-right of the body. That bar is actually a series of those small holes to let the light through. The green light for the metal casing came later IIRC.

The green iSight light predates the unibody MacBook Pros. At some point they changed it from a visible hole to small invisible ones. Those laptops still had the sleep-light on the "opening button" in front (this button and the self-hiding magnetic latches were removed on the unibodies).

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#42

Post by johnyzee » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:00 AM UTC

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).

Very reminiscent of the anecdote about an early Mac version: The final design had a tiny hole on the front of the cabinet where the speaker was. Steve went ballistic and in spite of huge time pressure and added expense forced a redesign in favor of a completely concealed speaker.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#43

Post by wisty » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:02 AM UTC

bravura wrote: post #40

"This operational edge is what enables Apple to handle massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories." Could someone explain what that means more specifically? That they don't have to have a large stock? Doesn't this controvert the earlier statement: "Because of its volume ... Apple gets big discounts on parts, manufacturing capacity, and air freight."

Nope. Apple agrees to buy 1 to 5 million ipod screens from a supplier, at a $10 per screen (totally made-up figure). They say they want boxes of 100,000 units, delivered within 1 week of whenever they feel like asking for them. So Apple doesn't need a warehouse, they get their supplier to pay for that.

They also have an identical deal with another supplier, so they can play them off against each other if they need to renegotiate. Most companies would just go with whichever supplier was cheapest, but Apple may find it cheaper (in the long run) to keep the competition going.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#44

Post by pork » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:03 AM UTC

wisty wrote: post #43

bravura wrote: post #40

"This operational edge is what enables Apple to handle massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories." Could someone explain what that means more specifically? That they don't have to have a large stock? Doesn't this controvert the earlier statement: "Because of its volume ... Apple gets big discounts on parts, manufacturing capacity, and air freight."

Nope. Apple agrees to buy 1 to 5 million ipod screens from a supplier, at a $10 per screen (totally made-up figure). They say they want boxes of 100,000 units, delivered within 1 week of whenever they feel like asking for them. So Apple doesn't need a warehouse, they get their supplier to pay for that. They also have an identical deal with another supplier, so they can play them off against each other if they need to…

To answer GP's question, "in stock" is a buffer between manufacturing and consumer. Apple has an algorithm to keep that buffer small but flowing.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#45

Post by davidjohnstone » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:04 AM UTC

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).

I never noticed it. I've seen the light on, but I've never noticed that it just isn't there when it's off. Now I'm very impressed!

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#46

Post by johncoltrane » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:23 AM UTC

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…

Those micro-holes are covering a very small surface roughly the size of a LED. The small area is a large reason for their invisibility.

Using them on a much larger area would make them a lot more visible as a whole, even without light. The result would probably look like a vaguely apple-looking smudge. Somehow I don't think it would pass.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#47

Post by forgottenpaswrd » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:23 AM UTC

bravura wrote: post #40

"This operational edge is what enables Apple to handle massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories." Could someone explain what that means more specifically? That they don't have to have a large stock? Doesn't this controvert the earlier statement: "Because of its volume ... Apple gets big discounts on parts, manufacturing capacity, and air freight."

Just in time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_in_time_%28business%29

Inventories are buffers, in an idealistic scenario(perfectly efficient) we don't need them. I order something, they make it and they give me instantly, no need to store it).

In reality we need them, but Apple have very efficient logistics that make them minimal, compared with other companies, that can't control as much as the supply chain as Apple does, or can't use air planes to send their devices(so their products arrive weeks or months late, infuriating their customers).

This is an oversimplification of course, there is way more about it, like demand-offer time lag problems, any operations research or logistic book will support you if you are interested.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#48

Post by forgottenpaswrd » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:31 AM UTC

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).

"Most of Apple’s customers have probably never given that green light a second thought"

I did. I used microscopic lens to see how they are made, you will see concentric holes that are microns wide.

I was amazed too, I knew it only could be made by lasers but I was delighted how someone could have that original idea. It is brilliant, and so elegant.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#49

Post by swombat » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:55 AM UTC

> According to Martin, the logistics executive, Cook uses a catchphrase to hammer home the need for efficiency: “Nobody wants to buy sour milk.”

That's a bit of a floppy ending for an otherwise excellent article.

Re: Apple's Supply Chain Secret

#50

Post by furyg3 » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 9:56 AM UTC

forgottenpaswrd wrote: post #48

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).

"Most of Apple’s customers have probably never given that green light a second thought" I did. I used microscopic lens to see how they are made, you will see concentric holes that are microns wide. I was amazed too, I knew it only could be made by lasers but I was delighted how someone could have that original idea. It is brilliant, and so elegant.

I din't pull out a microscope, but I did wonder why they didn't implement this for all the lights (battery-level indicators on the side, charging indicators on the power supply connector).