What is required for your organization to distribute Custom Apps in Apple Business Manager?

The Custom App distribution model is designed for private, business-to-business deployment. After an app is submitted and approved through App Store Connect, the developer must explicitly make it available to specific organizations. This is accomplished by the developer entering the organization's name and Organization ID within App Store Connect. This action assigns the app to the designated Apple Business Manager account, making it visible and available for license acquisition and distribution by that specific organization. This step is the critical link between the developer and the purchasing organization for private distribution.

A. App submissions are managed through the App Store Connect review process, not AppleCare, which is Apple's support service.
B. While all apps must be signed, this is a general development requirement, not the specific action that enables distribution to a particular organization.
D. AppleCare is a support channel and is not involved in the operational process of assigning apps to organizations.

1. Apple Developer Documentation, "Distributing Custom Apps." This document outlines the entire process and explicitly states: "In App Store Connect, you’ll select the organizations who can download your app on Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager. You’ll need their Organization ID and organization name." This directly confirms that the developer assigns the app. (See the section "Make your app available privately").

2. Apple Business Manager User Guide, "Intro to custom apps." This guide explains the process from the organization's perspective: "After a developer makes a custom app available to your organization, a content manager with the appropriate privileges can find the app in the Custom Apps section of the Apps and Books sidebar." This confirms the prerequisite action is taken by the developer. (See Section: "How custom apps work").

3. Stanford University, IT Services, "Distribute Custom iOS Apps." The university's documentation for its developers clarifies the workflow: "The developer will need your Organization Information... to make the app available to Stanford in the VPP/B2B App Store... Once the developer has submitted the app and made it available to Stanford, you will be able to 'purchase' free licenses..." This corroborates the developer-led assignment process. (See Section: "Requesting a Custom B2B App").