Differnet Acquisition Ideas Apple

Apple Inc.

An Analysis of Apple's Operations and Acquisition Potential

Apple is one of the world's premier manufactures of a product mix consisting of electronics goods, and related software applications, in a broad range of different industry segments. The organization is known for producing first-class products that are uniquely designed within a quality niche and this strategy has garnered a loyal customer base over the years of the company's development. The company also provides services, such as software and software updates, that are regularly applied to existing products, and Apple also offers a range of service programs that are focused on the physical maintenance and service of the products that it sells as well. The company has a global supply chain that spans the globe and markets its products in a number of different international markets.

Apple's current mission statement is "Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad (Investopedia, 2015)."

The strategic challenges that Apple faces in its contemporary position include orchestrating its broad product mix, keeping its new product development and introduction process, e-marketing, selling, highly profitable retailing and services business units tightly integrated and functioning well together. However, even if Apple achieves strategic success in these objectives, the company will still need to develop alternative growth strategies in new markets if the company is to continue to uphold its growth strategy.

Operations Management

Apple's strategy is to outsource nearly all of its production to strategic partnerships in foreign locations where there is labor that is highly skilled and comparably inexpensive; primarily China. Apple's supply chain strategy has been effective however and has actually won awards for its ability to perform well in metrics such as speed, agility, efficiency, responsiveness, and innovation and was rated as the number one rated supply chain in 2010 by Gartner's (Wailgum, 2011). However, there are also many issues that are presented by Apple's use of outsourced production partners. For example, there are Apple suppliers in China that produces electronic goods or components that have come under criticism for using child labor as well as violating employees' human rights (Moore, 2010).

SWOT

Strengths

Brand Recognition

Product Differentiation

Innovative Culture

Efficient Supply Chain

Weaknesses

Supply Chain Disruptions

Supply Chain Environmental Concerns

Supply Chain Ethics and Human Rights Issues

Power Vacuum from Job's Resignation

High Prices to Consumers

Opportunities

Create a New Disruptive Product

Gain Market Share in Current Segments

Expand Horizontally and Vertically

Threats

Market Competition

Negative Human Rights and Environmental Publicity

Market Volatility

Limited Expansion Opportunities

Recommendations for Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions have become an integral part of international business and major corporations that dominate many markets have been forced to innovate to find new ways to grow. One strategy is to look to enter new markets through the strategy of mergers and acquisitions in foreign countries. Mergers and acquisitions are an important, fast and effective way to enter markets and an effective business strategy to gain market share quickly and reduce competition by buying out rival companies in new markets if possible.

Despite this popular expansion technique, merger and acquisitions also comes with their share of known issues, especially problems related to functioning in an environment that is often unfamiliar to a company in the wake of an acquisition. There are several problems that such strategies run into and it is often the cultural differences within the two companies that represent the greatest challenges. However, Apple has side stepped much of these issues by applying a standardized strategy to many foreign markets; often to the criticism of many business strategists. However, Apple has been able to make this work because its generic strategy is broad differentiation and this generic strategy focuses on key features that differentiate the company and its products from competitors (Meyer, 2015). Yet, at the same time, Apple has run out of new international markets that are substantive enough to continue its growth objectives and must pursue new options.

Apple detailed its first decline in iPhone sales in recent history as part of an earnings report that broke up more than a decade of continued growth for the tech giant; to cure Apple's growth problems, Chief Executive Tim Cook suggested he may go shopping (Owens, 2016). Cook said that Apple had acquired 15 companies in the past four quarters, however none were material enough for Apple to inform investors about individually; which has been the case with most of Apple's acquisitions over the years. While the company has made a number of small and strategic acquisitions that directly support their primary business objectives, the company has not had to branch out to seek growth the way that other companies such as Amazon have had to do to continue their growth trajectories.