The Wall Street Journal notes XBox 360 logistics

In today's seemingly XBox 360 launch-obsessed news cycle, the Wall Street Journal took up the drumbeat, writing about how challenging it is to manage the logistics of assembling 1,700 different parts that make up the XBox 360. Not surprisingly, one analyst has this to say toward the end, echoing Blackfriars' concern about processor supplies.

Chris Crotty, a senior analyst at research firm iSuppli Corp., says one potential chokehold on production is the custom-made IBM processor. Unlike the console's hard drive, which is commonly used in PCs and made by several different manufacturers, the processor is only available from a single source, though two factories make it. "If they were to suffer stock-outs, that would really jeopardize their momentum," Mr. Crotty says.

One other tidbit in the article was that the capacity of the two factories they have running is "tens of thousands" per day. If we then look at Microsoft's claim that it will sell about six million XBox 360's in the first six months, my guess is that tens of thousands is actually between 20,000 and 30,000. Microsoft is scheduled to add another factory early next year - but only if it has enough processors to keep those production lines running efficiently. And of course, production scheduling out of IBM's Fishkill facility is going to get interesting as they ramp up processor production for Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Revolution.

Technorati Tags: Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft, Processors, XBox 360