According to a new report, Apple, under CEO Tim Cook, has an even greater focus on quality control and cost management. All of Apple’s suppliers are being “heavily evaluated.”
Supply chain sources from the Far East indicated to DigiTimes that Apple has “adopted even stricter management over its supply chain than before,” a report published on Monday reveals. The changes include more frequent inspections, greater time spent on inspections, and a renewed focus on managing costs and product quality.
The report claims Apple has placed particular focus on the performance of its supply chain over the last six months.
Apple reportedly discovered a fingerprint mistakenly printed on one internal component from Apple’s latest MacBook lineup. Upon discovering the error, the company allegedly demanded a recheck of its entire production line to resolve the issue.
Apple’s stricter approach is reported to be a “challenge” for production line supervisors at suppliers. A new threshold is expected to be set for companies that might want to enter Apple’s supply chain.
Cook’s talent for ensuring that Apple’s supply chain ran efficiently was known as one of his signature abilities before taking over as CEO of Apple last August. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs brought in Cook to make the company’s supply chain leaner and more responsive.
After taking over Apple’s supply chain, Cook cut down the company’s number of component suppliers from 100 to 24. He also shut down 10 of the 19 Apple warehouses to limit overstocking.
Cook personally visited a Foxconn production plant earlier this year. The visit to the iPhone production plant, in Zhengzhou, China and ran by Foxconn, came as Apple faced media scrutiny over working conditions in some of its plants.