A Report on ‘Apple Inc.

’ – Mission, Vision, Key Success factors, Value chain

and SWOT Analysis
Course title: Strategic Management
Course code: EM-519
Assigned by: Dr. Md. Ataur Rahman
Professor
Department of Management
Faculty of Business Studies
Department of Management Program MBA (Evening)
Batch: 39

Submitted by
Tamanna Azad Barsha ID NO: 3-18-39-003

Date of submission: 03-12-2020

University of Dhaka
 Acknowledgement

All praise goes to the Almighty who has given me the opportunity to complete this report. It is a

great pleasure to express my sincere appreciation to the course instructor Dr. Md. Ataur Rahman,

Professor, Department of Management, University of Dhaka for providing me the opportunity to

do this report and for his kind and sincere guidance, helpful feedbacks and personal supervision.

I also want to mention the contribution of all those who have inspired, influenced and guided me

to complete this report successfully.

Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................................................1
Apple’s Mission and Vision.........................................................................................................................3
Apple’s Mission Statement......................................................................................................................3
Apple’s Vision Statement.........................................................................................................................3
Key Success Factors.....................................................................................................................................5
1.Breaking down the barriers of customer segments..............................................................................5
2. Creating a Brand Culture.....................................................................................................................6
3. Never fighting price wars.....................................................................................................................6
Apple’s Value Chain Analysis......................................................................................................................8
Primary Activities....................................................................................................................................8
Inbound logistics:....................................................................................................................................8
Operations...............................................................................................................................................9
Outbound logistics:..................................................................................................................................9
Marketing and Sales..............................................................................................................................10
Apple Service........................................................................................................................................10
Support Activities..................................................................................................................................11
Technology/Research and development................................................................................................11
Human Resource Management..............................................................................................................11
Procurement..........................................................................................................................................11
Firm Infrastructure.................................................................................................................................12
SWOT analysis of Apple............................................................................................................................13
Strengths of Apple.................................................................................................................................13
Weaknesses of Apple.............................................................................................................................14
Opportunities of Apple..........................................................................................................................15
Threats of Apple....................................................................................................................................15
SWOT Analysis of Apple Inc. – Recommendations...................................................................................17
References................................................................................................................................................18
 Introduction

Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino,

California, that designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online
services. It is considered one of the Big Tech technology companies in the world.

Apple Inc. had its genesis in the lifelong dream of Stephen G. Wozniak to build his own
computer—a dream that was made suddenly feasible with the arrival in 1975 of the first
commercially successful microcomputer, the Altair 8800, which came as a kit and used the
recently invented microprocessor chip. Encouraged by his friends at the Homebrew Computer
Club, a San Francisco Bay area group centered around the Altair, Wozniak quickly came up with
a plan for his own microcomputer. In 1976, when the Hewlett-Packard Company, where
Wozniak was an engineering intern, expressed no interest in his design, Wozniak, then 26 years
old, together with a former high-school classmate, 21-year-old Steve Jobs, moved production
operations to the Jobs family garage—and the Silicon Valley garage start-up company legend
was born.

Jobs and Wozniak named their company Apple. For working capital, Jobs sold his Volkswagen
minibus and Wozniak his programmable calculator. Their first model was simply a working
circuit board, but at Jobs’ insistence the 1977 version was a stand-alone machine in a custom-
molded plastic case, in contrast to the forbidding steel boxes of other early machines. This Apple
II also offered a color display and other features that made Wozniak’s creation the first
microcomputer that appealed to the average person.

It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc., in January 1977, and sales of its computers,
including the Apple II, grew quickly. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak had hired a staff of
computer designers and had a production line. Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial
success.

