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1. The key advantage of releasing a new product during the late-year holiday season is the potential
spike in demand, especially for consumer goods like the iPod. The large seasonal “bumps” from
the introduction of new generations of products coupled with the holiday shopping season pose
significant challenges for its supply chain partners since they need to respond quickly to new
requirements. Apple’s business strategy puts a premium on suppliers that can demonstrate
volume flexibility (not to mention, high levels of quality conformance) because Apple sells
considerably fewer iPods from March to September than October to February, and Apple needs
suppliers that can give them varying amounts of product in limited time frames. The match
between supply and demand for the iPhone X is not as good as recent model introductions;
demand far exceeded supply.
2. One example is McDonald’s; their mission statement is as follows: McDonald’s brand mission
is to “be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat.” McDonalds’ worldwide operations have
been aligned around a global strategy called- ‘Plan to Win,’ centering on the five basics of an
exceptional customer experience—People, Products, Place, Price, and Promotion. This is a
useful mission statement because it addresses different functional areas of the company and in
the end focuses on people and the customers’ experience. Their operations and supply chain
strategies are consistent with the mission statement because they execute their worldwide
operations through an interconnected global strategy -.
3. The business strategy and the operation strategies are so interconnected that they can flow both
ways, and core competencies derived within the operations and supply chain areas can be
exploited through broader business strategies. Examples will vary.
4. Strategy experts have long said it’s not what a strategy document may say; it’s what the firm
does that counts. For example, if the strategy document says that the firm will place a premium
on introducing new, innovative products, but the firm’s actual investments are in producing large
quantities of standard products at the lowest possible cost, then it is the pattern of decisions it
makes that set the strategy. The risk of not having an explicit rendering of the firm’s strategy is
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