One of the tactics that Apple likes to use to edge out the competition would be to invest heavily in machinery, buying themselves an exclusive deal or locking out their competitors due to them placing many orders, but how much has Apple spent so far on creating exclusive deals for unique supply chain machinery? Well according to a report from Bloomberg, they claim that Apple has committed themselves to spending a whopping $10.5 billion in 2014 on new manufacturing technology.The report states that the money will be going towards “equipment to polish the new iPhone 5c’s colorful plastic, laser and milling machines to carve the MacBook’s aluminum body, and testing gear for the iPhone and iPad camera lens.” Apparently the design of Apple products are so unique that unique machinery is needed in order to make it, at least that’s according to analyst, Muthuraman Ramasamy, who stated that “Apple has so much cash that they can invest in cutting-edge, world-class machinery that is typically used for aerospace and defense.”
In fact it seems that Jony Ive and his team’s influence on Apple’s products are so great that the supply chain is shaped by their needs, as opposed to them working with what they’ve got. Could this explain why Apple’s products are generally more pricier than others?
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