Apple Inc,'s management's long-term strategy (future plan)

Answer

Apple Inc.'s Supply Management's Long-Term Strategy (Future Plan)  

Apple Inc. is among the top companies famous for its design and innovation. Its supply management strategy has also had a significant contribution to its success. In fact, Apple’s supply chain has been at the top of the Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25 for over five years now (Gartner Inc., 2018). Apple carries out its supply chain operations by purchasing materials and components from different suppliers and shipping them to the assembling plant based in China, after which the products are shipped via FedEx directly to customers who ordered from the company’s online store. For retail stores and its other distributors, Apple ships its products from Elk Grove, California, which is its central warehouse and call center. This strategy covers the major supply strategy areas of assurance of supply, cost reduction, supply chain support, environmental change, competitive edge, and risk management.

Apple’s supply chain strategy has become a complete success because of its ability to fulfill all the major areas of supply strategy. Apple's demand creation capabilities allow the company to demonstrate sustained leadership in its supply chain. The strategy can be defined as a solution supply chain because it creates a global relationship between the company, its manufacturers, suppliers, and the people who depend on the products and the success of the company. With Apple, there is the assurance of supply. Customers who order from their online stores have the assurance of getting the products as they are shipped directly to them via FedEx. For retailers and other distributors, Apple ensures the products are efficient by shipping to them from Elk Grove, California. The company's decision to China, most of its manufacturing, has resulted in cost reduction, which has allowed Apple to maintain its status quo as one of the top companies in the world.

Additionally, Apple has a strong supply chain support that gives it a competitive edge and helps in risk management. According to Son, Kim, Park, and Kim (2018), the technology present in a company demonstrates its innovation capabilities. Apple is famous for its technology and innovation in the company. How it handles its products such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones shows that it is performing much better than other tech companies such as Dell and Motorola (Lu, 2020). It always takes insights from its supply chain specialists to improve on the weak areas of the supply chain strategy. Aside from maintaining strong relationships with its suppliers, Apple plans to incorporate other innovations into its strategy to ensure its suppliers generate high-quality materials. By using new mechanisms for inventory tracking, Apple will be able to increase the efficiency of its supply management strategy.

In sum, Apple is a global leader in terms of its supply chain management. It has evolved from the humble beginnings of using Steve Jobs garage as the assembly point to being the world’s top company with the best supply chain management strategy. Its supply chain model efficiently fulfills all the major supply strategy areas by ensuring cost reduction, risk management, and the assurance of supply to all Apple customers. Its sophisticated software systems and extraordinary technological strategies give the company a competitive edge, which makes it rank among the top companies in the world. Simplicity seems to be the secret that works for the company as defined by its clean product designs and company slogan. As such, a simplified supply chain management strategy would effectively keep the company at the top of other global organizations.