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iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

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Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#91

Post by ska »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #36
phone8675309 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're using the Walmart playbook

Some context may be needed. Walmart is known in MBA circles for being one of the first companies to have used detailed data on products to negotiate new terms with suppliers ( usually to suppliers detriment ). Information asymmetry with main goal to increase a chance for an increased leverage is what it is all about.

I suspect the information asymmetry is as big a factor as the scale difference. In most negotiations, Walmart can fundamentally affect the bottom line of the counter party in a way that just isn't true in the other direction. They are more than happy to use this to the counter party's detriment, and even sometimes the consumers.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#92

Post by AYBABTME »

ekidd wrote: post #81
lesuorac wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple also pays suppliers on net 90. I've always been surprised at how much of the business world runs on credit. You hear stories about how payments have been months-years delayed (or never show up). I'd like to think if somebody got more than 100days behind I'd cut them off from the next shipment but never been in that spot.

Apparently, one of the reasons that RedHat survived the dotcom crash was that they were absolutely merciless about companies that didn't pay on time for RedHat's engineering/consulting services. I recall someone who had several on-site RedHat engineers at his company, doing some kind of Linux work. The company missed one Friday payment to RedHat. Every single RedHat engineer was gone the following Monday, never to re…

Any source? Looks like a very interesting story, would love to read more.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#93

Post by AYBABTME »

xxs wrote: post #90
TradingPlaces wrote: post #68

Foxconn somehow made $137m profit in the past 12m.

You mean by installing the suicidal protection net, Foxconn barely makes it? Foxconn has 1m3 employees. If they made just 137m in profit - that's just $8 profit per employee a month.

"just" 8$ per employee/m versus which similar industry's standard?

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#94

Post by gowld »

wincy wrote: post #56
petre wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "There just isn't a sense of urgency," one Apple engineer remarked." Apple meets India, nothing new. They'll just have to adapt. https://youtu.be/BTd-PWYQy4Y

As an aside, it’s ridiculous that video got flagged as a video for kids and suggests downloading the YouTube Kids app.

It's a pirated video (but the original channel seems to be missing that video https://youtube.com/@selfhelpsingh)

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#95

Post by m463 »

cptskippy wrote: post #34
phone8675309 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're using the Walmart playbook

The book The United States of Wal-Mart by John Dicker laid this all out pretty clearly nearly 20 years ago. * corrected spelling the author's name. ** https://www.amazon.com/United-States-Wal-Mart-John-Dicker/dp...

also another story: https://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know-2

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#96

Post by ska »

fatbird wrote: post #60
A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some context may be needed. Walmart is known in MBA circles for being one of the first companies to have used detailed data on products to negotiate new terms with suppliers ( usually to suppliers detriment ). Information asymmetry with main goal to increase a chance for an increased leverage is what it is all about.

This is part of it, but a bigger part is simply that Walmart approached suppliers with a proposed volume that would require the company to rebuild themselves as an operation in order to meet that demand and the required service levels, at the price Walmart was willing to pay. If they succeeded (many didn't, ending in bankruptcy), the supplier was now trapped: no one could offer Walmart levels of volume, which the sup…

I remember a claim (from Vlassic itself?) also that Walmart pushed them into producing larger volume SKU's, against their (Vlassic's) detailed data on usage, shelf life, etc. Result: more mouldy pickles in peoples refrigerators. Hurt Vlassic as a brand, not really in consumer interest, but Walmart could advertize a $/volume nobody could match.

I met an independent trucker who said he sometimes did pressure relief for a large logistics company but would refuse any Walmart deliveries (not to the stores, to central warehouses). He claimed they gave you a 15 min delivery slot on a cross country route, they only way to avoid penalties was to aim to be there hours early and wait on your slot. He said it basically added 3-6 unpaid hours for every trip, and wasn't worth it.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#97

Post by webmobdev »

thatguy0900 wrote: post #66
mbesto wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so what do people expect the alternative route is? It's a known strategy, that works, and increases profit if implemented correctly.

The alternative route people would prefer is for people in charge of these companies to act ethically and not try to squeeze everyone around them for every cent of profit possible. Especially if you're already one of the richest companies to ever exist. That's not very realistic, though, since sociopathy is essentially taught in business schools now.

Doesn't Toyota do something like that - from what I remember, they actually assist their partner-supplier-small-businesses to grow with soft loans, technical help and business advise?

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#98

Post by eunos »

buescher wrote: post #21

If Wistron was having quality problems, as has been rumored about iPhone production in India [1], this could have been the sort of deal where both sides lost. [1] https://www.theapplepost.com/2023/02/26/apple-disappointed-w...

Wistron exit from India https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/wistron...

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#99

Post by nicoburns »

thatguy0900 wrote: post #66
mbesto wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so what do people expect the alternative route is? It's a known strategy, that works, and increases profit if implemented correctly.

The alternative route people would prefer is for people in charge of these companies to act ethically and not try to squeeze everyone around them for every cent of profit possible. Especially if you're already one of the richest companies to ever exist. That's not very realistic, though, since sociopathy is essentially taught in business schools now.

This. And I'd add, we'd like a legal environment that rewards people and companies who act in this way over those companies that act unethically in pursuit of profit.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#100

Post by kyleyeats »

5350-uiop-1130 wrote: post #13

https://nypost.com/2020/12/15/riots-at-apple-plant-in-india-... this is what apple does. they use their clout, then they turn their back and play ignorant whilst placing unrealistic demands on the subcontractors who then place those demand on the labour. from: https://www.macrumors.com/2023/02/14/only-half-of-indian-iph... > "Apple engineers told that Chinese iPhone suppliers and government officials have a "whatever…

> a sense of urgency

I've never heard this phrase from anyone that wasn't nakedly seeking power and compliance from others.

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