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Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California. They design, develop and sell consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. The company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart speaker. Apple's software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites, as well as professional applications like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Xcode. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.

Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January 1977, and sales of its computers, including the Apple II, saw significant revenue growth for the company. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak had hired a staff of computer designers and had a production line. Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring innovative graphical user interfaces, and Apple's marketing commercials for its products received widespread critical acclaim. However, the high price tag of its products and limited software titles caused problems, as did power struggles between executives at the company. Eventually, Jobs resigned from Apple and created his own company, NeXT.

As the market for personal computers increased, Apple's computers saw diminishing sales due to lower-priced products from competitors, in particular those offered with the Microsoft Windows operating system. More executive job shuffles happened at Apple until then-CEO Gil Amelio in 1997 decided to buy NeXT to bring Jobs back. Jobs regained position as CEO, and began rebuilding Apple's status, including opening Apple's own retail stores in 2001, making numerous acquisitions of software companies to create a portfolio of software titles, and changing some of the hardware used in its computers. It again saw success and returned to profitability. In January 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would be renamed Apple Inc. to reflect its shifted focus toward consumer electronics. He also announced the iPhone, which saw critical acclaim and significant financial success. In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO, with Tim Cook taking over.

Apple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. In February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at over US$700 billion. The company employs 123,000 full-time employees and maintains 499 retail stores in 22 countries as of December 2017.

Apple Inc.. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

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Type of information systems that are used by Apple

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Type of information systems that are used by Apple

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1) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) :
Apple uses SAP ERP to revolutionize the mobile work experience for enterprise customers of all sizes, combining powerful native apps for iPhone® and iPad® with the cutting-edge capabilities of the SAP HANA platform. This has helped apple to carry out operations more effectively and efficiently.

2) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) :
Apple uses CRM in its customer service departments and this has ranged from sending a series of emails to customers who've used their in-store services, to focus upon assessing the feelings of the customers when they are talking to Apple staff. Within their retail departments, Apple will generally focus upon ensuring that customers have an experience, rather than simply make a purchase.

3) Supply Chain Management (SCM):
Apple’s approach to supply chain management has been one of the main drivers of its success, drawing plaudits for its attention to detail and agility. The key to its success has been its ability to maintain partnerships with third party suppliers. Apple’s resources and close relationships with its partners also allows it to develop the right equipment to make a product after it has been designed, and they often actually invent the equipment with the help of a partner. For example, in 2013, Apple worked with a key supplier to customize robots to manufacture new iPhones and iPads, and spent about $10.5 billion to create these special tools.

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Features of Information Systems used by Apple

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Features of Information Systems used by Apple

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1) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Resource planning  is a process by which a company (often a manufacturer) manages and integrates the important parts of its business. An ERP management information system integrates areas such as planning, purchasing, inventory, sales, marketing, finance and human resources.

Features:
1) Improves business insight: From real-time information generated by reports

2) Lowers operational cost: Through defined and more streamlined business processes

3) Improves efficiency: Through a common user experience across many business functions and managed business processes

4) Lowers management and operational costs: Through uniform and integrated systems

2) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) : Customer Relationship Management is a strategy for managing an organisation's relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.

Features:
1) Enhanced contact management
2) Cross-team collaboration
3) Heightened productivity
4) Empowered sales management
5) Accurate sales forecasting

3)Supply Chain Management (SCM):
Supply chain management (SCM) is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It represents a conscious effort by the supply chain firms to develop and run supply chains in the most effective & efficient ways possible. Supply chain activities cover everything from product development, sourcing, production, and logistics, as well as the information systems needed to coordinate these activities.

Features:
1) Physical flows involve the transformation, movement, and storage of goods and materials.
2) Information flows allow the various supply chain partners to coordinate their long-term plans, and to control the day-to-day flow of goods and materials up and down the supply chain.

Enterprise Resource Planning - ERP. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/erp.asp#ixzz5FOURT44t.
Learning Centre, What is CRM?. Retrieved from https://www.salesforce.com/eu/learning-centre/crm/what-is-crm/#benefits.
Supply Chain Resource, What is Supply Chain Management (SCM)?. (April 2, 2017). Retrieved from  https://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/what-is-supply-chain-management-scm

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The Role of Management Information Systems

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The Role of Management Information Systems

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Under the 'History of Management Information Systems' tab, Kenneth and Aldrich Estel identified six eras of MIS.

1. 'Mainframe' Era: mainframe and dependent systems performed operations.  It received requests to run queries that were processed in a batch with other requests (which was usually via punch cards) and returned information at a later time.

2. 'Minicomputers' Era: smaller that a mainframe and requests to retrieve information were inputted via terminals. Operators were required and no results were able to be provided in real-time.

3. 'Personal Computers' Era: Users had computers on their desk but they weren't connected to one another.

4. 'Client/Server Networks' Era: Computers/Clients access data on servers via local networks. The client and server split processing and were often connected to a single server. Users could submit requests themselves and receive information in near-real time.

5. 'Enterprise Computing' Era: Clients could reach data on servers anywhere in the business's network.

6. 'Cloud Computing' Era: Data is stored via distributed hardware that can be accessed via the internet. A provider owns cloud servers and businesses rent space on them to store their data.

This shows how the accessibility of information has evolved and improved the business's ability to make decisions with regards to their daily and long-term plans. VisiCalc (an early spreadsheet program) was created for the APPLE II in the late 1970s which was the first program to offer real-time results amongst the other programs available at the time.

Management Information Systems: In Business, in Academia, and in The Future

Retrieved from https://www.smartsheet.com/management-information-systems

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Apple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.

From reading up on Apple's company background, I have seen how Apple has widespread influence and dominates the information technology industry, with their products reaching all corners of the world. This is truly impressive and their success can be partially credited to their efficient use of business information systems.

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From this video, i can infer that ERP is essential in the operations of a
business and it enables organisations of all sizes and industries in making significant cost savings, improve business insight and enhance collaboration and increase efficiency.

LINK: https://www.oracle.com/applications/erp/what-is-erp.html

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What is ERP System? (Enterprise Resource Planning)

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Reflection on The Role of Management Information Systems

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Reflection on The Role of Management Information Systems

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Alexis Rose Cook's Reflection: I think it was interesting to see how even in the 1970s, spreadsheet programs were still important for businesses and how integral they are to modern day business operations.

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After reading the article, I've learnt that use of CRM has been essential to Apple's growth. The purpose of CRM is to encourage a long-term relationship between Apple and its client which I feel its very important in running a successful business and in turn creates loyalty and customer retention. As stated in the article, with the Tech Support, it focuses on meeting face-to-face where the customers and technicians can discuss problems and solution in depth. CRM help manage the effect of this face-to-face contact. By using CRM, Apple has effectively produced a lifestyle experience rather than simply a purchase. CRM allows businesses to become more efficient by organizing and automating certain aspects of the business. From sales processes to marketing campaigns and business analytics as well as customer data, CRM automates and streamlines these processes for businesses. Without a CRM system, it’s difficult to focus on the customer and therefore I think CRM is very important in all the business.

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Case Study: How Apple Have Mastered CRM | Expert Market

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Learn more about how Apple have responded to their Customer Relationship Management needs in order to provide better customer services and manage data collection. Our hope is that this case study will inspire you and show how your business could benefit from CRM. Apple Overview Apple is on...

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Types of Information Systems in Organizations

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5 Types of Information Systems, Transaction Processing Systems, Management Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, Expert Systems and Neutral Networks, Information Systems in Organizations