How did Apple manage to have such a great inventory management?
Tim Cook’s mantra was from the very beginning to slash inventory, cut down on warehouses and make suppliers compete between themselves.
"When Cook initially took over Apple's supply chain, he cut down the number of component suppliers from 100 to 24, forcing companies to compete for Apple's business," writes San Oliver from Apple Insider, "He [Cook] also shut down 10 of the 19 Apple warehouses to limit overstocking, and by September of 1998 inventory [stock on hand] was down from a month to only six days.