Impressive how Apple handled the “crisis” of late delivery due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic globally

Apple is known for its ability to manage a supply chain, an important part that is quite methodical and innovative. According to The Information , Apple has spent a lot of money on delays due to the impact of the pandemic. And the ways that Apple has applied so far have been quite successful.

Specifically, Apple has leased more shipping containers, even its own jets, and shipped it with specially designed iPad containers.

It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on global supply chains, causing serious delays in shipping operations. This leads to many firms having to choose other logistics solutions that are slower but nonetheless ensure delivery to all markets.

For Apple, the Covid-19 pandemic caused Apple to have to ship AirPods over the sea for the first time. In addition, the company has chosen to ship slowly on some older iPhone orders by sea because their delivery times are less important than newer iPhone models.

More recently, Apple has also introduced air delivery for iPhone 12 shipments.

In November, Apple also faced problems with shipping products by sea. A large transport ship originating from China to California, USA was overturned, causing more than 1.8 thousand containers to sink into the sea. And most likely many of those containers contain shipments of Beats headphones and many other products.

A source close to Apple’s logistics team said that in February last year, Apple’s distribution center in Singapore ran out of containers because it could not respond to the surging iPad orders from China . This is due to the sudden increase in demand for using remote learning devices due to the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic.

While most of the cases specifically designed for the iPad are made mainly in China. Therefore, the only solution to avoid delays and affect customers’ psychology is to quickly export the shipments of containers being stored in a warehouse in the US.

Renting a plane for cargo is the most expensive solution. However, Apple is sometimes very flexible when choosing this solution to free up customer needs. Apple is said to have leased 200 private jets to transport the devices by 2020. The company was forced to do so after its delivery partners were nearly overloaded. The company rarely leases too many private jets to carry cargo, but the year 2020 is a special exception.

Accordingly, Apple also uses retail stores in the US and Canada as distribution centers. Apple’s solution is to allow courier partners like FedEx and UPS to take shipments directly from Apple retail stores and ship them to nearby customers. This has helped Apple cut shipping times and reduce the burden on delivery partners.

Refer to iPhonehacks