Apple Case Study Flashcards
Why are Apple’s mainstream products produced in China?
China has a large young, skilled, ununionised workforce who are willing to work long hours.
What type of workforce does China have which attracted Apple to produce there?
A large young, skilled, ununionised workforce who are willing to work long hours.
Why does Apple outsource to Foxconn?
Foxconn competed for Apple’s manufacturing contract on the basis of low production costs.
Which production system does Apple use?
Lean production
What are the benefits of Apple using lean produciton?
Reduces stock piling.
Reduces Costs which generates profits
Since 2018, where has Apple notably expanded within?
The USA, mainly Austin, Texas where it manufactures the MacPro.
Where are components shipped from to manufacture the MacPro in Austin?
Around the world, inluding China.
Where is Apple’s Middle Eastern, Europe and African headquarters?
Cork, Ireland.
How many workers are employed in Corks iMac production line?
6,000
What other reason places importance to Cork’s role in Apple?
Cork acts as the global transport linguistics hub for Apple, where they organise shipments.
How many people are indirectly employed by Apple in manufacturing?
Around 2.5 million people.
How many times more people are indirectly employed by Apple than are directly employed by Apple?
Nearly 20 times more.
Spatial Organisation and Linkages: Where are Apple’s main products designed?
In Sillicon Valley, California.
Where are Apple’s main products made?
In mainland China, by Foxconn.
How many data centres does Apple have in the USA?
Five.
Where are Apple’s five data centres in the USA located?
Two in California in Newark and Santa Clara
Another two in west USA
One in North Carolina
Where is there another data centre being planned to be built in the USA and why?
In Iowa, for the mid 2020s in order to better serve North American users of siri and iMessage.
How many people does Apple employ over all 50 states of the USA?
90,000
How many retail stores does Apple have?
511
How many of Apple’s retail stores are in the USA?
Over half.
How many of Apple’s retail stores are in Europe and the Middle East?
115
How many of Apple’s retail stores are in China?
42.
Where is Foxconn’s main assemby point?
Shenzen.
Where else in China does Foxconn have large assemby points?
Zhengzhou, CHengdu, Sichuan province, Henan province.
How many people does Foxconn employ in their assembly plants for Apple?
Nearly 1 million.
What is the average time Foxconn employees work and for how much money?
Average 62 hours a week for $300 a month, half of which is spent on rent.
Where do Foxconn employees live?
On site, where there are shops, cafes and dormitories.
What is the danger of working an an assembly point for Foxconn?
Workers are exposed to toxic chemicals which are used to clean the products.
What has been suggested about safety equipment for workers at Foxconn?
Safety equipment has not been available such as earplugs and goggles.
In 2017, what news came out about Foxconn employees?
Student interns were working excessive hours against company policy.
What are the laws for under 18s working in China?
They are allowed to be employed as interns or as trainees.
Why does Apple not hold the same employment rights as China for under 18s?
Because Apple has a social responsibility commitment.
What does Apple demand of employers in Foxconn regarding u18 interns and trainees?
Employers must limit student interns and trainees to 10% of their workforce.
How has Apple responded to ensure student intern or trainee workforce is kept below 10% in Foxconn?
They have a Supplier Code of Conduct and audits thier supplier factories regularly.
How many jobs has Apple’s presence in Cork generated for ancillary work?
3,000 jobs.
Where is the European headquarters in Cork?
Hollyhill Campus.
How many workers does Hollyhill Campus employ? And in what field of work?
6,000 workers in the production line or in customer service/support.
When was Apple lured to Ireland?
In 1980.
Why was Apple lured to Ireland when it was?
Ireland was going through a time of high unemployment and so had set a 12.5% corporation tax (2nd lowest in the EU) in order to attract FDI to create jobs in the area.
How does Apple being in Cork enhance Ireland’s global connectivity?
They employ over 100 people in the logistics team, organising shipping to over 50 countries.
Why has Apple’s presence in Cork been ciritisised?
Because alot of the workers are foreign nationals and Apple has been critisised for not creating jobs for locals.
How many different nationalities work for Apple in Cork?
90.
What percentage of Apple in Cork’s employees are Irish?
60%
What was Apple’s ‘Green My Apple’ campaign a result of?
Criticisms from Greenpeace in the 2000s.
What did the ‘Green My Apple’ campaign consist of?
Using 100% renewable energy, using Apple Energy which is mostly solar power.
Removing all PVC plastics and toxic chemicals from its products.
Promoting recycling of all of its products.
What has been the backlash to the campaign of promoting recycling of all Apple products?
The lack of repairability of Apple products is still and issue and people feel as though it is a tactic to surge money from consumers.
What did Apple issue in 2016 regarding environmental projects?
Apple issued a $1.5 billion green climate bond to which proceeds are dedicated to the financing of environmental projects.
Between 2006 and 2017, where did Apple move to and from in Greenpeace’s ‘Green Electronics’ ranking?
11th to 2nd.
How much has service revenue for Apple increased between 2013 and 2020?
More than threefold, from $13.5 billion in 2013 to more than $50 billion in 2020.
What is the main country market Apple supplies it’s products to?
Richer, more developed countries.
In 2019, what percentage of Apple’s product sales were to the USA?
45%
Which nation became Apple’s second largest market temporarily in 2015-16? And who re-established themselves in 2017?
China. Europe re-established itself.
Why is Apple facing high tariffs to imports to the USA?
USA has implemented high tariffs on Chinese imports in order to promote domestic markets. This means Apple has to pay to import their manufactured products back to the USA.
What is the result of Apple paying high tariffs on their imports to the USA?
This increases the costs of their product and will likely increase the sales cost on the shelf for the consumer.
How is Apple trying to combat high tariffs?
By establishing manufacturing plants in the USA. Despite this, costs may still be high because of higher labour costs and more expensive materials.
How many jobs has Apple pledged to create in the USA to promote domestic markets?
20,000.
How much has Apple pledged to invest between 2018 and 2023? And why?
$5 billion in order to support innovation among USA manufacturers.
What has encouraged domestic manufacturing of Apple goods in the USA?
Federal tariff exclusion zones in Austin, Texas. This means they do not have to pay taxes on imported goods there.
Why was Apple’s attempt to enter the Indian market a fail?
Because the phone and tablet market is led by cheaper cmopetitors.
What has happened to the Apple market in China following its peak in 2016-17?
It has plateaued and potentially met maturity.
Why does China remain a strong potential market for Apple?
Because of China’s large iPhone user base.
Which smartphone manufacturer is Apple facing comeptition from in China?
Huawei.
What does Apple’s role as a TNC tell us about the company?
Apple is quick in demonstrating how it can respond to chances in markets, geopolotics and incentives by redirecting investment.
What does Apple’s well-organised supply chain tell us about the company?
Apple can reduce costs and inrease profits in a way which is beneficial to all.