Apple's worldwide annual revenue totaled $274.5 billion for the 2020 fiscal year. Apple is the
world's largest technology company by revenue and one of the world's most valuable companies.
It is also the world's third-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung and Huawei. In

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August 2018, Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to be valued at over
$1 trillion and just two years later in August 2020 became the first $2 trillion U.S. company. The
company employs 137,000 full-time employees and maintains 510 retail stores in 25 countries as
of 2020. It operates the iTunes Store, which is the world's largest music retailer. As of
January 2020, more than 1.5 billion Apple products are actively in use worldwide. The company
also has a high level of brand loyalty and is ranked as the world's most valuable brand. However,
Apple receives significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors, its
environmental practices and unethical business practices, including anti-competitive behavior, as
well as the origins of source materials.

Products and Services of Apple

The company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the
Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple
TV digital media player, the AirPods wireless earbuds and the HomePod smart speaker. Apple's
software includes macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems, the iTunes
media player, the Safari web browser, the Shazam music identifier and the iLife and iWork
creativity and productivity suites, as well as professional applications like Final Cut Pro, Logic
Pro, and Xcode. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store, Mac App Store,
Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iMessage, and iCloud. Other services include Apple
Store, Genius Bar, AppleCare, Apple Pay, Apple Pay Cash, and Apple Card.

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 Apple’s Mission and Vision

Apple’s Mission Statement

Apple’s corporate mission is “to bring the best personal computing products and support to
students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over
140 countries around the world.” This mission statement considers the changing business
landscape that influences the possibilities of what Apple Inc. can do. For instance, the company
recognizes trends and changes in the consumer electronics market and the industry environment.
Apple’s press releases and official statements point to this corporate mission as a way of
addressing current concerns in the global market.

Its corporate mission statement indicates that Apple Inc. focuses on computing products as
organizational outputs. The term “computing products” encompasses not just computers and
smartphones, but also other goods or services primarily based on computing technology. For
example, the company also offers cloud storage and software, as well as digital content
distribution (App Store, iTunes, etc.) and online payment services (Apple Pay). The mission
statement also specifies that the technology company’s target customers are practically everyone.
As a result, Apple’s designs products that address the needs and preferences of customers in
various market segments. Moreover, the corporate mission states that the company’s operations
have a multinational reach, targeting consumer electronics and online services markets around
the world. The corporate mission statement’s focus on computing products partly determines
Apple Inc.’s marketing mix or 4Ps. This mission statement also influences the company’s
corporate vision statement, which guides strategic planning on how the technology business
brings the corporate mission into the future.

Apple’s Vision Statement

Apple Inc.’s corporate vision is “to make the best products on earth, and to leave the world
better than we found it.” Similarly, the company’s Vice President for Environment, Policy and
Social Initiatives, Lisa Jackson, stated, “We aim to create not just the best products in the
world, but the best products for the world.” Thus, the corporate vision statement aligns with

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Apple’s corporate social responsibility strategy, and puts emphasis on sustainability,
environmental conservation, and overall improvement of the ecological impact of the business.

Apple’s vision statement influences strategic management in terms of the decisions that the
company’s executives make to reach a future of leadership in the various industries where the
business operates. The “best products” term indicates that the corporate vision sees the
technology company as a world leader in product design and development. The goal to have the
best products challenges Apple to continue pushing for novel innovation in product
development. In this direction, the company’s vertical integration helps in achieving a coherent
business situation for leadership in the computer technology, software and online services
industries. In relation, Apple’s supply chain strategies support the design and development of the
best products by pushing for supplier improvement and excellence. To fulfill its corporate vision
statement, the company has strategies and policies that apply to its operations as well as the
operations of business partners, such as semiconductor component suppliers and manufacturers.
For example, Apple requires its suppliers to comply with its policies for environmental
conservation and fair labor practices. Such efforts directly address the second part of the
consumer electronics company’s vision statement, which specifies the need to improve business
impact on the world. In a way, the corporate vision expands Apple’s influence in the global
community. Considering the emphasis on excellence and environmental conservation, the vision
statement influences Apple Inc.’s corporate culture and its effect on human resources. It is worth
noting that the technology firm’s aim of having the best products is specified in both the
corporate vision statement and the corporate mission statement.

