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Supply Chain Management Practices at Apple, Inc.
Today, Apple, Inc. (hereinafter alternatively "Apple" or "the company") is the world's largest company in terms of brand value, with nearly twice as much value at $154.1 billion compared to its nearest competitor, Google with $82.5 billion (The list, 2016). Founded in 1976 by Steven Paul Jobs, Ronald Gerald Wayne, and Stephen G. Wozniak (The list, 2016) the company is currently headquartered in Cupertino, California and remains an industry leader in the information technology sectors in which it competes (Company profile, 2016). To determine how Apple achieved this remarkable level of success, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide an overview of the company's procurement practices, the requisite materials involved and a description of its supply chain operations. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning supply chain management practices at Apple, Inc. are provided in the conclusion.
Review and Analysis
Procurement
An integral part of the supply chain, procurement refers to the processes by which enterprises secure the materials they need to produce products and services (Rossetti & Dooley, 2010). The company's Web site emphasizes its commitment to secure suppliers that conform to Apple's high environmental and employment standards (Apple and procurement,...
For example, the company's procurement policies stipulate that: "Apple requires each of its suppliers to meet the highest standards for all goods and services. Our requirements include a commitment to rigorous quality assurance. [S]uppliers must be committed, as we are, to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility" (Apple and procurement, 2016, para. 3).
Notwithstanding this commitment to responsible procurement practices and the company's remarkable track record of success, Apple has experienced some significant problems in this area in recent years. For instance, Noel (2014) reports that, "Apple has a long track record of supplier issues -- most specifically, its problems with Foxconn that came to light in late 2013" (p. 10). At the time, Foxconn manufactured and assembled most of Apple's products but it became the focus of a federal investigation concerning serious violations of labor laws which resulted in charges against its executives (Noel, 2014). In order to avoid recurrences of this type with suppliers, Noel (2014) recommends that Apple improve its procurement standards and vetting process for suppliers to obtain the materials it needs for its supply chain operations as discussed below.
Materials
To its credit, Apple has modeled the way for other companies with respect to material procurement by reducing…
References
Apple and procurement. (2016). Apple, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/procurement/.
Bharadwaj, P. N. (2015, January 1). The success of global supply chains: An exploratory analysis. Competition Forum, 13(1), 99-102.
Company profile. (2016). Yahoo Finance. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q / pr?s=AAPL+Profile.
Noel, P. (2014, December). The Apple watch: New tech, new risks. Risk Management, 61(10), 10-14.
The list. (2016). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/.
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