Apple, like many other electronics companies, is no stranger when it comes to offshoring jobs such as the manufacturing process of its electronic devices. So, what is offshoring? According to our book offshoring is contrasted with outsourcing when “a company takes one of its factories in which it operates and moves the entire factory offshore” which is why Apple moved its manufacturing factory from America to China. But remember that unlike offshoring, outsourcing occurs when you take what "a company was doing in-house, such as research, call centers, or accounts receivable, and have another company perform exactly the same function" . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Offshoring is not a rare occurrence among large companies as they gain the company's immense financial savings along with many other things. Apple is one of the largest and most thriving companies in the world and I will continue to talk about why Apple started offshoring jobs and how this helped them grow as a company. I'm sure we all know the history of Apple and the general overview of the company, but let's take a refresher for those who may not know. Apple Inc is an American technology company whose headquarters are located in Cupertino, California, which is also the same place where it was founded on April 1, 1976. Apple produces phones, personal devices, computers, computer software, online services, etc. Some of their very popular devices include iPhone, Mac Book, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch etc. When it comes to designed products, some are iOS operating system along with MacOS. Mac App Store, iCloud, Apple Music and iTunes Store are some of the online services provided by Apple. The company was founded by the late Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. In 1976, the Apple 1 was launched, which brought in a lot of revenue, and in 1980, Apple decided to go public. In 1985, Wozniak left Apple and Jobs left to found NeXT. In 1993 Michael Spindler became the new CEO of Apple, but the only major success was the migration of the then Mac operating system with PowerPC. But the company was unable to keep up and struggled with being unable to sell its inventory, which caused the company to collapse financially and was unable to keep up with its competitors. But in 1997 Apple bought NeXT to bring Jobs back to the company, where he soon became the company's new CEO. After his return, Jobs began to rebuild Apple and return it to glory. Jobs licensed the Mac operating system from Microsoft, and the iMac arrived soon after. Over the course of his years at Apple Steve Jobs was able to transform Apple into one of the greatest companies ever known. In 2001, Apple opened its first store, and in 2007 it shifted its focus more to consumer electronics. In 2017, Apple reported annual worldwide revenue of $229 billion with 123,000 employees and approximately 504 stores. When it comes to the supply chain, Apple almost dominates with how advanced it is. One thing that has helped over the years is that they make it a top priority to maintain good relationships with their suppliers. According to NC State University, supply chain management is the “management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage.” Apple has done a great job of dominating, one way it has done through the supply chain management process is by acquiring ownership of some third-party assets. A way they also move their supplies and save moneymoney by purchasing the raw materials for their products from multiple locations and then sending them all to China to be assembled together. Apple is said to have over 200 suppliers for its company. Another thing that Apple made sure to integrate into the chain management process is using different tactics and technologies for tracking their inventory which not only saved them money in the long run but also ensured they paid accurately suppliers and that their quotes were accurate. Apple also pushed for competition among suppliers by having them compete for their business, which also helped reduce the cost of supplies. Apple made sure that although the raw materials came from all over the world, they had to be shipped to assembly plants in China. This helped them because since most of the materials come from China, it is easier for them to understand them, unlike if they sent them somewhere in Mexico, where the materials are foreign and might be complicated to understand. Apple does well when it comes to managing inventory turnover. Well, inventory turnover is calculated by dividing the cost of goods sold by the average inventory, this measurement helps when it comes to seeing how efficiently a company works when it comes to its balances. In 2013 their “Days in Inventory” for their products was 4.37 days, in 2018 their inventory turnover was 4.83. Their CEO, Tim Cook, made it a priority to get their products out as fast as possible and said he believes "inventory is bad." Tim Cook said this because the value of the technology decreases as the product ages. For example, since Apple has so many competitors like Samsung, it is important to move products because if you have a lot of technology on hand with the release of a new product you lose money because people's attention starts to shift to what is new. Apple's Tim Cook also reduced the number of warehouses where their products were stored. Sam Holder of Apple Insiders said that Cook "closed 10 of 19 Apple warehouses to limit overstocking, and in September 1998 inventory (on hand) dropped from a month to six days." These days Apple's supply chain has received some criticism but they are still strong some risks that have been linked to the association with their supply chain are: Their inventory may be higher than required The company is affected in based on the world economy Their resellers might also carry or sell products from other manufacturers Problems with the government when dealing with different countries, Apple began turning to foreign manufacturing in 2004, but why did it do so? Producing an iPhone in China costs about $8, which is drastically lower than it would cost in the United States, or about $65, which allows Apple to make a higher gross profit. Tim Cook recently said: “The number one reason we love being in China is the people. China has amazing skills. And the most unknown part is that there are almost 2 million application developers in China who write apps for the iOS App Store. These are some of the most innovative mobile apps in the world and the entrepreneurs who run them are some of the most inspiring and enterprising in the world. They are sold not only here but exported around the world." Another reason why Apple is offshore because once again it is a logistical problem for Apple products to be assembled worldwide if most of the materials come from China. Things like their displays are made by Japan Display or South Korea-based LG Display. The sensors for.