This decision area pertaining to operations management emphasizes on quality
optimization and monitoring. Apple Inc.’s high ranking Vice president for
Operations interacts and corresponds with eight
others high- and low-ranking VPs to affirm compliance vis-a-vis Apple's
preordained quality targets. Moreover, Apple is
famously known for its top-notch
quality standards that are integrated
into various functional areas of the business pertaining
to HRM, online sales, industrial design, marketing department, retail
stores, product design, and development.
Hence, Apple’s holistic approach concerning quality makes its operational management effective (Croxton, et
al., 2002).
B)
LAYOUT DESIGN of Apple Technology company
Apple’s layout design aims to satisfy
customer expectations. In addition to that, Apple is majorly popular for its product design which has a very strong appeal to attract the customers
when it comes to choosing a mobile set from different brands. Furthermore,
Apple retail stores are extremely customer oriented, and a very low percentage of
effort is given to making the store more
decorative or eye candy; rather the focus is directed towards the apple
products. Moreover, in the firm's other accommodations, this decision area of
operations management is dealt with by
offering new office layouts that stir up creativity, efficiency, and productivity of workflows. Apple gives a
significant amount of consideration and time and effort to create. Moreover, innovation and creativity
constitute a big chunk of the firm's Operations management and is a critical
factor pertaining to the success of Apple (Cesare, et
al., 2007).
C) INVENTORY MANAGEMENT of Apple Technology
company
Focusing on this particular
decision area of operations management, the firm incorporates various formulas of inventory management, for instance, the serialized method for effective
tracking and control of products. Moreover, Apple uses the first in, first out
(FIFO) method, which confirms that majority of the old-model units are sold and the inventory does not contain any
previous products before any latest Apple products are given the go in the
marketplace. Moreover, apple store managers are given the responsibility to
take control of their own respective
inventory. The inventory given to them is based
on the customer demand of that particular retail store of the area. As a result, inventory
is not wasted and can be liquidated
within the determined time period (Gould, et
al., 2007).
Comparison and contrast of Apple and Huawei pertaining to 4 v's of operation management
APPLE
Volume of Apple Technology company
The volume explores the idea of how much a product is made. Moreover, it fathoms the idea of
flexibility which pertains to how quickly the transformation process can adjust
to increase or decrease in demand. As far as Apple is concerned approximately
500,000 iPhones are made every day in every production site based in China in order to meet the global market of its products. For instance, Apple has
outsourced its manufacturing operations in Taiwan so that it would lower the
cost of production by reconstructing the
value chain system of the firm. This
shows that the strength of the firm is its low investment but it also shows weakness, and that is, it is not cost effective
as it only caters the need of high-end
customers (Hu ET al.2013). Apple was prone to
just outsource the manufacturing of its phones so that it could create
less volume but of the best quality in comparison to its competitors (Cross &
Leach, 2008).
A) Variety of Apple Technology company
Variety means the mix of products or
services. Apple has a lot of variation in the types of products it offers. For instance, when it launched its iPhone X, it complemented with iPhone xs as well.
Hence, the greater the variety made; the
more operations process are created to meet the variations. And that is
something Apple is very good at. Moreover,
the target customer of the company belongs to high
end strata of the market, due to which it has limited stores all over
the world. However, it has opened separate retail stores for iPhone by
collaborating with various mobile operators so that there is an increase in the
coverage and reach of the network distribution for the iPhone. Furthermore, Apple has formulated a strategy of not overcrowding
the market with numerous products relative to its competitors who offer more
than 25 products, which tends to dilute the importance of new features (PeterEdberg,
1999).
B) Variation of Apple Technology company
The demand for
Apple products variates a lot. For instance,
the demand for iPhone 7 was sustainable for an
extended period as compared to
iPhone X. Consequently, a decrease in demand
causes a reduction in hours worked and eventually a reduced level of
productivity.
D)
Visibility of Apple Technology company
Visibility involves customer contact with the
organization. In the case of Apple, customer contact or feedback has greatly affected the transformation processes
of the company because customers and their preferences have shaped what Apple has made. For instance, the entire focus is
on customer perception of the apple products which differentiates it from the
rest of the competition. However, the
production strategy of Apple was always to attain a central quality control
system so that the demand for its
products do not variate. Eventually, this
would allow Apple to have a first mover advantage and to immediately obtain the
required feedback directly from the customers (Cummings, 2000).
Huawei
A) Volume of Huawei Telecommunications equipment
company
Huawei just recently overtook Apple in terms
of sales in the year 2018. This shows
that Huawei is making more volume of its
product as compared to Apple. Moreover, it also portrays how quickly the
transformation process of Huawei can
adjust to the increase in demand especially in South Asia and Europe (Wu &
Zhao, 2007).
B) Variety of Huawei Telecommunications
equipment company
Huawei shows more variety in its smartphones. Moreover, it also is more frequent as
compared to Apple when it comes to offering new models with additional
features, which slightly gives it a competitive edge over its other competitors (Fan, 2010).
C) Variation of
Huawei Telecommunications equipment company
On the contrary, the demand for Apple products does not variate as they do
for Huawei smartphones. This shows that Apple has a greater brand value relative to Huawei. Moreover, Apple has mainly focused upon
a single device,i.e., the iPhone which has enabled the organization to charge
the same price for this product across the globe. On the contrary, its
competitors like Nokia is prone to a multi-product
strategy and hence changes different prices
for various sets of markets and customers (Xuesong, 2016).
D) Visibility of
Huawei Telecommunications equipment company
However, Huawei offers better visibility vis-a-vis customer contact or
feedback. Consequently, it is able to
make products that meet customer demand more efficiently. Moreover, Huawei also performs direct and indirect
customer contacts which allows it to better understand the different demographics
of the Smartphone industry (Kamama & Ogendo, 2018).
4Vs Table Comparison between Apple and Huawei
Company Name
|
Volume
|
Variety
|
Variation
|
Visibility
|
Apple
|
Approximately 500,000 iPhones made every day
|
Apple has a lot of variation in the types of products it offers
|
The demand for Apple products
varieties a lot
|
Customer contact or feedback has greatly
affected the transformation processes
|
Huawei
|
Above than 500,000 per day
|
Huawei is making more volume of its product as compared to Apple
|
The demand for Huawei products
varieties not too much
|
Offers better visibility
vis-a-vis customer contact or feedback
|
References of QUALITY of Apple Technology
company
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Cummings, C. R., 2000. Method and system for
allowing a single-user application executing in a multi-user environment to
create objects having both user-global and system global visibility.
Fan, P., 2010. From a latecomer to a global telecom
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Gould, E. J. et al., 2007. User interface for
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Kamama, K. J. & Ogendo, L., 2018. Influence of
Language Barrier and Religion on the Strategic Business Growth of Huawei
Technologies Company Limited. Journal of Human Resource & Leadership, pp.
1-18.
PeterEdberg, 1999. Method and system for collation
in a processing system of a variety of distinct sets of information.
Wu, D. & Zhao, F., 2007. "Entry modes for
international markets: Case study of Huawei, a Chinese technology enterprise.
International Review of Business Research Papers, pp. 183-196.
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