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| Apple accidentally pushed production out of China |
Apple recently began accelerating the move of some manufacturing outside of China, telling its supply chain partners that it plans to ramp up assembly in India and Vietnam.
In recent years, China has been the preferred manufacturing base for many of Apple's leading companies, but Apple is also considering certification and plans to start production in other regions. What is happening now in China seems to be moving his plans faster than originally expected.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday in a report, citing people familiar with the matter, that Apple has begun to accelerate plans to move some production elsewhere, and has told suppliers it plans to move elsewhere in Asia, particularly in India and Vietnam, to gather more. efficiency.
Apple has indicated it will reduce its reliance on Foxconn factories as strict China policies enforce closures in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, along with disruptions at Foxconn's ailing Jingzhou factory, the largest maker of iPhone Pro mobile phones. Apple will have to look elsewhere for a replacement.
But things are not as simple as you might imagine, as it is expected that it will take Apple about eight years to move less than 10% of its manufacturing outside of China, although the company already has manufacturing centers in Vietnam, China and India.
The difficulty is that Apple requires a process called new product introduction, which requires Apple teams to work with contractors to turn product designs and prototypes into complete manufacturing plans. And for China, where suppliers and production engineers are dense, the process is simpler for Apple.
For production in other countries, Apple had to expand the new product launch process, and with global employment and economic downturns, it is difficult to recruit employees and suppliers to manage the new national operation.
However, Apple's long-term goal is to ship 40% to 45% of its iPhones from India, up from just 9% currently. Meanwhile, Vietnam is expected to produce more new products such as AirPods, Apple Watch and MacBook.