Mac Pro highlighted Apple manufacturing challenges


A New York Times article goes back to the 2012 launch of the Mac Pro to demonstrate the challenges of large-scale electronic manufacturing in the U.S.A. The article highlights one particular challenge of sourcing special screws that was not a problem in China.

But when Apple began making the $3,000 computer in Austin, Tex., it struggled to find enough screws, according to three people who worked on the project and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements.
In China, Apple relied on factories that can produce vast quantities of custom screws on short notice. In Texas, where they say everything is bigger, it turned out the screw suppliers were not.

The issue wasn't only with screws, but representative of larger challenges of sourcing parts and being able to scale the manpower to solve supply chain problems.

A former Apple manager who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Flextronics team had also been far smaller than what he typically found on similar Apple projects in China. It was unclear exactly why the project was understaffed, the manager said, speculating that it was because American workers were more expensive.

The manager said similar Apple jobs in China would include a roomful of people working to ensure that all materials were in place for production. In Texas, it was one worker, who often seemed overwhelmed, the manager said. As a result, materials were regularly out of place or late, contributing to delays.

I wonder if Apple's problems would have been easier to solve if its designs weren't so customized or perhaps if the product was designed with domestic supplies in mind? It seems clear that the United States can't replicate China's supply chain, so perhaps design products with a different supply chain in mind.