Operations and Supply chain management

Operations and Supply chain management

Introduction

Apple Inc. is a multinational company, established in 1976, in California USA. Apple is globally recognized and well-renowned for its innovative products of consumer electronics, software and hardware. Apple is the market leader in electronic and technology industry, mainly due to the product design and uniqueness.

Apple also has highest brand loyal customers specifically in US. At present, the company manages 280 stores in 10 different countries. The operations and supply chain management of Apple is design to enhance efficiency and improve business performance. Apple has outsourced their production units in order to focus on the core business function. Apple has a strong positioning strategy which has defined success for company over time.

Analysis

Operations

Operation expertise is an asset for Apple's successful product line. The operation strategy of Apple begins with their mission statement for which operation management is the base. The operations of the company are based on flexibility, innovativeness, technology and efficient supplier relationship. The company has a history of introducing new products in the market and maintaining the influence over customer choice.

Apple's product and service designs have set a new standard for the market. The designs are based on creativity and innovations (Banker, 2012). The products have latest technology and provide customers with new experiences each time. The capacity planning at Apple is done by the top management. Each time a new product is launched, the demand of Apple product increases. The company has planned to increase their production capacity to meet the radically increasing customer requirements and demands (Banker, 2012). The information of capacity planning is highly important for the marketing function, as they promote the product according to the number of units they can supply.

The conventional forecasting strategy of Apple was based on using statistical tool which incorporated data from past ...