Operations: managing Quality at Apple - Research Paper Example

? Operations: Managing Quality at Apple Operations: Managing Quality at Apple Introduction At Apple, operations can be regarded ascrucial for the overall success of the company and its existence in the market. The top management at Apple works hard to ensure that the company is successful in managing quality and ensuring that the operations meet the customers’ needs. While considering operations at Apple, it is apparent that the company has gained excellence in terms of operations. As a result, Apple can be considered as successful like other companies such as Toyota and Wal-Mart. Apple intertwines and combines its operations with all the activities, which the company carries out. These operations are crucial in determining how the organization carries out and executes its strategies in the market (Lariviere, 2012). Discussion In tackling the issue of operations, Apple has introduced a product line so as to ensure that the organization does not produce products that will not be in high quantities while selling in the market. Apple also tackles the issue of operations by ensuring that all the products that the organization deals with are in high volumes. This enables the company to manipulate suppliers and make demands based on the company’s needs. Apple also manages operations by ensuring that all their customers have all products, which they need. This means that Apple employs sophisticated technology while producing their products. In addition, the organization ensures that the customer gets a variety of products, which are more than the products that the competitors offer. Apple also addresses the issue of operations by ensuring that they anticipate solutions to the problems, which may arise when they sell their products to customers (Lariviere, 2011). In order to address the issue of operations, Apple also engages in overseas manufacturing. This ensures that the company benefits from expertise, flexibility in production, and the availability of professionals from overseas. According to a survey carried out by the New York Times, overseas operations can be regarded as essential since they offer Apple with skilled workers, which the United States job market cannot match. Apple’s employees in the United States stand at 43, 000, a number that is double the employees that the Company has overseas. Moreover, the company enhances its operations by having many employees who work through the contractors that the company has. Employees under the network of contractors are mainly outside the United States so as to ensure that the company markets itself in most parts of the world (Ong, 2012). Apple can be regarded as the leading company in the world when it comes to innovation and product development. This emanates from the fact that the company engages in the development of software, hardware, as well as digital products and services that may be related to the software and hardware. As a result, this ensures that the company focuses on several dimensions in the production of products and services and ensures that customers have many products to choose from. Supply chain management at Apple is also different from the supply chain management of other companies. The supply chain management employed by Apple ensures that the company finds it easy to manage demand. Consequently, the customers who purchase products from Apple remain loyal to the company, and this ensures that even new devices, which the company produces, get a ready market. In some instances, customers may even line up before stores open to buy the new products, which Apple introduces in the market (Banker, 2012). Operations with regard to supply chain at Apple can also be enhanced through the company’s utilization of strategies such as vertical integration. Apple has had the capacity to combine two realms of the supply chain. For example, the company has succeeded in ensuring that it adopts both physical and digital supply chain with a lot of efficiency and at an affordable cost. This has played a crucial role in enhancing the global dominance and overall success of Apple (Allen, 2010). Available data indicates that, in terms of Apple’s operations, the U.S. is the largest market, which the company has. In 2011, about 39% of the sales that the company made came from customers within the United States. In the last quarter of 2011, Apple shipped 15.4 million iPads and 37 million iPhones to foreign markets. The average volume comprised of one hundred and sixty five thousand iPads and 402 thousand iPhones in a day. In the last quarter of 2012, Apple has sold 14 million iPads, which is an indication of sales amounting to over 26%. During the same quarter, Apple has sold 25.9 million iPads, which amount to an increase of 58%. The sale of Macs amounted to 4.9 million, which is an increase of 1% as compared to last year (The Next Web, 2012). Conclusion While concluding this report, it is worth noting that operations, supply chain management, and issues of procurement and logistics can be regarded as crucial in the performance of an organization. The operations adopted by Apple have played a crucial role in creating a competitive advantage for the company in the sense that Apple has succeeded in dominating the market. Operations at Apple have to be managed in order to enhance the quality in the products, which the organization offers to customers. As a result, Apple has established itself as a force to reckon with in terms of logistics, procurement, and manufacturing. The operations and supply system created by Apple ensures that the company exercises control over many aspects of supply chain. The expertise and professionalism in operations exhibited by Apple ensures that the company carries out marketing and innovation effectively. Apple has taken operational excellence to a level, which has never been before in the field of a company’s operations. The operational advantages of Apple hinge on the ability of the company to produce large quantities of products, as well as record high sales in the market than its competitors. The operational excellence and expertise of Apple gives the company confidence to venture in new markets, and start offering new products to their customers. The notion of spending highly when the need arises to do enables Apple to benefit from large volumes of sales. Suppliers and manufacturers can be regarded as vital in the operations of an organization. Therefore, every organization should focus on ensuring that it creates lasting relationships with this group of stakeholders. From what I have learnt and from the operations of Apple, specializing on a few lines of production and engaging in little customization serves the organization right (Satariano & Burrows, 2011). Organizations should adopt a unified strategy and ensure that all aspects of business focus on that strategy. This will ensure that an organization succeeds in supply chain. Apple has a requirement that all of its suppliers have to meet best standards for all the products, which the suppliers supply to the organization. Apple emphasizes on quality assurance in that it provides its customers with quality products. In the same note, suppliers should provide the organization with quality products, which meet the standards and requirements of the company. Apple insists that suppliers should learn about the expectations, which the organization places on them and ensure that they meet these expectations. On this regard, therefore, suppliers should ensure that they learn about the quality and standards, which an organization requires (Apple, 2012). In a competitive and rapidly-growing business environment, all stakeholders involved in the operations of an organization should be aware of the changing conditions in a business environment. Moreover, challenges are a crucial part of business as they ensure that an organization becomes competitive and comes up with solutions to the customers’ problems. Organizations should also strive to increase the suppliers to serve the varying needs of their customers. Procurement has the ultimate aim of ensuring that an organization acquires the best quality products within the required time (Apple, 2012). References Allen, A. (2010). Apple's supply chain judged best in world again. Retrieved From: http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2010/apples-supply-chain-judged-best-in-world-again/ Apple (2012). Apple and Procurement. Retrieved From: http://www.apple.com/procurement/ Banker, S. (2012). The Apple Supply Chain: The Best in the World? Retrieved From: http://logisticsviewpoints.com/2012/07/02/the-apple-supply-chain-the-best-in-the-world/ Lariviere, M. (2011). Operations: Apple’s secret sauce? Retrieved From: http://operationsroom.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/operations-apples-secret-sauce/ Ong, J. (2012). Apple's overseas manufacturing operations offer flexibility, not just savings – report. Retrieved From: http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/01/22/apples_overseas_manufacturing_operations_offer_much_needed_flexibility_not_just_savings Satariano, A. & Burrows, P. (2011). Apple's Supply-Chain Secret? Hoard Lasers: Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine. Retrieved From: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/apples-supplychain-secret-hoard-lasers-11032011.html The Next Web (2012). Apple beats in Q4 2012 with $36B revenue, misses on $8.2B profit, $8.67 EPS, 26.9M iPhones, 14M iPads, 5.3M iPods sold. Retrieved From: http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/10/25/apple-x-in-q4-2012-xb-revenue-xb-profit-at-x-eps-xm-iphones-xm-ipads-sold/ Read More