Apple in the PRM blender yet again

Regular readers will recognise that I have been following a Supply Risk Management train of thought for some weeks. Linked with that is a forthcoming debate piece in Public Money and Management - I hope you will find that interesting, particularly those in the public sector.

However, you will also recall that I have been considering the SRM implications for Apple and specifically the iPhone 5 (you can pick you the blog trail here and here). The SRM issues for Apple just don't seem to be going away - today we learn that the Chairman of Foxconn, a strategic supplier, has announced:

"We can't really fulfil Apple's requests. Our shipments are insufficient ... given the huge market demand"

 Shares in Apple have, not surprisingly, fallen!

Meanwhile what will happen with the supply chains and shares of Sony and Nokia?  Have they alternative sources of supply? Who, in the customer pecking order, will Foxconn favour in terms of customer preference?  How will the various buyers, who compete in the marketplace and supply chain, have positioned themselves as preferred customer?  Which of the competitors has best positioned themselves in terms of SRM? While some believe that Foxconn has excess capacity elsewhere, what due diligence was completed on the basis of potential aggregated demand?

This is a fascinating saga which has implications right throughout the mobile technology world, but the lessons learnt should ring out for all CPOs.