Analysis of Products Page on the Microsoft Website

3. How can supply chain design and integration help John Wolf reduce investment and space requirements while maintaining adequate service levels?

1.What parts of the supply chain are most closely involved with the situation in this case? What is the responsibility of each part in order to maintain smooth flow of material?

Microsoft has their dominance of the industry at stake. They could potentially come out on top if left to continue their current tactics. They are masterfully “marketing their products” and it is paying off for them (Love, 1997).

The Customer relationship, Order fulfillment, and Supplier relationship processes need to be analyzed from the perspective of process structure, process improvement, layout, and capacity.

Microsoft has grown into an enormous and powerful corporation by a combination of aggressive business practices and having written operating systems (DOS and Windows) for personal computers. From operating systems it branched out into other software which has, along with the operating system, become something of an industry standard.

in the most part, states that Microsoft is truly dismantling the competitive market. IBM and Apple created OS/2 and the Mac OS, respectively. Because of this “barrier of entry,” these top companies have not been able to “compete effectively with

For the Microsoft team brining the revolutionary Xbox 360 to the marketplace, the new supply chain process shaved one full day off the time needed to identify and correct errors in the supply and manufacturing chain. That's an especially big gain in the case of the Xbox, for which the entire manufacturing process is outsourced.

4.Given the 4 areas of the company, choose some supply chain processes and suggest appropriate performance metrics.

Microsoft's struggles might seem somewhat perplexing, given its stunning success with Windows and the fact that it seems to have pursued a 'related linked' diversification strategy of primarily concentrating on products 'linked' to technology. It has not acquired businesses that are fundamentally anathema to its core product. "Companies' implements related diversification strategies in order to achieve and

1. What parts of the supply chain are most closely involved with the situation in this case? What is the responsibility of each part in order to maintain a smooth flow of material?

The patterns I see with Microsoft’s reactions to competition is that they rely heavily on the fact that they are leaders in the field of operating systems and they use this monopoly as leverage on what they give out to their consumers with their “bundling capabilities” (Rivkin 4). In the past I believe they have been successful against competitors even though they have gotten into legal trouble while doing it. This is because even after the law suits they still remained ahead of the pack in market shares.

Microsoft operates in many geographic locations around the world and are behind the world’s most popular desktop operating system in the world. Microsoft is primarily a software company but have flexed their arms into internet services and are behind certain products in consumer market which is directly against Google. Microsoft’s market includes end-customers, enterprises and institutions just like Google. Some of the key Microsoft products are Bing which is a search engine just like Google.com and Microsoft ad center which is a direct

Looking at the sizable market share Microsoft has come to enjoy over the years, a new competitor would face a number of entry barriers before entering this market. Customers are very loyal to the Microsoft brand and would expect any competitor to offer at the very least the same features that Microsoft already has.

Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest and most influential companies in the personal computer industry. It has won several awards for innovation, for their commitment to diversity, and for their flexible work arrangements. It has always been a leader in the market with regard to its compensation. With 80,0004 employees across the world, having more than $15 billion revenue, it is one of the biggest and best‐known technology companies in the world.

Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest and most influential companies in the personal computer industry. It has won several awards for innovation, for their commitment to diversity, and for their flexible work arrangements. It has always been a leader in the market with regard to its compensation. With 80,0004 employees across the world, having more than $15 billion revenue, it is one of the biggest and best‐known technology companies in the world.