The Apple (AAPL) iPhone may face shortages of four to eight weeks at it's June 29th launch. This is according to Dr. Simon Croom of the Supply Chain Mangement Institute as told to ZDNet. Croom has indicated that the company might face strains since it's components are of a global nature.
From ZDNet, quoting Croom:
"My view about the fulfillment and supply chain challenges of the iPhone are as follows:
Launching any product, especially one so hyped, means that the main task is ensuring sufficient supplies are available across the US market on launch. Undoubtedly there will be shortages, service issues and challenges for call centers set upto support users. Depending on reliability of the product, there may also be a rapid ramp up in returns and warranty claims. Using a global supply chain will likely cause more of a problem 4 – 8 weeks into the ‘first season’ of the launch.
Pressure will also be felt for AT&T in terms of sales support – in particular trade ins, impact on the sales of other phones and customer’s expectations from a ‘revolutionary’ new product.
The bottom line is that the launch of the iPhone is a high risk supply chain challenge."
