Apple Computer is buying more computer components from companies in Taiwan than ever before and is targeting to spend around US$5 billion on IT products in the country next year, so says a report Monday in the Taipei Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN).
EDN reported Apple is expected to purchase about $4 billion in Taiwan this year, or about 40% of its overall revenue. If the $5 billion target for 2005 holds true, it would be a jump of about 25% in spending in Taiwan.
To cope with the increased business in the region, EDN reported Apple will increase the number of employees in its Taiwan-based procurement office from 20 people three years ago to 100. The company has also changed the name from the Asia Procurement Office to the Apple Procurement Office, the paper said.
The Taipei-based division of Apple is the imiddle-mani between its corporate offices and dvelopment in Cupertino, Calif. and independent manufacturers throughout the country. When Apple decides to produce a product, its procurement team finds, researches and negotiates deals with companies to provide the best possible components such as displays, hard drives, switches and microprocessors at a competitive price. While the team is comprised of highly-experienced engineers who know product, former Apple engineers have told The Mac Observer that very often designers and buyers from the United States are brought into the picture once a manufacturer is found to finalize deals and follow the product development process from start to finish, if necessary.