An analyst for a money management firm is studying Apple Inc. as one of
the firm's key investments. In 2013, Apple had a market capitalization
of nearly US$500 billion and sales of US$171 billion. According to the
research firm, Gartner Group, it had the world's best supply chain,
ranking ahead of companies such as Walmart, Amazon and Inditex (Zara).
As part of the analysis, a full review of Apple's supply chain is
required to look for insight into the future performance of the company
in order to decide whether or not the analyst's firm should continue to
hold Apple shares.