Issues in Strategic Management Strategic Audit Exercise Essay

Issues in Strategic Management Strategic Audit Exercise - Essay Example Apple experienced good success during the late 1980s but after that there were testing times during the 90s. John Sculley, previously the CEO joined Apple in 1983. Sculley came to Apple with the valuable experience of the 'Cola-War' between Coke and Pepsi. Steven Jobs, more of technology oriented initially found this approach little weird, but later gave Sculley a free hand. Gradually, over the years, Apple has succeeded in regaining the lost glory to a great extent. Feb 27 edition of Business Journal (2007) points out that the ipod helped in this transformation process with the sale of over 90 million ipods since its launch in 2001. After this successful parade of its ipod, Apple has now taken up another ambitious product called 'iphone'. This gadget is an integration of an iPod, a mobile phone, a portable computing machine and a digital camera. With touch controls and an internet communication device the iphone is an innovative product from the armory of Apple. Slated for a full-fl edged launch in June 2007, iphone also has the Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth features and it is based on quad-band GSM + EDGE technology. Now it is to be seen how Apple can mobilize its resources to convert this venture into another success story. Over the years Apple has also established a dependable value chain with strong links with its suppliers and distributors, but the spat with its arch rival Microsoft will not allow Apple to take things lying down, it'll have to be on the path of innovation with regular inputs from market. Though the iphone promises to be a cult item that may influence the industry to follow suit, yet there are certain finer edges which need to be smoothened before Apple expects an ipod like revolution. For example ipod became such a craze owing to its compatibility with the most popular music format-MP3, and the most popular operating system-Windows. But it at the moment industry analysts are keenly watching the verbal dual between Apple and Microsoft. O n the one hand Apple has issued a warning about MS Vista being a security threat to the ipods while on the other hand Microsoft chief Bill Gates underlined the importance of the 'software part' when asked for his views on Apple iphone. He sought to downplay the technological advancement and innovative features that Apple has put in it. This dual promises more fireworks in near future. Resources Audit Such an audit is done to identify different types of resources available to the company. Some of the resources that Apple Inc. could mobilize for carrying out its business are; Financial resources: The Company has been able to post a record revenue billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.0 billion, or $1.14 per diluted share for its fiscal 2007 first quarter ended December 30, 2006 (Apple, 2007). During the operations Gross margin was 31.2 percent, up from 27.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. What is the source of strength is that the International sales accounting for 42 percent of the quarter's revenue. The very fact that the company has been able to sustain the onslaught of Microsoft and IBM provides an insight into the strength of its financial resources. Company's consistent track record of dividend indicates that Apple values its

Supply Chain Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Supply Chain Management - Assignment Example Supply chain management includes a series of well-coordinated decisions and activities that are used to provide sufficient integrated supplier services, transporters, ware houses and customer. This often ensures that the correct products and services are taken to delivered at the right locations in the right quantities while minimizing the cost of undertaking these activities. The essence of this is to acquire sustainable competitive market advantage. A company supply chain can be immensely complicated because it entails a large number of customers and suppliers. Logistic functions may be used to help the flow of raw material from the producer of the item, to the manufacturer then the distributor and finally the end user of the product(Wisner 104). The internal supply chain involves the manufacturers. In this case, it entails sourcing, distributing and production as a whole. Sourcing is where the company makes some purchases, process orders, make negotiations for contracts and formul ate the purchase process. In production, the raw materials are transformed into components of an end product or the product itself. Distribution is where the flow of material or end product is managed as from the manufacture to the customers. To ensure that the process is done successfully, enterprise resource planning systems should be used. The enterprise resource planning system usually store and processes the data of the company. In addition, it integrates the company’s information system as a whole. ERP is beneficial as it facilitates the flow of all the details in the company and also ensures that the daily company processes are managed appropriately (Wisner222). The supplier networks are also another key component of the supply chain. They may be the organizations responsible for all the direct and indirect service and product provision. For instance, a computer manufacture supplier may include all the organizations responsible for the provision of all items of the com puter. This may include computer chips, motherboards and hard drives just to mention a few. The distribution networks the real movement of goods from the manufacture to the customers. The main focus is on the packaging, storing and how the materials are handled at the receiving ends; the warehouses, docks and the retail stores. One crucial consideration in the distribution process is the mode of transportation and its management. This includes how the external carriers have been managed or how the private carriers are selected. Another important thing to consider is the e - commerce sector. This plays a vital role as it facilitates the flow of funds and information. E commerce is when advanced technology is used to carry out the business transactions in a company. E commerce is conducted in a variety of electronic media. It entails business to customer transactions, business to business transactions, and customer to customer transactions. A few websites that carry out such include e -bay, Covisint, priceline.com and the likes of Amazon.com. The types of electronic media are bar codes, fax, electronic fund transfer (EFT), electronic data interchange (EDI) and many others (Wisner 10). In e- distribution, one is advised on where to pick their supplies and how to use them via the internet or web based environment. E- Procurement has changed the whole supply chain where the distribution and manufacturing bit is concerned. There is a seamless flow of information on fulfillment from the manufact