Preliminary Research on Apple Company
Start preliminary planning for your strategic plan project.
Assignment Description:
Select from the 3 companies Ford Motor Company, Apple or iRobot which company you plan to write your
strategic plan for and begin your preliminary research on the company background, products, services,
markets serving, key technologies, key manufacturing and operations, financial strength, key
partners�etc.
Parameters:
This assignment is worth 75 points.
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You are to follow APA formatting and style, and the assignment will be graded following the grading rubric
�BU482 Phase 1 and 2 Research Plan Project Work Grading Rubric.�
Phase 1: Preliminary research on Apple Company
Company Background
Apple Company is a multinational corporation based in the United States. Its headquarter
is in California. It is specialized in the development, designing, marketing and selling of
consumer electronics, online services, personal computers and computer software. The company
has managed to create its market niche by producing a dominant hardware which is used in the
Mac product line such as iPod media players, iPad table computers and iPhone smartphones. The
software used to run the Mac hardware is known as the iOS operating systems and the OS X
(David, 2007). The company was founded by three principles; Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and
Steve Wozniak in the year 1976. The company then became incorporated into Apple Computer,
Inc. in 1977 and later renamed to Apple Company Inc. in 2007. The new name reflected the
companies shift in focus to produce a diversified line of consumer electronics. Currently, the
company ranks as the second largest in the IT industry. This rank comes after Samsung
Electronics which has been ranked as the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer.
Products
Apple sales it products via an online store as well as its chain retail stores. Some of its
other products are sold by direct sales force, resellers, value added resellers and third party
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wholesalers (David, 2007). These products include Macintosh, iPods, iPhones and other
compatible hardware products such as storage devices, printers, watches, branded television sets,
headphones, speakers among other computer peripherals and accessories.
Services
The online services provided by Apple Company include iTunes Store, iCloud as well as
an App Store. Apple also manufacturers digital contents which are sold through iTunes Store.
These services include software programs which are sold through the Apple App Store to its
diverse groups of consumers. The iCloud online service has been helpful in syncing a wide range
of data such as contacts, email, documents, calendars and photos. The iCloud also offers backup
storage for iOS.
Customers
Apple has specialized in segmenting, creating market niches and penetrating market
segments. The company has created a blue ocean for its products since, in spite of the high
prices, the company has managed to retain its customers who range from small and mid-sized
businesses, individual consumers, educational institutions, government agencies, creative
customers and enterprises.
Markets serving
Apple Company Inc. serves multinational customers through its 425 chains of retail
stores which are strategically located in 14 countries. The supply chain is facilitated by other
independent sellers.
Key technologies
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The latest technologies by Apple Company Inc. include the iOS 8 which has more than
4000 APIs that lets developers improve the capabilities and features of applications. The
technology enables a deeper integration of iOS thus enabling extended functionality. The
technology has facilitated game development. The iCloud for developer’s technology has
leveraged the full power of building applications through the cloud kit framework. The
developers can now securely and easily store and retrieve essential data on their applications
from an online database.
Key manufacturing and operations
Manufacturing and operations at Apple Inc. are highly innovative thus leading to the
production of innovative products which move through the fast product life-cycle associated with
the IT industry. The company promotes its products through spectacular promotions and
marketing campaigns. The products are of high quality thus they are charged at a premium price.
Financial strength
Apple Company Inc. has the largest market capitalization estimated at $446 billion.
Because of its financial strength, the company has 75,800 full time employees globally and it
enjoyed an annual revenues of $170 billion in 2013. The company is ranked in the top ten of the
Fortune 500 companies. Another ranking by the Inter-brand Best Global Brand have reported
that Apple is the most valuable brand in the world with a value of $118.9 billion.
Key partners
Apple’s key partners include social networking sites developers and programmers such as
Facebook and LinkedIn. These companies have been essential in partnering with Apple in
marketing its products because the company pre-install these applications in their electronic
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gadgets such as the iPhones. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has
been a confidential key partner for Apple Company since it shares with it important data on the
A7 system on chip technology (SoC).
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Reference
David, E. H. (2007). Strategic Management: From Theory to Implementation. New York:
Routledge.
