9781422281222

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The Global Marketplace

I n a one-year period ending in September 2015, Apple sold over 231 million iPhones. While Apple develops the over- all design, the software, and the main operating chip in California, the iPhone is a global product. The device is a col- lection of materials and labor from around the world. Apple has 785 iPhone suppliers (companies that make or assemble parts) in thirty countries. Most of these are in Asia. The Asian continent hosts 662 companies that manufacture iPhone parts and assemble the final devices. Other suppliers are based in the United States (sixty), Canada (one), and Europe (forty-three). A few more suppliers are scattered across Central America, Africa, and the Middle East. Apple uses a complex global supply chain . The company sources materials, manufactures parts, and assembles products wherever the cost is lowest. The rare-earth minerals used in

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