Apple's Supply Chain Secret

Re:Apple's Supply Chain Secret by MichaelApproved on Friday November 04, 2011 @07:28AM (#3195645)

"Each machine typically goes for about $250,000. Apple convinced the seller to sign an exclusivity agreement and has since bought hundreds of them[...]"

That's ~$25 million for just 100 of those lasers. If they bought hundreds of them, that means they paid tens of millions or even over $100 million just for that light effect.

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Re:Apple's Supply Chain Secret by huxley on Friday November 04, 2011 @09:04AM (#3195866)

Apple sold 16.8 million Macs just this year, so at $100 million for 400 laser system, Apple could pay them all off entirely in 2011 by adding $5.95 to the cost per Mac.

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Re:Apple's Supply Chain Secret by WiseWeasel on Friday November 04, 2011 @07:41PM (#3198227)

Note the word "typically". It is likely Apple got a volume discount if they're buying in those quantities, and especially if they're paying up-front to cover the R&D for the modifications they needed.

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Re:Apple's Supply Chain Secret by thematt on Friday November 04, 2011 @11:37AM (#3196427)

Maybe just for the light effect at first, but I'm sure that has sparked lots of new ideas on how to leverage them.

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