Apple Inc.: Sustainability, Business, and Responsibility

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LT5078 Sustainability, Business and Responsibility
001 Case study report
The case study of [insert the name of your case study here]
Student ID: [insert your ID number here – remember do not add your name!]
Due date: 23/05/2023
Academic Year: 2022/23
Word count: [add the word count here] words

Table of Contents
Executive summary. 3
Case study presentation: [insert name of the company] 3
Key global sustainability challenges for ……. industry. 4
The impact of key sustainability challenges on [insert name of the company] 5
Sustainability-related commercial risks and opportunities for [insert name of the company] 6
Business case for incorporating sustainability further into [insert name of the company] business strategy  7
Bibliography. 8

Executive summary
Since its founding, Apple Inc. has become one of the most renowned companies globally. The company has been known for manufacturing, designing, and selling gadgets like iPhone, Mac computer, iPad, and iPod (Naik, 2018, 70). Moreover, it has produced outstanding software such as the Mac OS X operative system. This company has grown because it has capitalized on how the market depends on technology, thereby gaining dominance in the computing market by boosting the current technology. The company has been known to sell its products to the upper and middle-class market, who value its features more than the cost incurred. Apple Inc. has created the demand for new products by applying pervasive transformative innovation. The company has been enjoying market dominance in the United States and other parts of the world. Even though it has maintained dominance in the market, its growth is highly dependent on how the new technology will be developed in the new market.
Despite its success, Apple Inc. has not yet shown multinational flexibility. Maintaining this rigidity could make the company lose its leadership position. The company should therefore employ different measures which could help it easily penetrate emerging markets to make its different products effectively aligned with the demand and buying power of the local customer. Even though various international growth opportunities exist in the company, the main one involves iPhone. However, for this growth to happen, there are some restrictions that the company has to remove. For example, the company has to open its software outside its hardware since it has been the main reason which has made Android reach a wider market.
On the other hand, if the company fails to address the middle and bottom pyramid market’s needs, it will struggle in new market penetrating and scaling. Furthermore, Apple Inc. should employ different models from low to high-end, which will help it have a competitive advantage in the emerging market. For instance, the company can leverage its core capabilities by creating frugal innovations. It can offer its software to emerging markets if it is not ready to follow this route. This move will help the company to penetrate the market at low risk, with a wider reach, while having low costs to the end consumer. The company should employ caution when employing this procedure, where it should only target the emerging markets to prevent loss of sits hardware sales in the already developed markets. These measures could boost the company's competitive advantage, helping it maintain its leadership position.
Case study presentation: Apple Inc.
Over the years, Apple Inc. has had outstanding expansion. Apple Inc. is at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, United States. From having one store in the USA, the company has grown to boost its retail locations. For instance, the company has 510 stores in 25 countries globally (Mukul and Kundu, 2021, 17). Apple Inc. has succeeded in expanding in different markets mainly because of its methods.
Apple Inc. has one of the most outstanding supply chains, allowing it to efficiently and quickly source any material or part that it requires from any part of the world and deliver it to its factories. Rather than performing all the functions independently, the company has many distinct partners such as suppliers, logistics companies, and manufacturers who offer constant company information, which helps it to maintain outstanding quality and standards. Moreover, the company collaborates with suppliers to adhere to its manufacturing schedules and deadlines. For example, it has two aluminium suppliers to help develop an outstanding carbon-free aluminium smelting process (Vuddaraju, 2022, 19). The company is also collaborating with logistics partners, which helps it to manage its supply chain while organizing the parts and supplies and offering supporting inventory management efforts. The company also uses ERP and SCM systems to manage and track inventory levels, preventing surplus or material shortages.
Like other companies, Apple employs B2B and B2C business models. For instance, some companies are using Apple IOS to run its program. For example, Futron Inc. and The North Face use the Apple IOS. Furthermore, due to its outstanding performance, different companies are using Mac computers in their daily activities. For instance, one of the greatest companies, such as IBM, uses Macs (Matyszczyk, 2019). The company is also selling the products to some intermediary companies, which sell them to the final customers. In addition to selling its products to the companies, it sells them directly to the consumers. There are many instances where the company sells its products directly to its customers through stores in different countries or online orders.
Key global sustainability challenges for Consumer Electronics Industry
1 One of the common sustainability challenges that have negatively affected the consumer electronics industry is poverty in some parts of the world (United Nations, 2020). Even though some parts of the world have greatly developed, others are still lagging. For instance, in some regions, people die of hunger after failing to secure food. Despite these individuals wanting to purchase these products, they cannot purchase them due to a lack of finances. This instance limits the market for the individuals that can purchase these products. Some companies in the industry are even forced to invent cheaper gadgets to incorporate this market. Even though this move will attract more customers, there are other instances where it reduces the profit margin of the company and the industry as a whole.
2 The other sustainability challenge facing the consumer electronics industry is the lack of affordable, sustainable, reliable, and modern energy in some areas. Most of the daily activities that we are currently having are dependent on whether people have reliable and affordable energy. For instance, to effectively use most electronics, the customers need to be in a place served by reliable and affordable ele...