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 Key Success Factors

There have been many tech companies to emerge in the past several decades; perhaps none of
which has been more influential than Apple. So, looking back at Apple’s illustrious 40+ years
history, there are certainly a number of critical components that attributed to their superior
positioning and success. It’s quite fascinating to think that a tiny company that started in a garage
is now the highest valued company in human history.

These factors led to this colossal milestone.

1.Breaking down the barriers of customer segments

An interesting observation of the United States and similar countries is that people on both
extremes of the social class spectrum carry the same cell phone. That phone is, of course, the
iPhone.

Looking past some of the common pressures of consumerism, much of Apple becoming a
worldwide phenomenon has to do with the way they market their products; both in the past and
today. Most prominently, Apple’s view of their target customers was never restricted by
demographic, certain characteristics or anything else that divides the market. Simply put, their
target customer is everyone. This is why the term “user-friendliness” is one of the defining traits
of each of Apple’s products.

Going further, their mainstream ads and marketing content seldom uses fancy tech jargon
about the product specs. Their messaging is meant to be understood by people of all ages and
backgrounds. They focus on features that immediately affect the average user, such as the
camera resolution, screen display, storage space, fingerprint identification, etc.

By not breaking their customers up into strictly defined segments, Apple’s marketing has been
appealing to generations of users, which has led to company’s stock rising 15,000 percent since
the turn of the millennium.

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2. Creating a Brand Culture

Apple has a devoted following unlike any other brand in the world. Apple has become much
more than just a brand. A long history of producing high quality products that everyone can use
has spawned a brand culture that has become so ingrained in everyday life that many faithful
Apple consumers wouldn’t deviate from the products in a million years.

This all started back in the early 1980’s, right when the concept of having a home computer was
just beginning to gain traction. Steve Jobs donated 9,000 Apple computers to California schools
-- which many people thought was crazy. In addition to the tax benefits, the marketing strategy
behind this was pure genius. Jobs’ goal was to leverage his “Kids Can’t Wait” program to
familiarize school children with Apple products’ usability before they got their own computer.
This, in many ways, was the origin of Apple's brand culture.

Fast forward to now. There are countless consumers out there who were raised using these
computers in school. They won’t use anything else, no matter what the technical aspects are.

3. Never fighting price wars

Many brands assume that price wars are just a part of industry competition. This was never the
case with Apple. Throughout the years, they stuck to their pricing models despite being
significantly higher than competitors’.

For example, let’s take Apple’s MacBook Pro 13 and compare it to the HP’s Spectre 13 (which
are some of the latest models of each brand, respectively). While the specs are similar and each
model has their own unique set of pros and cons, the MacBook Pro costs about $800 more.

The reason is Apple simply does not see other brands in their market as competition. Instead of
trying to entice customers with low prices and win a “race to the bottom,” Apple blocked out the
noise of what their competitors were doing and focused on promoting their unique value
proposition -- beautiful design and a seamless customer experience right out of the box.

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The last thing in the world Steve Jobs wanted to do was undervalue the product. So, the purpose
of this approach was to prove why their products are superior to other products on the
market and worth the higher price.

This practice has not only led to a strong brand following, it has worked to shape the way new
tech products are created. Perhaps the clearest proof of this market superiority deals with cell
phones. Prior to the original launch of the iPhone in 2007, cell phones came in all shapes and
sizes. The diversity in design between brands was amazing. However, in the years since the
iPhone came on the market most cell phones, regardless of brand, have a similar look. In turn,
the iPhone has become the gold standard for new products on the market.

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 Apple’s Value Chain Analysis
Apple value chain analysis is an analytical framework that assists in identifying business
activities that can create value and competitive advantage to the business. Figure below
illustrates the essence of apple value chain analysis.

Primary activities

Inbound logistics:

Apple has a very large supply chain and when it comes to obtaining raw material, it has
several options before it. Its top 200 suppliers include component providers and others that
represented at least 97% of its procurement expenditure in 2016 for materials, manufacturing and
assembly. A very large number of its major suppliers are located in Asia in China and Japan.
Some of its major raw material suppliers include 3M and Foxconn. Based on its financial clout
Apple enjoys high bargaining power with respect to its suppliers. It has set quality standards for
its suppliers so that they maintain the highest quality standards for their goods and services.
Apart from these things Apple has adopted smarter methods to reduce its storage requirements
and speed up the procurement process.

