This article is about the much anticipated iPhone 5 and how it could possibly have a limited supply at its launch. Apple is getting ready to release their new cell phone that is supposed to beat all of the competition. There is just one problem; this new phone uses a new display panel in it. That is all fine and dandy except for the manufacturers of the panels cannot generate enough profit from the new panels. With this happening, the suppliers may not be able to produce the panels fast enough to meet Apples demand. Apple was expecting to have 20-25 million units already manufactured, but the suppliers have only been able to make about 4-5 million.
This has Apple in a big pickle. Right now Apple is trying to fix the problem by giving its suppliers extra subsidies to lower their cost of manufacturing the panels. Apple is hoping with these tools manufacturers can cut costs and get production amped up to meet their needs. Apple also has a backup plan of going to TPK, who is the panel supplier of the previous iPhones. There is one major issue with this, which would mean they would have to abandon the new in-cell touch panels. That is something that would really hurt the iPhone on launch date and take away from some of its glam.
This new technology is a very important part of the iPhone. The technology allows integration of the touch screen sensors directly into the LCD screens. It allows a much better display on the device and also allows the device to be much thinner. It is probably doubtful that Apple abandons this feature considering we are only a couple of months away from its release. Yet if Apples manufacturers cannot needs their needs then this could leave to big delays in getting the phone into customer’s hands. This could really affect potential customers of buying the new iPhone.
There are many different things that relate to this article in our books. The first that comes to mind is developing the schedule from chapter 5. Exactly what is happening with Apple right now is basically what chapter 5 is all about. The strategic sourcing process that Apple has chosen has seemed to backfire on them. Their manufacturers have found out that their total cost analysis shows them not making very much money off of manufacturing these panels. It looks as if Apple possibly did not do a good enough job on assessing their opportunities when it came to picking a manufacturer of the panels.
Another chapter that comes to mind is chapter 3, process choice and layout decisions in manufacturing and services. Perhaps Apple needed to start having the manufacturing process start earlier so they would not have this problem that they are in now. There seems to be a big snag in their make-to-stock