Assignment 2 OPM560 - 2017 538001 - Nawwarah Inani PDF

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Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) Operations Management(BA244)Supply Chain Logistic Management (OPM 560)Assignment 2Prepared for:Dr. Shariff Bin HarunPrepared by:Nawwarah Inani Binti Mohamad Idris (2017538001)Group: NBO7ASelect an existing supply chain from either supply chain from either m...

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Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) Operations Management (BA244)

Supply Chain Logistic Management (OPM 560) Assignment 2

Prepared for: Dr. Shariff Bin Harun

Prepared by: Nawwarah Inani Binti Mohamad Idris (2017538001) Group: NBO7A

Select an existing supply chain from either supply chain from either manufacturing, retail, healthcare, agribusiness, or any other industry to address the following questions. Apply related concepts learned in the course to support your answer.

1. The structure of supply chain Apple is famous for its innovation and design. But few people know that the way Apple handles inventory is also a factor that led to success. In a nutshell, Apple purchases components and materials from various suppliers, then gets them shipped to the assembling plant in China. From there, products are shipped directly to consumers (via UPS/FedEx) who bought from Apple's

Online Store. For other distribution channels such as retail stores and other distributors, Apple keeps products at Elk Grove, California (where central warehouse and call center are located) and ships products from there. At the end of product's life, customer can send products back to nearest Apple Stores or dedicated recycling facilities.

2. Draw the supply chain, including its major players and illustrate major flows

Apple has developed a new market and altered the structure of music of mobile industries. The iPad launched by Apple has served to raise the purchase of the digital albums. The company is undoubtedly competitive but has competitors like Samsung. Both the smartphone making companies are in distinct positions in the market, but Apple proves to show more effective performance concerning sales and enhancing brand loyalty. The reason behind this its preferred supply chain network. The diagram below shows the supply chain model by attaining licensing and third-party businesses. The entire model is as same as of other companies; however, the exciting part is that the company has to make payments in advance to the suppliers to safe planned raw materials. The company buys its raw materials from multiple sources then get it imported to be assembled in the plant in China. The product is then directly exported by the assemblers to the consumers through Ups or any other delivery medium to those who purchase the Phone from its online store. For the different distribution channels, the company preserves its products at its central warehouse and sources the products from there. In the end, the customer can send back the products to any nearby store or recycling facilities. One of the main lessons that can be learned from the supply chain of Apple is that Customer always comes first and a reduction in cost stands as the second priority. According to the founder of people, product differentiation is essential as it entails higher value for the product.

3. Highlight issue and challenges of the selected supply chain. While consumers remember the iPhone for its cool design, closed-wall operating system and hefty price tag, industry insiders in Asia turn to the U.S. giant as an example of incredible manufacturing discipline. First under Tim Cook, and now under current COO Jeff Williams, Apple has shone as a beacon of how to discover and develop unique materials, coerce and cajole suppliers, and churn out millions of units all without owning any factories. By now, everyone has heard about delays in the supply chain. But analysts have so far forgiven Apple, with full-year sales forecasts swinging by a mere 1.5% in the past six months. A look at its key suppliers shows a different story. Thanks to Taiwan rules requiring the disclosure of monthly sales, we can track endemic weakness at its exclusive processor maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and primary assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Camera module maker Largen Precision Co. is also showing relative weakness. Analysts and investors seem to believe this is all just one minor hiccup and things will be fine. But the delayed production, caused by multiple component bottlenecks, has shown a gap in the armor. I’m concerned that it’s not a momentary lapse. The multiple failures in this year’s output make me wonder whether Apple has decision-making problems at its most senior levels. A series of pile-ups along the supply chain can be traced back to one fundamental choice made many months ago: picking organic light emitting diode screens (OLED) for this year’s iPhone. The benefits of OLED are numerous, and I won’t go into them, with rivals including Samsung Electronics Co. already using the screens. If there’s one company on the planet that understands the electronics supply chain in minute detail, it’s Apple. The company is unique in the way its teams of product managers work intimately with component makers to assess technology, capability and capacity. Where necessary, Apple even buys equipment to be deployed in a supplier’s factory to help boost throughput. So, when Cupertino decided to go with OLED, it must have known that supply would be tight and the company would be relying on nemesis Samsung. Perhaps Cook and Williams were OK with this and figured Samsung would ramp up fast enough to ensure OLEDs for all, or maybe they thought alternative suppliers would come on stream. Clearly, they were wrong. Apple does mess up from time to time — Scratch gate being a good example — but this mistake was huge.

Earlier in the year, Apple seemed to have understood this miscalculation and decided to split the launch in order to alleviate pressure, giving us two products: iPhone 8 (using traditional LCD) and iPhone X (with OLED). That was another mistake. The folly of introducing cheap versus premium products at the same time. But this was only the start of what may become Apple’s manufacturing annus horribilis. In proceeding with OLED, the company was faced with a new challenge which is making fingerprint sensors work through an OLED screen. It failed and Apple had to dump the idea, instead turning to facial recognition. This was already likely to be a feature, but with Touch ID now gone, Face ID was front and center (Apple couldn’t well go back to humdrum passwords). That means reliance on Romeo and Juliet, the two-part sensor module crucial to making it work. But again, Apple misjudged the supply chain and was left with bottlenecks, as the Wall Street Journal outlined....