Apple has supposedly widened its supply chain so that it doesn’t have to rely on a small number of manufacturing partners.
According to reports, Apple has asked Compal Electronics and Wistron to join its supply chain, and will be slotting them in amongst orders with existing partners.
The move shouldn’t be a total surprise – issues with supply have certainly been more noticeable in recent years. A relatively small number of Watch pre-orders will reach customers on what was the official launch date of April 24. Elsewhere, the iPhone 6 Plus wasn’t in rich supply last year.
Other issues caused by a restricted supply chain is that certain parts or technologies can’t be included at all. An example of this was the sapphire glass displays which were widely reported to be in place for the iPhone 6, but due to problems with GT Advanced Technologies, were unable to be used.
Furthermore, it could save Apple money – having more companies in the supply chain could encourage them to undercut others to maintain a higher order ratio.
Either way, Apple’s diversification should help users to get new products faster in the future.