According to the Financial Times, Apple is having trouble speeding up its iPhone manufacturing operations in India due to low component yields and sluggish development. This country appears to present significant challenges as the corporation attempts to increase output. Only one out of every two shells produced at a plant in Hosur managed by Apple supplier Tata “is in decent enough form” to be sent on to Foxconn for final assembly. In contrast to Apple’s “zero-defect” manufacturing and environmental aims, a yield of 50% is quite low for practically any industrial process.
Indian Plants’ iPhone Casting Does Not Meet US Standard
The Financial Times reports that several ex-Apple engineers have claimed that Chinese suppliers and government officials have a “whatever it takes” attitude towards winning iPhone orders, with former employees describing how work was often completed weeks ahead of schedule at “inexplicable speed.” However, operations in India are not progressing at the same rate. ‘There is not a feeling of urgency,’ one Apple engineer said.
To boost American manufacturing competitiveness, Apple is committed to a long-term strategy. According to four people who claim to be aware of the situation, the corporation has dispatched product designers and engineers from California and China to facilities in southern India to teach locals and assist set up production operations. Apple’s assembly lines in India started turning out the iPhone SE and other affordable iPhone models in 2017. Apple’s production in India ramped up dramatically last year, and several iPhone 14 models were assembled in India within weeks of their introduction in China.
Tata is reportedly in discussions to acquire a struggling Wistron iPhone assembly factory in Karnataka, to become a full-service Apple supplier in the future. Apple is still actively working on its long-term strategy to diversify its worldwide supply chain.