“Apple is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the supply chain for gadgets,” David Goldman reports for CNNMoney. “It gives buyers what they want faster than its rivals — and in the process, it sometimes delays the competition’s products from coming to market.”
“Japan’s earthquake, tsunami and aftershocks halted or slowed production of hundreds of components that are found in consumer electronics devices, including the iPhone and iPad. Memory chips, touch screens, image sensors, batteries and the special resins that are used to hold chipsets together have all been in scarce supply lately,” Goldman reports. “Yet Apple sold a remarkable 18.7 million iPhones and 4.7 million iPads last quarter. COO Tim Cook said Wednesday that the company would suffer ‘no material supply impact’ in the current quarter, despite what he called ‘the mother of all backlogs’ thanks to very strong demand for the iPad.”
Goldman reports, “Apple aggressively uses its size and vast array of resources — including its very deep pockets — to get the deals it wants with component makers. The company sent executives to its Japanese suppliers literally with cash in hand to make sure supply remained adequate, said Brian White, supply chain and Apple analyst at Ticonderoga Securities.”
Read more in the full article here.
