Nope, Apple is now managed by the MBA crowd, they will do what is best for next quarters profit, screw the long term and customers. That is what MBAs are taught.
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Apple Set to Tighten Grip on MacBook Supply Chain and Cut Contractor Profits
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Nope, Apple is now managed by the MBA crowd, they will do what is best for next quarters profit, screw the long term and customers. That is what MBAs are taught.
Yea that's fine, I really have no say in the matter. Again, they'll do what is best for Apple.
I wonder if you'll have the same opinion when the Apple products you buy are substandard in quality because Apple squeezed the supplier and the supplier squeezed down the line. What happens when what's best for Apple's business starts to affect DNichter?
If an Apple product doesn't meet my standards, I would either not buy it or return it. Same as any product from any company.
It is a lot of money when we are talking about the amounts Apple needs. Bean counters will do everything to save a penny if it means they save hundreds of thousands on whatever amount Apple needs of the particular thing.
The only ones benefiting are Apple and their shareholders. Not the end users and not the suppliers. It remains to be seen if this means that quality will suffer in the long term.
Maybe tighten up on the butterfly keyboard supply chain so it works properly.
Haha I know that doesn't even make sense. But I'm seriously going to scream at my own computer.
Haha I know that doesn't even make sense. But I'm seriously going to scream at my own computer.
This is great for MacRumors; disgruntled supply chain companies = more leaks! (Then again, disgruntled supply chain companies = fewer supply chain companies.)
Tim: We can add another percentage point to our profits by eliminating screws altoghether...with glue. 
Oh and if 10% profit is “significantly overcharging” you might want to look into Apple’s profits on its iPhones before you cry about a company “significantly overcharging” Apple.
Ironically, the best thing for profits according to the MBA crowd is to keep selling the current MBA with outdated parts.
That sort of crap, not profit margins, may be why they are doing this (if it’s true). Allowing the component companies to handle selection and purchasing of screws etc may be how there were crappy screws to break. Apple didn’t have direct oversight but they are getting the blame for the fail.
I’m aware of and think that Apple also significantly overcharges too. But so does Armani, B&O and many other brands that I buy, and have no problem with them overcharging. Nor do I have a problem with the Apple contractors overcharging either. Apple significantly overcharging me for a product, in my eyes does not justify nor validate a supplier significantly overcharging for basic parts. I see the two matters as separate, and I don’t believe Apple should pass on the savings to me.
Apple simply did what it needed to do because contractors were significantly overcharging. Maybe you’re taking what I said, too personally.
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A rebellious princess once warned a dark overlord:
"The more you tighten your grip, the more suppliers will slip through your fingers."
Sage advice if suppliers feel they are being edged out of the market. We shall see.
"The more you tighten your grip, the more suppliers will slip through your fingers."
Sage advice if suppliers feel they are being edged out of the market. We shall see.
Going by the list of products in your signature, it looks like you're pretty invested in the Apple ecosystem. I know it takes about a year to extricate yourself from the Apple ecosystem (I'm still working on it).
Problem is Apple spends a lot of money on parts and all the other manufacturers will squeeze them as well. Sucks to be a commodity supplier but that’s the way it is for them.
As of right now, I have no reason to. I have been really happy with all of my Apple purchases in the last year. Most consumers look at specific features, which is nice, but not really a priority. When it comes to a platform, I look at the best overall combination of performance, security, privacy, ecosystem, apps, and support. Apple still hits on all of those for me.
Will they now refuse repair because they have no proprietary screws in stock?
And it goes into the pockets of the executives who can afford to pay tax lawyers that will park those funds overseas. They want the benefits of living in this democracy but don't want to pay for it.
Yes. This. A player's going to play (to quote Taylor Swift). A mobster company going to mob.
Flex those muscles. Pass savings on to top brass.
So you understand why people like you, software developers, need to have margins but have trouble understanding why physical product suppliers (the people who actually do the grunt work and have real large scale physical investments and large physical spaces and maintain trained staff) need to have margins?
69mustang is absolutely right about a healthy supply chain. Maintaining the supply chain is essential to a high quality product. If just one item in a MBP is a failure, the whole computer is junk (hint, hint those Radeon HD 6750 in 2011 MBP which took down so many people's motherboards and required expensive repairs which Apple didn't want to pay for but eventually did). The HD6750 graphic card failures were directly related to cost cutting on a bit of heat paste and poorly planned thermal design.
How many of us have had to buy five or more MagSafe adapters just to replace the fraying cords on the one's we tote around? Ten cents more spent on the cord sleeves here would triple the life of this product. I personally am fed up with Tim Cook's cost cutting at the expense of the end users in favour of the shareholder. In the short term, it's great for the stock. If it weren't for the great third party application developers (Acorn, Iridient Digital, BBEdit, Spillo, Airfoil all open right now, along with Keyboard Maestro, Launchbar, Little Snitch, Hazel, Choosy chugging away in the background, to name just a few), I'd be long gone for Linux.
That's not a good place to have your core userbase and advocates (over the years I've motivated dozens of clients and employees to permanently place Macs on their desks). During the last two or three years, based on my own Apple experience in the last five I've stopped doing that.
No. I initially commented saying that I am torn, which I wouldn't have been torn if I only agreed with Apple's side. To state my first comment in other words: on one hand I can see Apple's actions as justified, but on the other hand I think Apple is being silly. -- You and others are just having trouble understanding what I wrote.
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