WSJ Profiles 'The Blevinator,' Apple's VP of Procurement Who Handles Supplier Negotiations

[MacRumors]

The Wall Street Journal today published a profile of Tony Blevins, Apple's vice president of procurement, providing an inside look at Apple's corporate culture and what Blevins does for the company.

As Apple's vice president of procurement, Blevins' job is to get suppliers to cut their prices, and he will apparently stop at little to score a favorable deal for Apple, which has earned him the nickname "the Blevinator."

Blevins was, for example, the key driver behind encouraging Apple suppliers to deprive Qualcomm of royalty payments during Apple's ongoing dispute with the chipmaker. He negotiates with suppliers, enforces manufacturing details, and manages semiconductor suppliers.

His negotiating skills are so important to Apple that Cook tapped him to manage negotiations for Apple's spaceship-shaped Apple Park campus. When getting bids for the curved glass used for the structure, he invited glass makers to Hong Kong, put them in separate conference rooms, and went from room to room to get the lowest price, ultimately saving Apple hundreds of millions of dollars.

Blevins does not hesitate to drop suppliers, and in one example, after STMicroelectronics refused to lower the price of gyroscope sensors in 2013 despite Blevins' threats to find a different supplier, STM lost Apple's business.

Blevins is also the go to for making sure that suppliers adhere to Apple's nondisclosure agreements, which can carry fines. In 2017, Japan Display disclosed that it had received orders for liquid crystal displays, and The Wall Street Journal subsequently confirmed that Apple was one of the smartphone makers that had expressed interest in LCDs, leading to trouble for Japan Display.

Mr. Blevins called a top Japan Display executive and accused him of violating Apple's nondisclosure agreement. "Are you stupid?" he said, according to a person familiar with the call.

Apple demanded Japan Display pay $5 million for breaching the non-disclosure agreement. Japan Display didn't pay, but promised to submit news conference materials to Apple before events so Apple can review it. A Japan Display executive told The Wall Street Journal that Apple's supplier agreements are "torturous."

When asked for comment, Blevins opted not to speak to The Wall Street Journal, saying "I'm a loyal company guy." The full profile on Blevins, which goes into much more detail, can be read over at The Wall Street Journal.

Article Link: WSJ Profiles 'The Blevinator,' Apple's VP of Procurement Who Handles Supplier Negotiations

 

[SDJim]

Well, you can't say he's not good at what he does...

 

[Brandhouse]

Except that if you're always trying to get suppliers to undercut their prices, then that's slippery path to bad working conditions for the employer of the company you've just screwed.

 

[sahnjuro]

Yeah and Apple has another guy who's job is to squeeze out every possible penny from loyal Apple customers

 

[JPack]

TSMC might be one of the few suppliers that can call Blevins "stupid" and demand an extra $5 million.

 

[Toratek]

Except that if you're always trying to get suppliers to undercut their prices, then that's slippery path to bad working conditions for the employer of the company you've just screwed.

This, from the same person decrying the price of the Mac Pro. Which way do you want it?

 

[jpn]

it takes a jerk to be exceptionally good at that kind of job.
he seems to be very good at his job.

 

[california_kid]

I think this article would have been a whole lot more interesting if they showed the bounty of swag and gifts the Blevinator gets over the course of a year.

Remember folks - if more than 20% of a company's revenue comes from one customer, it's not something you want to invest in for long.

BTW, when he calls one of his suppliers does he say "Hi, it's The Blevinator..."? or instead of a direct threat, does he say "don't make me get The Blevinator!"

 

[now i see it]

why do I get the feeling I wouldn't want to sell him anything on Craigslist

 

[sofila]

This is the kind of job I will never be good at

 

[brewcitywi]

I admire someone who can negotiate better deals, and he's obviously very Pro-Apple.

However, our company has been in similar situations, with a larger company who makes huge demands. It becomes so difficult to keep them happy--we usually lose the business, the customer, and maybe our final invoice payment! I couldn't imagine being an Apple supplier, we'd get crushed!

 

[aylk]

This guy is the best example of Apple's company values.

 

[JGIGS]

This, from the same person decrying the price of the Mac Pro. Which way do you want it?

Apple could work on tighter margins. Spend less on marketing.

Other companies are just as greedy though so I'm not going to single out Apple, but they are a huge company so they have big impact on the worlds economy and wage fairness.

 

[adamjackson]

I hope he's well paid. Seems like a bad-ass.

 

[JDSoCal]

Not a lot of business majors or people who have ever run a business in here.

So if some supplier overcharged Apple that would be good? Are only big companies bad when they negotiate prices?

 

[Saipher]

Not a lot of business majors or people who have ever run a business in here.

So if some supplier overcharged Apple that would be good? Are only big companies bad when they negotiate prices?

Did anyone say that Apple being overcharged was good? Was overcharging mentioned in the article? There is a big difference between overcharging and having to cut employee benefits in order to give Apple a better deal; neither one is good FYI.

 

[jeffg819]

Apple. Soon to be the GM of the tech world. Bean counters running the show is like pouring puke on a woman when one is in the mood.

 

[Dave-Z]

Mr. Blevins called a top Japan Display executive and accused him of violating Apple's nondisclosure agreement.

Apple demanded Japan Display pay $5 million for breaching the non-disclosure agreement. Japan Display didn't pay,

Sort of sounds like The Blevinator, himself, got Blevinated. Hmm...

We've heard stories from other suppliers so it's a safe bet that Apple is not known for being nice to those who manufacture the parts they need.

 

[Rogifan]

FWIW, Apple analyst Neil Cybart doesn’t put much stock in this story. I’m not surprised WSJ ran it though. It’s the perfect juicy clickbait Apple story.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1220481604503642115

 

[Blackstick]

We have one of these guys at my company. He’s not a nice guy... you can’t be and do that job well.

 

[mschmalenbach]

I can imagine losing such low margin business might actually be a good thing for a supplier.

lowering the price paid for a product or service is not always the same as lowering the overall costs...
Procurement is a tough job to do well in the long term. If you’re interested, google ‘aggressive supply chain management’ and in the same context also google ‘PICOS’...

 

[Neepman]

If there is any consolation to those of us with humanity in our souls, having dealt with this kind, I can almost guarantee you he is someone who has not enjoyed not even one nanosecond of his life and never will.

 

[Abazigal]

As expected, Macrumours haters never fail to latch on to every opportunity to express their hatred of Apple, to the point of wishing ill on others or gloating (and encouraging other people to gloat) over the supposed misfortune of other people.

 

[msp3]

Incredibly based. Truly pushing boundaries in their lens of trade (in the economic sense)

 

[JonKelley]

He probably secured an incredible deal on 64GB NAND flash modules to supply the 2020-21 5G iPhones.