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Sony is looking to streamline product development as it prepares to make a hard run at Apple and Samsung in the wake its PC business sell-off, according to a Japan-based report.
The Japanese electronics maker will pare the number of component suppliers to 250 from the current 1,000, Nikkei reported on Thursday.
The problem, as Sony sees it, is competing for parts with Samsung and Apple.
“Sony is said to spend almost 2 trillion yen ($19.5 billion) a year on parts procurement. But rivals Samsung Electronics and Apple reportedly shell out more than double that amount, and bulk orders give them precedence in receiving high-performance components,” Nikkei said.
Sony’s revamped parts procurement will allow it to get cutting-edge components on a preferential basis through larger order volumes, the newspaper added.
Bulk purchasing will allow it to save about 10 billion yen.
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This will effect how Sony’s smartphones, digital cameras, and game machines “perform,” according to the article.
Suppliers that Sony is focusing on include Qualcomm — which makes processors and communications chips — and MediaTek, which also supplies processors. Up-and-coming display maker AU Optronics was also cited for LCD panels.
In February, Sony reached an agreement with investment fund Japan Industrial Partners to sell its Vaio laptop business. It also said that the TV business would be spun off.
At that time, the company said the plan was to focus its mobile product lineup on smartphones and tablets.
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