Smartphone Global Supply Chain – Who Makes It and Who Earns What
GeographyGlobal Economy & DevelopmentAges 16–17
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Sign in to playFollow a smartphone through the stages of a global supply chain on a world map with moving shipments: mining (cobalt, lithium, rare earths), component manufacturing, assembly, design and software, and retail. A value bar shows what share of the retail price each stage keeps (illustrative figures) and a timeline shows how many days goods take from mine to shop. Change the assembly location, transport mode and import tariff, or trigger disruptions (port closure, pandemic, mine shutdown), and see the effect on cost, delivery time and CO₂ emissions.
Lesson: Economic globalisation: global supply chains, value chains and transnational corporations
What it shows
A smartphone is made by a global network. Cobalt, lithium and rare earths are mined in Africa, South America and East Asia; chips, screens and batteries are made by suppliers in East Asia; assembly goes where labour is cheap; design, software and the brand stay with a transnational corporation in a developed country. The model divides a fixed retail price between the stages and adds up the days from mine to shop. Costs, times and shares are rounded illustrative estimates based on published smartphone value studies, and the company names are fictional.
How to use
Choose an Assembly location, a Transport mode and a Disruption, then move the Tariff on East Asian goods and Retail price sliders. Watch the shipments on the map, the value bar and the timeline, and compare the four locations in the table. Click a point on the map or a segment of a bar to read about labour and environmental issues; click an empty circle to move assembly there. Use Pause and Reset.
Parameters you can change
- Assembly location East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Near the market (reshoring)
- Transport mode Sea freight, Air freight
- Disruption None, Port closed in the market, Pandemic: lockdown in East Asia, Cobalt mine shut down
- Import tariff on goods from East Asia 0–50 %
- Retail price 400–1500 USD
- Animation speed 0.5–3 ×
Questions to explore
- Why does the design and brand stage keep a much larger share of the price than the assembly stage?
- Does moving assembly close to the market avoid the tariff and the port closure?
- What is gained and what is lost by shipping phones by air instead of by sea?
