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A Tiny Screw Shows Why iPhones Won't Be 'Assembled in U.S.A.'
In China, you will also find one of Apple's most important markets, and over the last month the risks that come with that dependence have become apparent. On Jan. 2, Apple said it would miss earnings expectations for the first time in 16 years, mostly because of slowing iPhone sales in China. On Tuesday, the company is expected to reveal more details about its financial results for the most recent quarter and its forecast for the coming year.
In 2012, Apple's chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, went on prime-time television to announce that Apple would make a Mac computer in the United States. It would be the first Apple product in years to be manufactured by American workers, and the top-of-the-line Mac Pro would come with an unusual inscription: "Assembled in USA."
But when Apple began making the $3,000 computer in Austin, Tex., it struggled to find enough screws, according to three people who worked on the project and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements.
In China, Apple relied on factories that can produce vast quantities of custom screws on short notice. In Texas, where they say everything is bigger, it turned out the screw suppliers were not.
Tests of new versions of the computer were hamstrung because a 20-employee machine shop that Apple's manufacturing contractor was relying on could produce at most 1,000 screws a day.
The company could face more financial pressure if the Trump administration places tariffs on phones made in China — something the president has threatened to do.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 29 2019, @09:25PM
Absolutely. Who do you have working supply chain in your company? If Apple's supply chain people are twice as good as ours, I am still not shocked that something like this didn't get picked up until the initial production volume PO was placed and the delivery date was approaching.
It's not enough to ask the vendors if they can handle it, it's not enough to make them sign a contract that they will deliver quantity X on date Y. Many of these 20 man specialty shops will just drool over the potential, figure they can hire up / outsource / otherwise make it happen and then fail to deliver when the deadline comes, and what's Apple gonna do, anyway? If it was quick and easy to find another supplier who meets the quality/price requirements, the specialty shop would have outsourced it before the deadline.
The only real way to mitigate this kind of risk is on-site audits, and even with those not all supply chain functionaries are up to the task of judging whether or not a shop really has the capacity for a given job.
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