We believe it is equipping itself for the long run by having control over the raw material supply and control over manufacturing plants.

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The main reason for Apple announcing a lower gross margin outlook for Q3 was the uncertainty behind the raw material supply chain issues prevailing during the last few quarters due to the Japan tragedy.

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And with no fixed supply of raw material, unlike stocks or bonds, bets could be almost limitless.

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Nobody made buffalo-hide shoes, and there was a ready supply of raw material: Ranchers slaughtered about 14, 000 bison each year to meet the growing demand for low-cholesterol meat.

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Therefore suppliers, processors, distributors and retailers need to step up their control and visibility across the supply chains, tracking products from raw material to the point of consumption.

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For 3, once nylon had been discovered and proven useful, the race was on, given the supply of cheap oil (the main raw material) post WWII, from the Arabian Gulf.

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But the spread between the price of the raw material and the price of the finished good is a function of the supply of ethylene-making capacity and the demand for ethylene.

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This is accounted for by increasing raw material costs, currency movements (particularly the pound's fall against the euro), bottlenecks in the supply chain and construction in progressively more challenging sites.

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