Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) may be diversifying its manufacturing partner lineup. According to the Website Engadget.com, Taiwan-based EMS company Pegatron Corp. will manufacture 50 percent to 60 percent of orders for Apple's upcoming tablet, dubbed the iPad mini. Apple reportedly has been developing a smaller, less expensive tablet computer for some time.
On its Website, Pegatron, based in Taipei, reports equity worth roughly $2.7 billion. The company says it is vertically integrated and supports a diverse base of products, including desktop PCs, notebooks, broadband, wireless systems, game consoles, networking equipment, set-top boxes, multimedia, and LCD TVs. The EMS provider was established in 2007 with the assets of Asustek Computer, and merged with Asusalpha Computer in 2008. In 2010, the company merged with Pegatron International Investment Co., Ltd. Pegatron is traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
To date, reports Engadget.com, Foxconn Electronics Inc. has been the exclusive manufacturer of iPads.
There are a number of reasons why Apple would expand its manufacturing base. Record-setting orders of the iPhone 5 may test Apple's existing capacity. Depending too heavily on any one EMS partner is risky, so Apple may be spreading that risk by adding new subcontractors. Apple has also been embroiled in a PR nightmare because of Foxconn's alleged mistreatment of workers, but there is no indication Apple plans to disengage with Foxconn. If anything, according to Engadget.com, Apple may shift some iPhone 5 capacity over to Pegatron to ensure a steady supply of products.
Either way, Apple reports it is having problems delivering the new iPhones on schedule and some buyers may have to wait until October for their new devices.
@hm: Good point. If Apple TV follows the set-top box route, Pegatron sounds like a good fit. I still wonder, though, if Apple is actually going to make TV screens such as Sharp makes. With Foxconn taking a stake in Sharp, that seems to be the natural progression. From what I read, though, Apple TV is focusing on the set-top box and the consumer interface. It is having problems licensing programming, though, becuase cable companies don't want to compete with Apple. Can't say I blame them...
_hm, Good observation. Apple may be interested in partnering with a company that it can have a better insight into its manufacturing practices so as to avoid any of the problems it has encountered with Foxconn.
That is prudent decision. Being so big an organizzation, it must not depend on one CM. Also, Apple may have invested money in this CM, and it may control its management indirectly and further increase its profitibility and reduce product price for end user.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
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Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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