Apple Inc’s Core Issues and Strategic Planning

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Table of Contents

Core Issues Facing Apple
Significance of the Issues Facing Apple
Primary and Secondary Issues
Most Substantial Competitive Advantage Apple to Focus on
How Apple Should Exploit their Competitive Advantage
Reference

Core Issues Facing Apple

Despite Apple Inc. recording spectacular growth and profitability in recent years, the company still faces a number of challenges.

Some of these challenges include increased competition, maintaining its position in the market, dynamic technology, and the challenge of resource allocation between the traditional products and the emerging products such as iPods, Apple TV and iPods. The company also has to handle issues relating to its retailing approaches to enhance the company’s product decision (Richard Ivey School of Business, 2009).

Significance of the Issues Facing Apple

To this far, the growth and profitability of Apple has been based on competencies such as superior technology, innovative products and empowered employees. The development and design of hardware and software brought sweeping innovations, thus, offering the consumers superior products rich in value. From Apple 1, the company was able to develop different brand products such as the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes.

Hence innovation has been a key competitive advantage for this company. In spite of this, competitors such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Nokia, and Sony are continuously introducing innovative products and applications which rival Apple’s products.

Apple, therefore, has to put up with competition from these companies that provide subsidiary products and services such as Microsoft’s Zune product that is more or less Apple’s iTunes (Richard Ivey School of Business, 2009). This threatens the company’s success and market place. This implies that the company must endeavor to grow its market and maintain its market position.

Primary and Secondary Issues

The primary issues Apple has to face are the stiff competition and the dynamic technological innovations in the business environment. In the technology industry, it has to compete with companies like Nokia and Sony. These competitors often offer products that are low priced, potentially impacting on the value of apple products.

Having diversified on the products it offers, maintaining its competencies is a primary issue that cannot be ignored. Having depended on marketing, innovation and relationships to succeed, Apple must manage the broader products to maintain its wide consumer base. Apple has to place efforts in sustaining brand innovativeness due to the dynamic technological developments.

Secondary issues facing Apple include resource allocation and utilization of retail outlets (Richard Ivey School of Business, 2009). Given the expectations of consumers, the company must focus on strategies that will promote brand exposure, perhaps by expanding the retail outlets and employing more sales staff.

Most Substantial Competitive Advantage Apple to Focus on

Innovation remains the most substantial strategy for Apple. This is particularly pertinent in protecting its brand image and market base. This can be done by maintaining and upgrading the capabilities of products to create entry barriers to the competitors. Investing in its human resource by creating an atmosphere favorable for creativity and innovation is also a core competitive advantage.

Empowered personnel are able to interact well with the consumers hence generating significant input for the design of the brand. This is essential in innovating products that are customized to consumer specifications (Richard Ivey School of Business, 2009).

Physical stores that serve as retail outlets have also strengthened and created brand awareness. These outlets serve as customer care avenues as the sales people help the consumers become conversant with Apple’s products. This grew the market share and increased Apple’s revenue and profit.

How Apple Should Exploit their Competitive Advantage

Apple can apply incremental innovation to enhance the capability of existing products so that to maximize their value and lifespan; and therefore, promoting brand loyalty. Retail stores and online stores serve to increase brand exposure as they act as distribution networks.

The company will focus on opening more retail and online stores in order to exploit the competitive advantage fully. This will be essential in broadening the consumer base and providing support experiences, hence raising market penetration.

Reference

Richard Ivey School of Business (2009). Strategic planning at Apple Inc. Ivey

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