Operations

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Apple operations are divided into the following reportable operating segments:

1. Americas segment includes North and South America. This segment accounted for 42% of
total net sales in 2018 and 2017.

2. Europe segment comprises European countries, India, Middle East and Africa. Europe
segment accounted for 24% of total net sales for 2018 and 2017.

3. Greater China segment consists of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Net sales from Greater
China amounted to 20% of total net sales in 2018 and 2017.

4. Japan segment generated income equal to 8% of total net sales in 2018, 2017 and 2016.

5. Rest of Asian Pacific segment includes Australia and other Asian countries. This segment
accounted for 7% in 2018 and 2017.

Apple operations are conducted by 132,000 full-time equivalent employees worldwide.

Outsourcing of manufacturing to locations with lower costs of resources is the main source of
value for Apple operations. Specifically, only some models of Mac computers are manufactured
in USA and Ireland and the majority of Apple products are outsourced to manufacturing units
based in Asia.

Outbound logistics:

Apple outbound logistics involves warehousing and distribution of ready iPhones, iPads, Mac
computers and other products produced by the company. The company ships finished products to
Apple Stores that are typically located at high-traffic locations in quality shopping malls and
urban shopping districts. Apple outbound logistics also facilitates deliveries to the warehouses of
wholesalers and retailers.

E-commerce sales are rightly acknowledged by the company as a massive source of value in
terms of inbound logistics, because e-commerce is more cost effective compared to sales via
Apple Store.  Due to the efforts of the company in this direction, Apple Inc. has become the third
largest retailer in the US in terms of size of e-commerce business, only behind Amazon.com and
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Specifically, Apple Inc. has e-commerce sales of USD 12 billion and this
figure accounts to about 5.1 per cent of company’s total sales.

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Moreover, a greater level of market penetration into Asia in general and China in particular can
be specified as an additional source of value for Apple Inc. from outbound logistics point of
view. This is because selling in this particular geographical market would not involve massive
outbound logistics expenses and this cost advantage can be passed to customers to increase the
overall appeal of offers.

Marketing and Sales

Apple sells its products through the following seven sales channels:

1. Apple retail stores

2. Apple online store
3. Direct sales force
4. Third-party cellular network carriers
5. Wholesalers
6. Retailers
7. Value-added resellers

During 2018, the Company’s domestic and international net sales accounted for 37% and 63%,
respectively, of total net sales. Moreover, during the same period, the company’s net sales
through its direct and indirect distribution channels accounted for 29% and 71% of total net sales
respectively. Apple has been increasing its focus on enterprise sales during the past few years
and CEO Tim Cook announced an extensive reliance on Channel Partners to further increase the
volume of enterprise sales.

Apple Service

Apple is famous for exceptional quality of customer services during all three stages: pre-
purchase, during the purchase and post-purchase. The company maintains Apple experience
centers in major cities around the globe where anyone can use its products to become convinced
about the quality. Apple sales assistants are usually trained and polite young males and females
who are technically savvy and happy to demonstrate product features and capabilities.

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Post-purchase customer service is also impressive with unique iPhone trade-in programs that
allow iPhone users to upgrade their phone to newer models with additional payment. Customers
can return to Apple only items that they purchased directly from Apple, either online or at an
Apple Retail Store. Products can be returned within 14 calendar days after the purchase.

SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

Technology/Research and development

Apple spends heavily on research and development. Its brand is known for technological
innovation and for the great quality and unique designs of its products.   In order to maintain its
competitive advantage, the brand has to invest a lot in R&D. In 2016, it spent more than 10
billion dollars on R&D and 11.6 Billion USD in 2017. Since 2014, Apple has increased its R&D
spending by higher than 5 Billion. There are three key factors behind this push. They are its
growing product range, expanding ambit of Apple’s services and increased focus on the in-house
technology development.

