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>He did get into that, that sometimes it's smart to outsource, the example was the fuse on the toaster. The counterexamples I was looking for were companies th

by jasode 5y ago

>He did get into that, that sometimes it's smart to outsource, the example was the fuse on the toaster. The counterexamples I was looking for were companies that didn't fit his thesis instead of a small part like a fuse being outsourced. The author Bert Hubert keeps emphasizing "making" in addition to the thinking. So a design(thinking) company like NVIDIA doesn't seem to follow his ideal of how an "innovative" company is structured. And another counterexample like Apple in the 1970s used to in-house assemble computers and box them for shipping. That was all outsourced decades ago to China and yet Apple got more innovative with the 2007 iPhone.

redis_mlc 5y ago
You're being an argumentative pedant. - Intel became incompetent at fabs, though they wish otherwise - most chip companies, possibly Nvidia, simply can't afford their own fabs, esp. "the next generation" that is always coming - Apple uses SAP because they're not in the MRP software business - Apple stopped assembling box computers because it was commoditized, and real estate/labor in Calif. became too expensive. I suggest you re-read your posts and step up your logical thinking. And using the word "ideal" is just moving the goalpost. What your ideology leads to is somebody else making your product, until they switch out your logo with their own. This is happening today in China with cars and other products. Oops - your Econ 101 textbook didn't cover that, did it?
fock 5y ago
I think the main difference between any toaster manufacturer and Nvidia/Apple is: at some point toaster manufacturers don't even supply their R&D with the means necessary to actually make new stuff nowadays. E.g. if the head of R&D says: I want to try this new heating element I've thought of, management will say: "sure, where can we buy it?". At Apple and Nvidia I suppose there's the infra in place to make it happen, even if you can't buy it. How long that will still be the case, is an open question (just look at Aerospace for the downfall, with private equity eating all their manufacturing capabilities)

by jasode 5y ago

redis_mlc 5y ago

You're being an argumentative pedant. - Intel became incompetent at fabs, though they wish otherwise - most chip companies, possibly Nvidia, simply can't afford their own fabs, esp. "the next generation" that is always coming - Apple uses SAP because they're not in the MRP software business - Apple stopped assembling box computers because it was commoditized, and real estate/labor in Calif. became too expensive. I suggest you re-read your posts and step up your logical thinking. And using the word "ideal" is just moving the goalpost. What your ideology leads to is somebody else making your product, until they switch out your logo with their own. This is happening today in China with cars and other products. Oops - your Econ 101 textbook didn't cover that, did it?

fock 5y ago

I think the main difference between any toaster manufacturer and Nvidia/Apple is: at some point toaster manufacturers don't even supply their R&D with the means necessary to actually make new stuff nowadays. E.g. if the head of R&D says: I want to try this new heating element I've thought of, management will say: "sure, where can we buy it?". At Apple and Nvidia I suppose there's the infra in place to make it happen, even if you can't buy it. How long that will still be the case, is an open question (just look at Aerospace for the downfall, with private equity eating all their manufacturing capabilities)