One of the most important measures in ensuring the success of a company is to plan, implement and control the flow of goods, services and related information from the beginning point to the consumption point. The success of any company depends on how they handle their products from the entry points through the processing to the consumption point. A good company will use the minimal cost possible in this process but provide quality goods acceptable to all customers. Apple Inc. is arguably one world’s most successful companies. Apple has built a reputation for itself in making quality products and gained the trust of many users all over the world. The company enjoys great customer loyalty in all the parts of the world. One of the reasons behind the successful nature of Apple is the unique distribution systems that ensure the company makes maximum profits of all its products. The logistics process of the company is one of the most unique and has helped the company maximize its profits over time. An evaluation of the company’s distribution practices will help improve the company’s income and reception in the market.
The company has a great supply chain strategy that ensures the company benefits most from its products. Apple has a unique supply system whereby the company controls all its operations from the manufacturing to supply of the goods and services. This feature of the supply chain not only protects the company from imitations but also protects the consumers from exploitation by intermediaries. The company has good control of all its products and it is easy to implement strategies that improve its products and services. The advantage of this policy is that it enables the company to control all aspects regarding their products. They have the right to dictate the usage, pricing, and distribution of their products worldwide. However, the company loses significantly in terms of accessibility of their products. Other companies with the same products have an advantage because their products are available in most stores worldwide. Apple retail centers are few and not easily accessible to many. The company might consider reviewing some of their distribution policies to increase the accessibility of their products.
Despite the fact that the company’s products are limited to few stores worldwide, the company makes some of the greatest sales of their products worldwide. This success can be attributed to company’s strategic management of their products from manufacturing process to the sales. One of the main strategies behind Apple’s success is that the company has ensured it has the latest technological development in their products. Apple has struggled to ensure that their products have the latest innovative features for their products. Apple employs some of the world’s best engineers who have the duty of designing software and products that meet the needs of the customers. The company also purchases rights to technologies that are relevant to the market demands. Alternatively, the company buys third party business rights to ensure it has the best technology in all fields. The company’s commitment in ensuring it has the best quality products helps in creating consumer trust. The company has created such a reputation for producing quality products that people will sacrifice a lot to ensure they have Apple products. The company should remain committed to providing the best products to compete in the world market.
Before launching any products, the company conducts thorough market research to enable the company get the best marketing strategy for their products. The products are tested and potential quality defects accessed and repaired. This step has helped the company market its products worldwide within the first few days of production. When the products are well tested, they are pre-launched to the public. This pre-launch involves advertisements and pictures of the products before they are launched thus creating significant demand for the products. In this phase, the company foretells the approximate demand for their products and prepares their supplies to meet this demand. This is important in reducing the costs of warehousing and transport because the company produces just what is enough to meet the current market demands of the products.
The last part of apple’s supply chain is the launch of the product whereby the company launches its products for sale in various parts of the world. During this phase, the company resolves all the backlog in the company and meets the demands for their products. The company makes a quarterly review of the products’ progress in the market. These reviews guide the company in adjusting the demand forecasts according to the market trends at a particular time. This ensures that the company keeps on manufacturing what is enough to meet the demand to reduce the cost of warehousing and transport. They also help gauge the approximate product life cycle and make appropriate adjustments in their manufacturing sector. These quarterly reviews have helped the company’s products remain relevant a very competitive market.
Apple’s distribution practices are arguably some of the world’s best. However, the company has faced serious criticism over allegations that their methods limit competition. The company’s rigid distribution policies limit competitors in some nations. However, the company’s efficient feedback system has allowed the company to respond to these allegations adequately and improve sales in these countries. The company has good feedback and return policies that have helped clients return defective products and are compensated fairly. This has built great consumer trust in apple products and has helped maintain the company’s high reputation. The main reason behind the company’s success is their ability to deal effectively with their customers. The company has ensured quality and timely delivery of its products to its customers increasing the company’s reliability. However, some of the issues raised by customers are yet to be considered such as the availability of the products in some regions of the world. The company should work on diversifying their distribution methods to reach all the regions of the world.
References
Linzmayer, Owen W. (1999). Apple Confidential: The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc. No Starch Press.
Ward, Andrew (July 21, 2011). "Apple overtakes Nokia in smartphone stakes". Financial Times. Retrieved July 21,2011.
