
 Apple Supplier List – Top 200 [pdf] - fermienrico
https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/pdf/Apple-Supplier-List.pdf
======
fermienrico
There is so much information here. It is interesting to see how these
suppliers look like something you'd find on Alibaba. Given how massive these
companies must be (despite of how they appear to be), I doubt if they'd answer
to low volume inquiries.

I found the guys that make Apple's USB cables: Cheng Uei Precision Industry
Co., Ltd. (Foxlink) [http://www.foxlink.com/web/en/portfolio-item/usb-
cable/#1474...](http://www.foxlink.com/web/en/portfolio-item/usb-
cable/#1474880269882-4b38d309-c778)

iPhone boxes!? Brilliant International Group Ltd [http://www.brilliant-
group.com/products_electronic/](http://www.brilliant-
group.com/products_electronic/)

Sim card trays: Chengdu Homin Technology Co., Ltd.
[http://www.cnhomin.com/](http://www.cnhomin.com/)

Watch/Camera glass: Biel Crystal Manufactory Ltd
[http://www.bielcrystal.com/](http://www.bielcrystal.com/)

iPhone Haptics/Speakers module: AAC Technologies Holdings Inc.
[https://www.aactechnologies.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&...](https://www.aactechnologies.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=lists&catid=21)

Then you come across something truly extraordinary: Catcher
[http://www.catcher.com.tw/technology.aspx](http://www.catcher.com.tw/technology.aspx)

Catcher has a market cap of 7 Billion USD. They own and operate 18,000 CNC
machines, the largest fleet of CNC machines in the world. This is probably
where iPhone case and Macbook Unibody is manufactured.

Edit: I found a video of Catcher:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UknhWoL6GWQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UknhWoL6GWQ)
Edit: Tons of information on Catcher

~~~
Cthulhu_
I read an article a while ago (probably via HN) about why Apple probably
wouldn't switch to making ceramic phone cases - they've invested so much in
CNC machines, basically occupying a CNC manufacturer's entire production for
years. I mean milling a million phone cases A DAY. Those are scales I just
can't imagine.

~~~
rconti
I was wondering the other day, at what point these huge product launches make
life more difficult for Apple and their suppliers vs the positive benefit
(community attention, PR, etc).

You release, say, a new phone today, for sale today. It costs $800. You will
keep making and selling the same device for the next 364 days (at least). Over
the next year, the parts become less expensive because newer technology is
always coming out. So it makes sense for the buyer to pay $800 for it today
versus $800 for it in 364 days when we are 1 day away from the release of
something incrementally better for the exact same cost.

In order to have large enough supply to satisfy the Day 1 demand, you have
probably been producing and stockpiling the item for weeks, which has all
kinds of inventory and storage costs. For the next month or three you can
produce flat out to (try to) satisfy demand, but there is a backlog for
awhile, which, at least in theory, harms demand/customer experience. Then,
once you process the backlog, you have to scale back capacity for the next
(say) 9 months, until a new product comes out.

Now, of course, there are good things about this. You can probably produce
products flat-out for 4 months. You get huge internet-wide buzz, much to the
dismay of those who hate hearing about nothing but Apple's Magical (TM) new
products for a week or two before and after the Big Reveal. You get PR all
over the internet and newspapers and TV. Some demand is almost certainly
induced by the sense that if you don't buy on day 1, you might have to wait
some unknown amount of time before supply catches up with demand.

So, I don't know, but I'm really curious about all of the considerations taken
when making decisions like this.

------
CaliforniaKarl
Wow, this is an interesting list!

I picked one of the 3M addresses at random (the one in Medina, Ohio), and 3M
has a web site listing the categories of stuff produced there:
[https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/plant-locations-
us/medina/](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/plant-locations-us/medina/)

(It would be cool if each supplier was required to post this sort of info, to
really get a feel for how much physical plant it takes to make/build/assemble
certain things.)

So I'm guessing that each address on the list is an address that either ships
parts to Apple (or to an Apple rep or manufacturer, like Foxconn), or is an
address that receives stuff on behalf of Apple (for example, to do assembly).

That would also be an awesome visualization: A map showing things moving from
supplier to sub-assembler to assembler to distributor to store to customer.

~~~
btian
Why would it be required?

Now you know where to rob labels and adhesives. It would massively increase
security cost, and risk of getting contaminated products.

That's why most companies keep locations of their data centers top secret.

------
markovbot
Why did they post this? Is there any larger context to this list? Is this a
routine thing? Do other companies post this? I've never seen something like
this published, although I haven't really gone looking...

~~~
fermienrico
Refer to: [https://www.apple.com/supplier-
responsibility/](https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/)

They are publishing their audit results and environmental impact assessment
which is where I found the supplier list. I am actually really impressed with
their GSM team - they've done a really thorough job. I am not sure if others -
Microsoft, Samsung, Google, etc are doing the same or publishing their
results.

