- Image by liewcf via Flickr
For years, industry pundits have lavished praise on Apple as an industry supply-chain leader that takes advantage of design and manufacturing expertise on a truly global basis. Down to the “Designed by Apple in California … Assembled in China” fine print on the back of my iPhone 3G S — not to mention similar language on every other piece of Apple hardware I’ve bought in recent years — it’s clear that Apple has attempted to optimize expertise, labor, and materials at all stages of its supply chain. But sometimes even the best planning can go awry. Consider that the WSJ reported yesterday that “Apple said it was running roughly two weeks behind in filling orders for its 27-inch iMac desktop computer,” a product that was just released in October. Moreover, it’s a hot item. “The machine, which originally went on sale … for prices starting at $1,699, has been among Apple’s strongest-selling devices, analysts say,” the Journal notes.
