I love stuff like this - it demonstrates just how disconnected the analyst community can be from the people that are actually out purchasing things. This one comes regarding the iPhone 4 launch and the associated availability issues.
“Consumers, questioning Apple’s supply chain management capability, have started looking for alternative devices." says Tina Teng at iSuppli
Uhhh - no, I doubt seriously that consumers are questioning Apple’s supply chain management capability. Consumers are going to buy something that they’ve decided that they want and may be upset that there isn’t one available to buy. In which case they are going to make a decision to either wait or buy something else and buy nothing at all. The consumer doesn’t give a flying f**k about the supply chain, they only care about the net impact on their personal choices. Investors on the other hand are interested since these issues will place a ceiling on how many iPhones can be made and therefore sold. But investors and consumers are not interchangeable definitions.
Now she does go on to say that consumers are not satisfied with regards to the current response to reported reception issues with the iPhone 4, but that has absolutely nothing to do with supply chain management.