Kudos to Apple, seriously amazing.

~~~
wickedwiesel
For this kind of information you can look at rankabrand.com

> 9\. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers that
> have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume?

Microsoft, "Microsoft provides a list of its top 100 supply chain partners.",
[2]

Samsung, "Samsung does not provide a list of direct suppliers"

HP, "HP publishes a list of suppliers that represents over 95% of its
production supplier spend.", [3], HP even discloses what type of product they
procure and how many workers work on HP manufacturing lines

[1] - [https://rankabrand.org/electronics/Apple#detailed-
report](https://rankabrand.org/electronics/Apple#detailed-report)]

[2] - [http://bit.ly/1EWC6XW](http://bit.ly/1EWC6XW)]

[3] -
[http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=c03728...](http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=c03728062)

edit: formatting

------
showjackyang
Interestingly, a lot of companies listed in China are actually Taiwanese
companies having their manufacture processes in China. If certain company have
locations in both countries, I think it's very likely a Taiwanese company.

~~~
mschuster91
How does this work anyway? China doesn't recognize Taiwan as independent state
and breaks up diplomatic ties with those states that do.

~~~
ElBarto
Likewise Taiwan formally does not recognise the People's Republic. Both sides
see themselves as the rightful Chinese government (especially [only?] when the
Kuomintang is in power in Taipei).

What happens is both sides have special procedures to deal with each others
which allow to control and enable travel and trade without recognising the
other side's claims while recognising people as Chinese, not foreigners.

~~~
dbllxr
> Both sides see themselves as the rightful Chinese government

Tricky subject here. The statement might sound true but has very very
different sentiments on both sides.

For the Chinese gov., Taiwan is a province of China, "the rightful Chinese
government" extends its jurisdiction over all Chinese territories, including
Taiwan. However, from Taiwan's perspective, Taiwan and mainland China have two
different governments (the stress is on "Taiwan is not part of China", not
there is only one rightful Chinese gov,). In fact, if you ask anyone in Taiwan
today, they are more likely to refer to the island as Taiwan (instead of
"Republic of China") and themselves Taiwanese.

~~~
ElBarto
The formal position is the same on both sides.

When dealing with legal matters (like travelling or trading) this is what
counts.

------
uptown
If you happen to have access to a Bloomberg terminal, the SPLC command gives
you similar (though less comprehensive) info for whatever company you’re
looking at.

~~~
gniv
Where do they get the data? Third party research?

~~~
plumeria
Probably in a similar way to Panjiva:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjiva#Data](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjiva#Data)

------
mark_element
One small error on the list: The Chemours Company 7685 Kiln-DeLisle Road, Pass
Christian, Massachusetts, USA

That should actually be Mississippi not Massachusetts. It is probably the
source for the white pigment used in many Apple products as it is one of the
largest TiO2 plants in the world.

------
fipple
Why did Apple share this? Is it a legal requirement?

~~~
saagarjha
For backing up their supplier responsibility claims, I'd imagine.

~~~
k5hp
Was it only in reaction to recent criticism or does Apple release their
supplier list yearly?

~~~
nneonneo
It looks like they've been doing it since at least 2012:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/technology/apple-
releases...](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/technology/apple-releases-
list-of-its-suppliers-for-the-first-time.html)

------
ttflee
A quick count of occurrences of region names (might not be exhaustive):

China 358

Japan 137

USA 66

Taiwan 54

Korea 35

Vietnam 22

Philippines 17

Malaysia 17

Thailand 16

Singapore 14

Germany 11

Indonesia 6

India 6

Brazil 5

Czech 3

Israel 3

Mexico 3

France 3

Austria 3

Belgium 3

Netherlands 3

UK 2

Italy 1

Ireland 1

Norway 1

Costa Rica 1

~~~
currycurry16
I made a map:
[https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0N2SZ/1/](https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0N2SZ/1/)

~~~
ttflee
Most of the China based suppliers are located to the east of Heihe-tengchong
line[1], i.e. the east half of China.

[1]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heihe–Tengchong_Line](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heihe–Tengchong_Line)

~~~
avar
As the Wikipedia article you linked to points out 96% of China's population
lives east of that line, it would be really odd if most of Apple's suppliers
weren't also east of the line.

~~~
ttflee
If you break these numbers down further to city level, most of them are near
the coastline.

~~~
NamTaf
Naturally; the coastline was the location of major trade ports, and major
trade ports are where business grows. It's no coincidence that the Chinese
special economic zones all sit around the coast.

------
jjeaff
It would be interesting to see Apple take a page from Walmart and require all
their large suppliers to have an office near their headquarters.

Walmart revenues are around double that of apple, but they likely have a lot
more suppliers and much lower spend per supplier than apple.

------
ssobczak
I made an interactive map with all the suppliers here:
[https://ssobczak.github.io/apple_suppliers/analyze_suppliers...](https://ssobczak.github.io/apple_suppliers/analyze_suppliers.html)

Repository with the code and a CSV containing all the suppliers geolocated is
here:
[https://github.com/ssobczak/apple_suppliers](https://github.com/ssobczak/apple_suppliers)

------
omarforgotpwd
I bet you could make a decent return building a stock robot that just bought /
sold all of these every year based on whether they appear on the list.

