《华尔街日报》曝光了苹果公司在内存与闪存供应链管理中采取的激进压价策略，其手段包括要求“最高优惠客户”地位、对供应商实施频繁财务审计以及施加心理压力等 1。据报道，苹果曾委托德勤会计师事务所进行批量审计并获取折扣，还利用合同条款对美光提起仲裁并获得巨额赔偿 1。此外，苹果在谈判中常采用高压战术，例如安排竞争对手同时开会、将谈判拖延至午夜且不供应晚餐，以此迫使供应商让步 1。
报道特别提及了一起具体冲突事件：2015年，当闪迪公司拒绝提供额外供货时，苹果前采购负责人托尼·布莱文斯威胁时任闪迪首席执行官桑杰·梅赫罗特拉要让他“跪着爬回来”（Crawl On His Knees），以迫使其就范 1。梅赫罗特拉目前担任美光公司首席执行官，而美光CEO高级顾问苏米特·萨达纳指出，包括苹果在内的部分客户曾在行业下行周期趁乱大幅压价，导致美光毛利润一度转为负值 1。随着近期DRAM和NAND闪存价格显著上涨，苹果的议价能力相对减弱，尽管苹果因成本高企而提高了产品售价，但其与供应商之间的紧张关系再次受到关注 1。
The Wall Street Journal exposed the intense pressure tactics employed by Apple in its procurement of memory and flash storage components, detailing how the company leveraged its market position to secure the lowest possible prices. 1 These strategies included demanding "most favored customer" status, conducting continuous financial audits of suppliers, and deliberately reducing purchase commitments to exert psychological pressure during negotiations. 1 As reported by IT Home on October 29, citing a WSJ investigation dated October 28, these methods were designed to keep supplier costs minimal even at the expense of long-term relationships. 1
A particularly stark example of this approach involved Tony Blevins, a former head of procurement at Apple, who reportedly threatened Sanjay Mehrotra, the then-CEO of SanDisk and current CEO of Micron Technology, with being made to "crawl back on his knees." 1 This incident occurred in 2015 when SanDisk refused an additional supply request from Apple, prompting Blevins to use such aggressive language to force compliance. 1 Beyond verbal threats, Apple utilized structural negotiation tactics, such as scheduling meetings with competitors simultaneously and prolonging talks until midnight without providing dinner, all intended to unsettle counterparts. 1 The company also took legal action against Micron, invoking contractual clauses to initiate arbitration that resulted in substantial compensation for Apple. 1 Additionally, accounting firm Deloitte was granted bulk audit discounts, reflecting the systematic nature of Apple's cost-control measures. 1
The context of these revelations comes amid shifting market dynamics, where recent surges in DRAM and NAND prices have weakened Apple's historical bargaining power. 1 With input costs rising, Apple has complained about expenses and increased product prices, yet faces tighter constraints compared to previous years. 1 Suppliers are now voicing criticism of past practices; Sumit Sadana, a senior advisor to Micron's CEO, argued that customers like Apple exploited industry downturns to push prices down, leading to periods where Micron's gross margins turned negative due to insufficient production capacity planning. 1
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