Human Resource Management

Human Resources management is also a key part of the value chain activity of firms. Apple
focuses both on hiring and paying well. This has been the norm since the times of Apple founder
Steve jobs. Apple has always hired the best. However, the style of HRM has changed a little in
times of Tim Cook. Apart from inclusion and diversity, the new CEO has brought several
changes that are aimed at changing the reputation of Apple in terms of HR.

Procurement

Procurement is also a key focus area at Apple. It has managed excellent relationships with its
suppliers. The suppliers are required to provide the workers with safe working conditions and to
provide products and services as per the standards. All these factors influence its relationships
with the suppliers. However, Apple is also a major buyer for most of its suppliers and therefore it
is a mutually beneficial relationship for the two.

Firm Infrastructure

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Any organization’s infrastructure has a key role in the success of the organization. From
management to financial and other resources plus the culture and structure, all these things form
the infrastructure of any firm. The better the management of a firm’s infrastructure the higher the
ability of creating profits for any firm. In the case of Apple, it underwent a major cultural change
recently.

SWOT analysis of Apple

Strengths of Apple

The strengths that enable the company to overcome weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities,
and withstand threats in its business environment. These strengths are internal factors specific to

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the conditions within the business organization. In this case, the following are the most notable
strengths of Apple Inc. –

 Innovative products – One of the key strengths of Apple over the years has been its
innovative product line up. Apple has presented hit products after hit products and that’s
been the major strength of Apple. Initially it came with the MacBook, then the iPod, the
Iphone, the Ipad, the Iwatch. In short, Apple has covered almost everything that an
individual “desires”.
 Leadership position –Apple is the leading technology company in the world with
regards to revenue generated. It is also the second largest smart phone manufacturer. It
became the first US company to cross 700 billion dollars and in 2014 was the largest
publicly traded company in the world. If that does not define leadership, then nothing else
can.

 Brand equity – Naturally, being in the leadership position requires that your brand
equity be high. The brand Apple is the number 1 valued brand amongst all the companies
in the world as of 2016. The brand value in 2015 was estimated to be 118.9 Billion
dollars!!
 Distribution – Apple has 470 of its own stores across 17 countries. Besides these stores,
it sells through trade partners, online channels as well as through other premium retail
stores. Additionally, Apple also launched the Apple genius bar to directly solve customer
issues within the retail store itself. Thus, the concentration of Apple on its sales and
service distribution is legendary.
 Margins – One of the core advantages of Apple as a company is the margins that it
commands over its products. Being a technological leader with a top brand equity, Apple
swot analysis results tells us that apple keeps a hefty margin for itself to invest in R&D
and brand building. Furthermore, its pricing strategy is such that the price does not break
in the market and you will always find Apple selling at the same price in various retail
stores.
 Consumer focus – Apple always designs its products with a focus on consumers while
keeping their mind in the future. They always try to imagine the things which even the

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 consumer has not imagined yet. As per Steve jobs “if you ask the consumer what he
wants,

by the time you give him the same thing, he will want something else”. This ideology is the
reason of success for Apple.

Weaknesses of Apple

With a company which is a market leader and innovative, we can expect very few weaknesses.
Still, here are few weaknesses which Apple might be facing.

 Matching Customer expectations – Being a leading company since 1980’s Apple has a
major market share and the consumer expectation is going through the roof. People
expect great things from apple year after year and maintaining these expectation levels is
not easy for anyone.
 Incompatibility – A key issue in Apple as a company is that many of its products are
incompatible with third-party software / accessories. So overall, when you buy a product
of Apple, you enter the Apple universe and you have to continue with Apple only. That
makes a huge impact on consumer decision making.
 Dependency on few products – Apple has only 7-8 products in its portfolio in
comparison to the various products that its closest competitors Microsoft and Google
have. Hence the dependency of Apple on each of its products is very high. If one product
fails, then that is a 10% loss to Apple. Hence, there is a common demand from Apple to
increase its product portfolio.

