Gateway Vs Apple

1.
Why did Gateway choose not to carry any finished-product inventory at its
retail stores? Why did Apple choose to carry inventory at its stores?
Because Gateway's main focus is to help consumers choose the configuration of the
computer that suits their needs. The large number of configuration options offered by
Gateway makes the Gateway product range more than the Apple computer products so
that if all configuration stock is provided in store, it will cost a lot of production and
inventory handling, and the risk of not being sold out will be very large because of
electronic products like a computer has a life cycle that tends to be short in accordance
with rapid technological development. It will be easier, faster, and economical for
Gateway to produce directly at the factory when there is an order from the consumer.
While Apple is more focused on computers and electronic devices for everyday use
(everyday use), which is much in demand and needed by consumers. Low product variety
choices make it easy for Apple to be able to stock finished goods in each of their stores.
This then affects the level of responsiveness of Apple to consumers so that Apple retail
stores sell well by buyers.
2.Should a firm with an investment in retail stores carry any finished-goods
inventory? What are the characteristics of products that are most suitable to
be carried in finished-goods inventory? What characterizes products that
are best manufactured to order?
A company that has a retail store does not necessarily have to keep a stock of finished
goods, depending on the type of goods. The types of items that are suitable for stock in
retail stores are types of fast-moving items (quickly sold, cheap prices) or goods that
consumers need quickly, such as food. Because the advantage of having a retail store is
that it is closer to the consumer, so that consumers can more quickly obtain the desired
goods in addition to minimizing the cost of shipping goods.
Whereas the most suitable for manufactured to order is the type of slow-moving items,
low demand, or which can be configured according to the wishes of consumers such as
cars, hardware, and computers.
3.How does product variety affect the level of inventory a retail store must
carry?
he less variety of products, the easier and cheaper it is to store stock in stores because the
goods produced to cover availability in all branches owned by the company will be less
than those with a large variety of products. This saves expenses in terms of transportation
and inventory handling for each branch of the store.
In the case of Gateway and Apple, this is very influential because the goods they sell are
electronic products whose production costs are not cheap and the selling price is expensive.
With a greater variety of Gateway products than Apple, direct production at the factory
makes it easy for Gateway to meet demand according to consumer configurations.
But this will be different for fast-moving items such as instant noodles. Despite having a
large variety (taste, fried or soup variants), instant noodles are still sold through retail
stores because these products are sold quickly, often required by consumers, and the
production costs are not as high as producing one unit of Apple computers.
4.Is a direct selling supply chain without retail stores always less expensive than a
supply chain with retail stores?
Transportation costs from Direct Shipping are higher because the distance to consumers is
relatively further. Goods sent also use a special package that has a more expensive shipping
cost per unit.
Whereas in Retail Storage Inventory costs are higher because they have to produce a lot of
goods in accordance with the number of stores that want to be supplied. Facilities and
handling costs are higher because each store or warehouse adds maintenance costs,
moreover, if the stock is not sold out. The costs of procuring information systems also tend
to be higher because they have to integrate all existing branch and warehouse stores with
the main factory or company.In conclusion, to find out which is more profitable for the
company, there are many factors that must be considered, cannot judge from the
distribution network method alone, but must be adjusted to what goods / products to sell,
what are the characteristics of the goods and what are the main objectives of the company
in providing goods to the market.
5.What factors explain the success of Apple retail and the failure of Gateway country
stores?
The decision taken by Gateway in designing their retail store network system is not right
because Gateway should be able to take advantage of the benefits of having a retail store
by supplying some finished goods. The cost of procuring stores throughout America alone
costs a lot, unfortunately it is only used for services, there is no in-store shopping. To save
on production costs, not all Gateway products are available in stores, just products with
standard configurations for everyday needs and high demand Gateway products. Gateway
cannot adapt to changes in the computer market and does not dare to try new innovations
in marketing its products.While Apple learned from their mistakes when they first
launched the G4 product in 1999. At that time Apple could not fulfill the soaring orders
due to the slow responsiveness of their consumer handling (SCM Chopra 4th ed,
pageWith product design as their main strength, Apple is meeting the high demands of
American society with good supply chain management. Products with very high demand
such as iPodTM, iPadTM, and MacBook TM standard configurations are always available
in stores so consumers can easily and quickly get them. Over time, Apple products are
increasingly popular, this causes demand for Apple products to be more stable so that
profits from the production process increase and are more easily predicted.All high-tech
items generally have a short product life-cycle. When a new model product is launched,
margins will be high but the level of demand is very uncertain. When this happens, what
is needed is supply chain management with high responsiveness (SCM Chopra
4th ed, page 51). This is what Apple did

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