The Iphone Case

Executive Summary

This study unravels the largest and most innovative company that we have seen in this century; taking readers on a journey through its operations and encapsulates the processes and systems that makes Apple Inc. ‘Apple’. The tone of this study is set by examining the organizational structure and the genii such as; the minimalist Steve Jobs who understands what consumer loves and Timothy Cook who produces to an efficiency we have never seen before. It examines various aspects of the design that makes iPhones distinguishable; the sleek minimalistic design from Jonny Ive’s industrial design team to customer involvement in the design phase and several other reasons consumers adore the iPhone. Stemming from the design is the quality management to ensure these designs can be consistently manufactured. This study delves into various aspects of quality management at Apple; both the external and indisputably equally important, internal metrics that governs software and apps. Poor raw materials can make the quality assurance process obsolete irrespective of how rigid your quality management system is, so we examined 11 of Apple’s suppliers dispersed throughout the globe. Having an inventory turnover of 3.2 days is a feat that can only be accomplished by Apple so an in-depth analysis was done and we see this can only be possible with masterclass forecasting and having repeatability through product lines where parts can be interchanged. Now that the product has been built, we study how Apple drives the demand using various marketing strategies such as aiming at consumers’ emotions and the unparalleled customer service that is provided which transforms this menial task of purchasing an iPhone into an experience. Included in that service design is their process selection and facility layout which is worth mentioning as Apple performs the best in this category generating $5,546 per square foot of retail space. This latter portion contains the intangibles; Apple’s service and their strategy. A critical examination is made on their differentiation; for this a SWOT analysis is done and based solely on their strengths such as rapid innovation processes and unfathomable brand loyalty we quickly realize how they can consistently beat their competition. This study presents a model and system that if repeated; can make you one of the most successful companies in the 21st century, but for now the content enclosed is what makes Apple, Apple.

Contents

Executive Summary 0

Introduction: Inception of Apple Inc. and iPhones 2

Executive Management Team of Apple Inc. 2

Vision of iPhone makers 3

Mission of Apple Incorporation 3

Values of Apple Incorporation 3

Business Strategy and Goals 4

Product Design of Iphones 4

Attention to Details 4

Customers Involvement in Design 5

Simplicity and User Friendly 5

Design Uniqueness 5

Service Design 5

Process Selection and Facility Layout 6

Process selection 6

Capacity planning 7

Apple store facility layout 7

Location 7

IPhone’s product and service success factors 9

Management of Quality 10

Internal quality metrics 10

External quality metrics 11

Customer service 11

IPhones trail: Manufacturing line 12

Competitiveness 18

Strategy 19

Productivity 21

Supplier Relations 13

Inventory Management at apple 14

Lean practices 17

Marketing 21

Market entry strategy 22

Scheduling release/ Release strategy 22

Price strategy to entry market 22

Conclusion 23

References 24

Appendix 1 25