IBM had adopted the practice from Japan in the 1970s as it sought to ward off the growing competition from Asia and become the world’s lowest-cost producer of computers. The company also taught Cook the value of finding reliable, low-cost suppliers. To build its PC business, IBM dumped its decades-old bias toward making its own components in favor of low-priced alternatives from smaller suppliers. Doing so enabled the company to quickly catch up to Apple in the PC business and minimize its costs. While managing suppliers and minimizing inventory became one of Cook’s strengths, it was his
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