Manufacturing Strategies and Operations

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Geographically -distant low cost manufacturing2

Logistics and Manufacturing Strategy of Apple - How Strategy Developed4

Impact of Strategy on Global Distribution and Warehouse Operations6

Impact of Strategy on Customer Satisfaction7

Logical Conclusion9

Just in Time Philosophy9

Introduction9

Just in Time (JIT) Aimed at Eliminating Waste10

The main elements of the JIT philosophy11

Stabilize and level the MPS with uniform plate loading11

To reduce or overcome the time required for set up11

To reduce lot sizes12

To reduce lead time of delivery as well as production12

Preventive Maintenance12

Flexible work force13

Quality assurance of suppliers13

Single unit or small-lo conveyance13

Operational Effectiveness of JIT14

Issues Which Need to be Addressed When Implementing JIT Approach16

Implementation17

Summary18

References20

Manufacturing Strategies and Operations

Introduction

This section of the paper will discuss the logistics and manufacturing strategy of Apple, and the impact of Apple's strategies on its business operations and customers' satisfaction. The evaluation of the logistics and manufacturing strategy of Apple will help in understanding the importance of supply chain function for the success of a business.

Following are the key points that have been discussed in this section:

Effects of geographically distant low-cost production

Benefits of shifting production to geographically distant and low cost production for Apple

The logistics and manufacturing strategy of Apple

The impact of logistics and manufacturing strategy of Apple on its global distribution and manufacturing operations

The impact of Apple's strategy on the satisfaction of customers

Brief Information - Apple

Apple is a company that specialized in the production of personal computers and computer accessories. The company produces different categories of products. Apple is well-known for its advanced and high-tech products (Beech, 2012, pp. 44).

Geographically -distant low cost manufacturing

The competition from low cost manufacturers has threatened a number of multinational corporations. Low cost manufacturing has become an important concern in the global business environment. The locations where low cost manufacturing occurs are geographically distant (Samaranayake, Laosirihongthong & Chan, 2011, pp. 3127). China has a cost advantage because of low wages and undervalued currency. The migration of production cost to low-cost and geographically distant countries has become an important trend. This has also become an important element of the cost strategy of a number of corporations. However, when moving the production function to geographically distant countries, it is important to consider several factors. The low-cost locations are characterized with several risks. The risks inherent in these locations are outside the control of companies. An example of such risks is the Asian economic crisis of the 1990s (Ozdemir & Bargelis, 2012, pp. 215).

The approach taken by companies when moving to low cost and distant geographical locations is also important. Initially, it was assumed that low wage translates to low cost. However, this is no longer true since a number of multinational corporations are offering high quality products by shifting their production function to low cost locations (Testani & Ferraro, 2010, pp. 521).

China has the largest workforce in the world. The low cost labor of China has attracted companies from all over the world (Clark & Monk, 2011, pp. 97). The favorable conditions of production, in China, have attracted corporate giants from different regions of the ...