~~~
fooker
The returns will be more or less correlated to Apple stock, which is easier to
get into and have significantly more volume if you want to play with options.

~~~
hrktb
I'm not sure that small '3M' company is that tightly bound to Apple stock.

Joking aside, a lot of the supplier listed her don't seem to be the main
branch, but the exact branch supplying Apple. So the company stock should
really not be that tied to a specific vendor.

In particular considering that if something were to happen to Apple, any other
hardware manufacturer could take the opportunity to contract them, making it
neutral.

~~~
fooker
One small company is not, all 200 taken together, almost surely.

------
gpmcadam
Is this a list of suppliers of hardware only? As in, it doesn't seem to
contain things like marketing companies or software contractor suppliers?

------
simplegeek
Do you know how to find such lists for Microsoft, Amazon or Google? I tried
finding one for Google but quick Google search didn't find anything.

------
kulu2002
Thanks! Interesting share. So many Chinese suppliers

------
reaperducer
I wish there was a spreadsheet version of this.

~~~
killjoywashere
If there's value in it, and there is, I garuntee there are a dozen people who
have, as of the writing of this comment, already produced such spreadsheets.

Perhaps what you want is for one of those to be publicly acessible?

~~~
gpmcadam
Wasn't that implied?

~~~
killjoywashere
Of course, but if it was public, that would decrease the value of any
individual's pain-stakingly produced copy. Maybe try open-sourcing it on a
Google Sheet?

------
avar
It would be great if someone copied all of these into a custom map on Google
Maps so it could be browsed interactively.

~~~
ssobczak
I made the map here:
[https://ssobczak.github.io/apple_suppliers/analyze_suppliers...](https://ssobczak.github.io/apple_suppliers/analyze_suppliers.html)

Repository with extraction code and a CSV with all the suppliers geolocated is
here:
[https://github.com/ssobczak/apple_suppliers](https://github.com/ssobczak/apple_suppliers)

------
londons_explore
They don't license anything from synaptics? Sounds unlikely...

------
PascLeRasc
I'm surprised Gigabyte isn't on this list. From Hackintosh forums it seems
like a lot of their motherboards are Gigabyte-made, or for some reason are
incredibly similar to Gigabyte boards.

~~~
95014_refugee
Definitely not. Any similarities are more likely to be a consequence of the
limited options you have designing an Intel-based system in the first place.

------
graycrow
Interesting, they listed BYD Co., Ltd. there. BYD is one of the largest
Chinese automobile manufacturer. It must be somehow related to the Apple car
or development of self-driving software.

~~~
rmoriz
No. BYD is neither one of the largest car makers of China nor does this imply
cars at all. If you buy an electric toothbrush at German drug store „dm“ for
€20 and rip it apart, you‘ll find a BYD li-ion battery.
[https://imgur.com/gallery/kp6eULc](https://imgur.com/gallery/kp6eULc)

BYD batteries are everywhere.

~~~
dmix
> BYD is neither one of the largest car makers of China

Off-topic note: BYD used to be the largest Chinese passenger car maker in
2008-2013 but has declined significantly in recent years compared to
competition. It's still #1 for EV car sales global though (Chinese bought 4x
more EVs than US).

[1] [http://carsalesbase.com/china-car-sales-
data/byd/](http://carsalesbase.com/china-car-sales-data/byd/)

------
nodesocket
Who is the supplier of OLED screens?

~~~
theodorton
Samsung

~~~
nodesocket
Interesting, I thought it was Universal Display Corp ($OLED).

~~~
fermienrico
UDG sells IP.

~~~
jmiller099
udc also supplies phosphorescent emitter materials manufactured by ppg.

------
yohann305
anyone here good with the stock market and would know how to leverage this
list?

~~~
giarc
This info is already known, and therefore already priced into those companies
stock price.

------
trengrj
Is it telling that supermicro is not on this list?

~~~
fermienrico
They stopped doing business with them in 2015. This report is for 2017.

~~~
djrogers
Small nit - 2016*

[1] [https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/10/what-businessweek-
got...](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/10/what-businessweek-got-wrong-
about-apple/)

------
choonway
I am just wondering about the countries which are NOT on that list.

~~~
mtmail
What are you implying? Spain and Sweden is not on the list for example.

~~~
jchb
Yes, the list doesn't tell the full story, because it only lists suppliers of
"materials, manufacturing, and assembly". That is it doesn't include, for
example, software suppliers and patent licenses. Ericsson, which is a
multinational with headquarters in Sweden, has a network technologies patent
license deal with Apple.

~~~
InitialLastName
I'll bet that's related to the stuff they get from ST Micro (which used to be
part of Ericsson)

------
tw1010
Feels like Apple are really are taking the "You never let a serious crisis go
to waste" quote to heart.

