Apple Has Formed 'Tiger Teams' to Address Supply Chain Weaknesses [Report]

Apple is continuing its efforts to expand production capabilities outside of China, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

The company has production efforts underway in India for iPhones and accessories, Vietnam for AirPods and Macs, Malaysia for Macs, and Ireland for iMacs. Additionally, managers have told employees to focus on sourcing components and production lines outside of China for new products.

To prevent production setbacks, Cook has directed the creation of "tiger teams" to identify and fix weaknesses in Apple's supply chain.


With Cook's direct involvement, Apple has also assembled hundreds of employees into what some people within the company have called "tiger teams" to address weaknesses in its supply chain. It has expanded the efforts of these teams, which set up shop in suppliers' factories in China and other countries, assess facility maintenance schedules, and assemble more extensive lists of backup suppliers for every component, right down to screws and plastic inserts. The company is working to improve its forecasts, component by component, to better anticipate potential shortages.

Besides China, Apple is also highly reliant on Taiwan for chip production. Sources say that if Taiwan's production goes down, it would take almost a year to recover. A small number of chips will be produced for Apple at TSMC's Arizona plant starting next year; however, there's a long way to go before down any significant production capacity is realized.
Apple also has significant political and quality concerns with moving production out of China.

Apple's leadership is concerned that China might retaliate if it moves too much capacity to other countries, or transitions too rapidly. Customers in China could turn against US-designed products amid heightened nationalism. The company also has concerns about its ability to ensure high standards of quality in Vietnam and particularly Malaysia, given the current state of the manufacturing industries in those countries.

Last year, Apple only produced 6.5 million out of 200 million iPhones in India. It's aiming to increase that number to 10 million in 2023, and possibly 15 million in 2024. Eventually, sources say Apple could move as much as 25% of production to India by 2025, if it sticks to an aggressive timeline.


Notably, this year will reportedly be the first time that Apple ships its latest model iPhone (iPhone 15) from China and India at the same time. The iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro models will still only be made in China.

More details in the full report linked below...

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