It's called "Sourcing," Bitch!

It's called "Sourcing," Bitch! I've been seeing and engaged in several discussions on sourcing the past couple of weeks. Mostly about Apple, of course, but also about others, including Microsoft. Funny thing is most of these discussions focused on tech when the meat was the sourcing. Having just finished watching Breaking Bad (http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Breaking_Bad_Wiki), I thought of a little analogy to explain the importance of sourcing. Walt's method of cooking meth is the tech. His formula and technique are what turn the raw chemicals into Blue Sky (http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Blue_Sky). Obtaining those chemicals is sourcing, or procurement, and not all of his components are so easy to source (http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Methylamine). Without the tech, people can still make the meth, just not as well as Walt or Jessie. But without the sourcing, even Walt is stuck (and desperate enough to rob a train (http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Dead_Freight)). Good tech is important, but it's nothing without good sourcing. Applying this to a real discussion: when people discuss Apple using sapphire screens for the next iPhone, they focus on the tech used to make the screens, but they gloss over the sourcing required to make it happen. Yes, Apple allegedly is deploying impressive tech to make this happen, like ion cannons to cut the sapphire wafer-thin (http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/11/apple-fires-its-ion-cannons/). But they'd have nothing to cut if Apple did not source the aluminum ore necessary to synthesize sapphire. Apple's ability to obtain and lock up supply is a huge advantage, preventing rivals from matching many hardware features. While not as sexy as tech, sourcing is a major strength of Apple's and something their rivals need to work harder to counter.
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