The Introduction of Apple Technology company

According to Forbes magazine, Apple is on the brink of becoming the first organization to reach a net worth of approximately $1trillion. This is not due to mere luck, but it involves fervent dedication with a combination of strategic processes pertaining to different functional areas, especially operations management. Apple is an organization that has the ability to meet its goals because its short-term activities in operations are consistent with its long-term strategies. (daSilva, 2002)

Critical analysis of Apple’s operational management decision areas:

A) QUALITY of Apple Technology company

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).

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).

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

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).

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).

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).

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

 

Recommendations for Apple to improve its operational performance:

Apple needs to conduct an in-depth SWOT analysis in order to identify its weaknesses. However, the following are some of the areas of the business that needs special attention. For instance, Apple has a limited distribution network plus high selling prices with the dependence of sales on high-end market segments (Gannett, 2000). Hence, the management should try focusing on increasing the distribution network in order to enhance its efficiency pertaining to supply chain management.

Moreover, in order to compete with the growing popularities of its competitors like Huawei and Samsung, it needs to introduce the idea of competitive pricing in its organization which is more sustainable in the long term. Moreover, operation management cannot function effectively if the resources of the company are not helping to achieve the firm's objectives. Hence, it should be the most important aspect of Apple's strategy pertaining to operations. Furthermore, Apple needs to work on improving its approach at the functional level that involves which technologies and skills need to be adopted (Sawhney, et al., 2006).

Apple should formulate such operation strategies that will enable and improve its objectives of attaining low-cost production while also maintain a high quality of output. Moreover, it is very difficult for an organization to improve in every strategic area of operations, but if you are the biggest firm in the world, it's imperative that you should (Gole, 2011).

Conclusion on Apple Technology company

Apple is by far one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world. However, the advent of technology has allowed many other smartphone companies like Huawei and Samsung to give it a tough competition. Hence, Apple should allow flexibility in its operations and processes so that it can revamp and attain more market share, not only in the US, but also in other developing countries as well where the demographics do not entirely coincide with the internal strategy of the organization (White, 2007).

References of Apple Technology company