Starbucks Value Chain Analysis

business policy & strategy
(MNG 4200)
LECTURER: MR. HUGH TODD Case #1: apple inc. in 2008

Group members:

GROUP LEADER: ANUSHKA RAMPERSAUD (10/0835/0704)
FARZANA HAMID (10/0835/1056)
DEVIKA RAJKISSOON (09/0835/0575)
SADESH RAMDEEN (10/0835/0507)
BRIJESHWAR ARJUN (10/0835/1062)
CHEASHIVA SAMAROO (10/0835/0997)

APPLE INC. IN 2008 CASE ANALYSIS

Apple computer was introduced in 1976 by founders, Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak. Apple Inc. was the producer of many products but the one which put the company back in the game was the ipod, which was introduced in October 2001. Despite the drawbacks faced by Apple Inc., they still managed to rise above their competition.

In 1997 when Jobs was referred to as the Interim CEO he made a speech at an event where it was announced that Apple Inc. would have an almost entirely new board of directors, an aggressive advertising campaign and an alliance with Microsoft. Apple Inc. also managed its business largely on a geographic basis. Jobs had an innovative style of management since he returned to Apple Inc., he made ideas on how to turn the company’s performance around. He consistently pushed for new, innovative ideas and products and also enforced several structural changes, including ridding the company of unprofitable segments and divisions.

When the Iphone 3G was launched, the company faced multiple problems associated with the launch including Apple Inc.’s servers being overloaded and key applications being available on the day of the launch. However, the product still managed to sell quickly in twenty one (21) states across the United States of America with a sale of 1 million units in three (3) days.

Apple Inc. marketed their products quite differently from other companies, after launching they would drop prices significantly to suit their customers and to make sure that it is not unfair to those customers who made purchases at higher prices, they offered discounts on future purchases.

In 1995, Apple Inc. had a $1 billion in back orders and insufficient parts to build its machines. By the first quarter of 1996, it recorded a loss of $740 million and down to $30 million by the second quarter with a profit of $30 million by the end of that year. In its fiscal 2008, third quarter ending June 28, Apple Inc. reported the best third quarter in the company’s history, with revenues of $7.646 billion, up from $ 5.41 billion for the same quarter the previous year and a quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, up from $818 million.

Apple Inc. encountered problems when they introduced their Mac which used the GUI. It faced competition from Microsoft and eventually lost its exclusive right to use its own GUI. With all these setbacks, the company kept brining innovative products to the market, realizing that innovation would have to be their strategy.

Apple Inc.’s future operations depend largely on the company’s ability to continue developing high quality products and to stimulate demand by implementing new designs, operability and user friendly features. The continuation of Appl Inc. also depends on a skilled management team, that will epitomize the spirit and standards on which Apple Inc. was founded.

“If you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long, just figure out what’s next.”
Steven Jobs