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

[PickUrPoison]

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

Could be, but acquiring business from a customer like Apple can also work to one’s favor. The volume required with an Apple supply contract should allow a manufacturer to drive down production costs, allowing for more profitable business with other customers.

That said, companies often pass on business they don’t think they’ll be able to make any money on, or because they’d rather not deal with a difficult customer.

 

[Glideslope]

I’d love to have lunch with this guy.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I’d love to have lunch with this guy.

Would likely be educational, but he’d probably stick you with the tab 😂

 

[canesalato]

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

I don't see why the two things are mutually exclusively. If you get a good deal on a part you can transfer the saving to your costumers or you can increase revenue
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I’d love to have lunch with this guy.

He would probably make you pay for his bill

 

[Gasu E.]

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

Being a follower of MacRumors since Apple's darkest hour, I remember when one of the biggest Forum complaints was "Apple should spend more on marketing."
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Would likely be educational, but he’d probably stick you with the tab 😂

A couple of people made that joke; but the truth is, the company has metrics that measure his success, and "how much he pays for business lunches" doesn't figure into any of them.
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I don't see why the two things are mutually exclusively. If you get a good deal on a part you can transfer the saving to your costumers or you can increase revenue.

In theory, you're right. But most companies set pricing guidelines across their products based on standard margins. They would do some pricing analysis as well; but it's too costly to do that for every option, model, accessory, etc. So lowering input costs does tend to lead to price drops, in general. Additionally, per macroeconomic theory, lower input costs causes the supply curve to shift; so a rational pricing strategy, for most products, would be to lower prices when costs drop, leading to higher sales volumes (and, would would hope, higher overall profits).

 

[PickUrPoison]

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

Let’s hope so, it would be nice to have 128GB on the base model, at least on the Pros.
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A couple of people made that joke; but the truth is, the company has metrics that measure his success, and "how much he pays for business lunches" doesn't figure into any of them.

Sorry, I’ve got hundreds of trolls and low-value-content posters on ignore so I didn't realize others had already made the joke.

But my joke had nothing at all to do with any metrics of his success; I was merely implying that he is probably a cheapskate. I could be wrong though, maybe he typically picks up the tab 🤷‍♂️

 

[ksec]

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

Well apparently Jeff Williams directly handles that relationship. Since they are more of a "partner" rather than supplier. As they are irreplaceable. And TSMC generally doesn't hike up prices anyway, for everything TSMC is providing I think they are being very reasonable.

 

[nikusak]

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

Yeah.

Meanwhile, other companies like Samsung etc. never negotiate with their suppliers, but just pay whatever they demand.
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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.

Apple’s margins haven’t changed in the last ten years.

They are remarkably stable, despite price hikes in some product categories.

 

[bobob]

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

OMG, a corporation that works to get the best price from their suppliers!!!

Pass me the smelling salts, I'm getting the vapors. 🤭

 

[PickUrPoison]

OMG, a corporation that works to get the best price from their suppliers!!!

Pass me the smelling salts, I'm getting the vapors. 🤭

Not to worry, I got you. I’ll roll in a fainting couch; I keep one handy for just such emergencies 😂

 

[Glideslope]

Would likely be educational, but he’d probably stick you with the tab 😂

LOL, you're likely correct. However, if roles were reversed I'd do the same.

 

[newyorksole]

These are the kinds of articles that are really interesting to me. I love the behind the scenes stuff, even if it isn’t 100% true.

Does he work alone? Seems like such a stressful job. He must be incredibly smart. I wouldn’t know where to begin with such negotiations lmao. Heck no.

 

[nylonsteel]

ah the exciting world of procurement

 

[MacBH928]

This is why nice guys don't make it in the business world, its a jungle out there and its survivor of the fittest. Look at all big corporate and CEOs they literally suffocate their competitors out of business, its not about being nice.

 

[Kendo]

I don't think it would be particularly hard being a negotiator for a company like Apple, you have the biggest stick to wave around. I would love to see his negotiating skills if he was representing the underdog supplier.

 

[DblHelix]

Sure looks like very few in this thread work in business and even get what procurement does. It isn’t trying to undercut. They usually have rules such as you must obtain 5 competing bids. Then they rank them based on things like financial concerns and how well they responded to the RFP. You might have it narrowed down to 2-3 and have a preference based on responses but they may be far off from another on price or won’t budge on contract terms so you negotiate to get them closer to the other company’s price or below or you use the other company who had no redlines to the contract as leverage to get them to agree to your terms. It is an art and not about undercutting to the point of not being sustainable. At the end of the day you want an agreement that works for all parties for a long term relationship.

 

[LogicsRx]

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.

Well, if you had met Tony in person, you would see a bright man who is joyful, fun and generous. He has many friends who understand his brilliance, Pro-Apple dedication and loyalty.

 

[lost-again]

It's easy to be a procurement manager when you have the weight of Apple behind you: it's hard if you don't.

 

[Dicelu]

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

And it helps that the jerk works for a company with immense purchasing power and industry sway.

 

[JCCL]

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

I am quite sure that "tight margins" is not the reason why the Mac Pro has the price it has.

 

[JGIGS]

Being a follower of MacRumors since Apple's darkest hour, I remember when one of the biggest Forum complaints was "Apple should spend more on marketing."
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Ya but those days are long gone. If you don't know about Apple products these days, you're kinda living under a rock.

 

[return2sendai]

All those smiling faces. The closest most will ever get to an iPhone is on the production line.

 

[Wowereit]

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.

I used to do some amount of procurement at a previous job, obviously not on that scale.

You have to enjoy being a scumbag, there is no other way to be successful in this line of work.

I very often had a good laugh with a fellow employee after we successfully skinned someone alive at the negotiating table.

I only felt bad, when we had to cave in to the demands of the bigger bully on the field. Somewhat humiliating. I guess that happens less often at Apple.

Their process is probably way more advanced, too. A company the size of Apple can afford analysts, who can calculate pretty accurately how far the supplier could actually go before losing money on you, which (combined with Apple's massive size) gives you an enormous advantage.

 

[Khedron]

So he's just a sociopath.

Why is this praiseworthy? Oh because Tim's Apple values stock prices over humanity.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

All those smiling faces. The closest most will ever get to an iPhone is on the production line.

It’s a shame you couldn’t be there to let them know how inappropriate their happiness is!
You could growl angrily at them that they had better wipe those smiles off their faces & act as miserable as you wish they were... so then you could smugly stand in judgement, blaming Apple.

/s

Obviously, I jest- but, it’s a comes off incredibly bitter to bash “smiling faces”.