The death of Mr Genius and the rise of Mr Supply Chain

The news of Steve Jobs death on 5th October was hard to bear - only because he has been an idol to people like me for so many years. I still remember vividly my first time encounter with the Macintosh when I saw the 3 year-old son of my friend using the Mac as if he was a computer expert in 1992. Since then, I was a convert and believe that Apple will one day overwhelmed the world with the way it make technology simple for people to use.

Alas, I was wrong then as PC began to dominate the technology world. I even have to give up my precious Mac Powerbook when I worked in companies which runs on 'exchange servers" and was explicitly told then that "Mac is dead".

When Steve lost his position in Apple after being fired from the board, there was still a slightest hope that he may be back. In 1996, his returned to Apple brought strong rejoicing in the Apple fratenity (and fanatical supporters) that the next decade may be the rise of the Steve/Apple. With his return, the world were then treated to the simplicity of Apple's technological products - such as the iPod, which changes the way we listen to music; the iPhone, which changes the way we view a smartphone and the iPad, which changes the way we work. His revitalization of the Macintosh machines created a new group of users gaining loyal supporters such as celebrities and businessmen.

But to attribute the entirety of Apple's success to just Steve alone is also to simplify too much into the working of the economic world. Tim Cook, the less flamboyant partner of Steve, joined Apple in 1998 and was credited with the biggest transformation of the company - the supply chain.

When Tim joined Apple, it was still running its own factories in California, Ireland and Singapore. Tim closed Apple's factories and outsourced all manufacturing to a network of suppliers in Asia. Inventories decreased to 60 days, then to 30 days, then to the just-in-time model. Tim's supply chain strategies have revolved around reducing inventory levels to increase margins. He's been able to do this by pulling Apple out of the manufacturing business and choosing to invest its capital on manufacturing partners, who in turn give Apple exclusive deals for the best electronic components.

Steve's obsession with details met his match in Tim's ability to "simplify" the complexities of Supply Chain to him. Without Tim, Steve's vision of bringing technology may not be as effective or profitable as it is today.

However, we are not here to take the credit away from the geniuses of Steve Jobs. Just to put the world that he has created in perspective. His life and his ability to turn things around is best summarize in one of the various sayings attributed to his maverick style:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Think Different, narrated by Steve Jobs

I will miss his keynotes and product launches from now on, especially his "...and one more thing" - the famous line whereby he introduces a new surprise before he ends his speech.

To Steve, thanks for making the world a simpler place with your creation. May you rest in peace.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Paul Lim
Founder/President