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08:56 | 05-11-2011 | Apple, Economics | No Comments
весьма показательная статья о том, зачем корпорациям могут пригодиться запасы наличности:
To ensure that the company’s new, translucent blue iMacs would be widely available at Christmas the following year, Jobs paid $50 million to buy up all the available holiday air freight space, says John Martin, a logistics executive who worked with Jobs to arrange the flights. The move handicapped rivals such as Compaq that later wanted to book air transport.
ну да, так все и есть — как сказал когда-то Джобс:
Cash gives us tremendous security and flexibility. When you take risks, it’s like jumping up in the air, and it’s nice to know the ground will be there when you land,” he told the group. “We run our company conservatively from a financial point of view because you never know what opportunity is around the corner…We’re very fortunate that if we needed to acquire something we could write a check for it and not have to borrow money.
так и будет в следующем году, ага:
When it’s time to go into production, Apple wields a big weapon: More than $80 billion in cash and investments. The company says it plans to nearly double capital expenditures on its supply chain in the next year, to $7.1 billion, while committing another $2.4 billion in prepayments to key suppliers. The tactic ensures availability and low prices for Apple—and sometimes limits the options for everyone else. Before the release of the iPhone 4 in June 2010, rivals such as HTC couldn’t buy as many screens as they needed because manufacturers were busy filling Apple orders, according to a former manager at HTC. To manufacture the iPad 2, Apple bought so many high-end drills to make the device’s internal casing that other companies’ wait time for the machines stretched from six weeks to six months, according to a manager at the drillmaker.
за что, конечно, надо благодарить Тима Кука:
This is the world of manufacturing, procurement, and logistics in which the new chief executive officer, Tim Cook, excelled, earning him the trust of Steve Jobs. According to more than a dozen interviews with former employees, executives at suppliers, and management experts familiar with the company’s operations, Apple has built a closed ecosystem where it exerts control over nearly every piece of the supply chain, from design to retail store.
но вот дальше-то и начинается самое интересное — сам Кук видит происходящее куда шире:
I’m not religious about holding cash or not holding it. I’m religious about a lot of things but not that one. We’ll continually ask ourselves what’s in Apple’s best interest. So it’s a topic for the board on an ongoing basis.
куда он поведет компанию завтра? потому что одной логистики здесь мало, для того чтобы и дальше оставаться Apple, надо будет неизменно представлять что-то новое, one more thing:
During Apple’s memorial service for Jobs, Cook said the following about Jobs to the audience:
Among his last advice he had for me, and for all of you, was to never ask what he would do. “Just do what’s right.”
и мне в самом деле жутко хочется увидеть, что же они придумают. потому что почва под ногами — удивительно крепкая основа — у них есть.