Monday, August 29, 2011

Steve: Who’s Going to Protect Us From Cheap and Mediocre Now? | Monday Note

Excerpt from a Jean-Louis Gassée post

PC clone makers can’t match Apple’s cost or its Bill Of Materials (BOM). The way Apple procures parts and subsystems, the way it runs contract manufacturing and stays on top of complicated but delicate distribution logistics is evidence of the company’s aggressive Supply-Chain Management (SCM). Steve – and thus Apple – understands that the channels need to be fed Just So, neither starved nor stuffed.

I found the BOM story interesting and looked up current ultra-portable prices. Who better than Sony in that product category? I went to their site and got this:

A nice MacBook Air competitor starting at $1969. The real thing starts at $1299.
Quite a reversal of the old world order and, I hope, a source of satisfaction for Jobs.

Steve: Who’s Going to Protect Us From Cheap and Mediocre Now? | Monday Note

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