Opportunities of Apple

 Apple cars – Naturally, with Facebook expanding with Instagram, Occulus rift,
Whatsapp and others and Google expanding in 10 different ways, Apple wanted to find
out some new products which Apple could launch. Apple is now fixated on Apple Car

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 which is supposed to be launched in 2020. Like any other product of Apple, we can
expect great things from the Apple car as well.
 Technological advancement – In the technology industry, technological advancement is
always an opportunity. And the one brand we can expect to leverage technology to its
best is Apple. We can expect even more advanced MacBook’s, Iphones, Ipads and
Iwatches in the coming years.
 The growing market – Apple is a growing company in a growing market. Equally
important to the company is the rising GDP of developing countries, thereby increasing
consumption of such premium brands like Apple. Any company which is growing needs
a larger market base and the market base is slowly being built via territory expansion for
Apple.
 Iwatch and Apple TV – Two products which can increase the presence even further are
the Iwatch and Apple TV, both of which are aimed at the future, for when the digital
presence increases. Apple Iwatch already has a 50% market share of Smart watches in
US.

Threats of Apple

Apple as a company does not have any threat. But as products, each of the products is facing
strong threats from the competition. Being the number 1 company in the world is not easy and
you are going to face competition especially from other brands.

 Market penetration in Smartphones – One of the key threats to Apple is the market
penetration by other brands in the Smartphone market. Android is eating market share
like anything and currently has 47.5% of the market share whereas IPhone is at 42%
market share. Android is being used by Samsung, HTC, Lenovo and practically everyone
who wants to enter the smart phone market. Naturally Android being of Google (2nd
most valued brand), Apple has to be ready for Smartphone competition.
 Laptop competition – MacBook is obviously the best there is. But so is Dell, and so is
Sony and so is Lenovo. The competition is ever-increasing in the laptop segments. Dell
has introduced some beautiful models over the years including the Alien-ware model. So,

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 although Apple as a brand is loved by everyone, MacBook is facing stiff competition
from other brands as well.
 Ipod being replaced by smartphone- Smartphones replacing Ipod – In 2014, Ipod
suffered a major decline of 52% in its sale over 2013. Overall, Smartphones have
replaced music players altogether because of the various ways that you can utilise music
and carry it around. Hence the functionality of Ipod is no more unique. (Other “Only
music players” are also finding it hard to exist in the market).

Moreover, rising labor costs involving contract manufacturers, such as those in China, reduce
profit margins or push selling prices even higher. Based on the external strategic factors in
this SWOT analysis, Apple Inc.’s performance could suffer because of aggressive
competition and imitation of product design.

SWOT Analysis of Apple Inc. – Recommendations

The internal and external factors discussed in this SWOT analysis indicate that Apple Inc.
possesses major strengths to effectively address organizational weaknesses. The company can
also use these strengths to exploit opportunities, such as the expansion of its distribution

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network. Moreover, the company can use its strong brand image and rapid innovation processes
to successfully develop and launch new product lines. However, Apple faces the significant
threats of aggressive competition and imitation, which are major challenges affecting players in
the global market for consumer electronics, computer hardware and software, and online digital
content distribution services.

Based on the strategic issues highlighted in this SWOT analysis of Apple Inc., a recommendation
is to continue the aggressive and rapid innovation involved in developing the company’s
products. Such innovation reduces the adverse effects of imitation on revenues. Also, it is
recommended that the company further enhance the automation of its production processes, and
support the automation of its contract manufacturers, as a way of addressing the rising labor
costs involving Apple product manufacturers. Another recommendation is to establish
partnerships with more distributors to improve the overall market reach of the company’s
distribution network.

References

 Apple Inc.’s Website.

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 Zaczkiewicz, A. (2016) “Amazon, Wal-Mart Lead Top 25 E-commerce Retail List”

Available at: http://wwd.com/business-news/financial/amazon-walmart-top-ecommerce-
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