How Apple Cuts Costs in Building It's Gadgets.
By: Mark Milan
CNN.com February 6th 2012
In this article, it discusses the steps in which Apple takes to make their
products more affordable for their consumers. All of Apple's products are
designed in
California, but are produced in
China. All the
parts used in the production of an Apple iPhone come from more than 150
companies located in various countries of the world. The reasoning for the
production of Apple's products in
China is due to the cheap costs to
manufacture these items. Foxconn, a company owned by Hon Hai precision industry
names Apple as one of its top business clients. Although Apple may be the top
business clients for Foxconn, they have been under fire for many worker
suicides in 2010. It was also said by a workers-rights group that the condition
in which these employees were working was inhumane, which could have been the
reasoning for the suicides. Due to major jump in sales for Apple, Foxconn and
many other plants in
Asia must stay at a
constant drive to keep up with the skyrocketing sales. The amount of money it
takes to manufacture an iPhone is said to be around $ 196, yet they can sell it
upwards of $ 649 for a no contract deal. The reasoning for this is because
although some of the money goes toward actually making the product, Apple still
needs to pay its researchers and its marketing team. Also, Apple has around
6,000 workers working in the retail stores, these workers also need to be paid.
Although this may seem like a lot, Apple still avoids costs of their products
by not relying on one business to get more favorable deals. Apple has reported
that 97% of their money spent on materials, manufacturing, and assembly for its
products. This 97% belongs to 156 different companies, which is very impressive.
Apple stated to CNN that their expectation is for their suppliers are to just
operate responsibly. Of all the companies Apple has worked with last year, 229
of them have been audited by Apple. All in all I beleive that Apple is a business powerhouse.
I think it’s crazy how Apple is able to cut costs in the production of their products so much. When I saw that Apple was designed in California, I thought it meant that it was made in the United States. I’m kind of disappointed to learn that Apple makes all its stuff in China. However, I’m not surprised that Chinese workers are working in bad conditions. I’ve never really liked china because they’re communist, and they don’t have the same workers rights as we do in the United States, which I don’t think it okay. Aside from all this, I still have to admit that I think Apple is one of the best companies around for getting good electronics. I love the IPhone, and I think the Ipods and Itouches are wicked cool. So although they are having problems with worker’s rights, I’ll still continue to buy their stuff as much as I can.
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