Case Study Of Personal Computers In The U. S. Consumers

Although retailers such as Walmart and Target do have loyal customer bases, they are not sitting idle as Amazon and other eCommerce firms obtain a greater market share. They are expanding their online profiles and offering similar shopping experiences. However, they hold one major advantage over Amazon. Every store can serve as a distribution center. Walmart is a perfect example. It has expanded its online profile to provide eCommerce services to its customers (Thau, 2014). Because every store serves as a distribution center, customers can receive their order much faster than Amazon can deliver it.

Also, Amazon has emphasized on building “several distribution centers around the world to hasten deliveries”(Hof and Himelstein, 1999). Coupled with its software it provides a “laser-like focus on the buying experience”(IT Business Edge, 2012). Such a system and service is what draws customers towards Amazon and subsequently retains them.

​Competition within the internet sales industry is fierce and innovation is the way internet retailers are looking to grab the top spot. Internet retailers such as Walmart are following in the path of competitors and building fulfillment centers left and right to allow for faster delivery to customers. Many internet retailers have explored the possibilities of drone delivery, using customers to deliver products to other customers on their way home, and allowing customers to pick up products out of lockers in stores so they don’t have to wait in line; these competitive strategies internet retailers are seeking to implement illustrate how far firms are willing to go to gain the upper-hand on one another (Forbes, 2012).

Changing technology may affect the demand for a firm’s products and services but on the other hand due to technology businesses can have systems that provides faster services like the retail businesses have systems that does stock control, cash and customer service.

Recent advancements in technology offer the organizations of today and the future boundless opportunities for improvements in service delivery. Although experts agree that the alignment of technology and the overall business strategy is both necessary and imperative, no clear path to optimum alignment exists. Christopher Nuckles, a IT Director I interviewed demonstrated full awareness of this fact. he and the company’s CIO, Matt Carey, and the executive IT leaders and displayed optimism the “interconnected retail strategy” they have for the company will ensure that Home Depot remains the product authority for home improvement. As part of the technical team that developed, enhanced, or supported several of the technological systems at Home Depot, Nuckles believes that the key to a successful technological future is innovation. Nuckles recognizes that the biggest hurdle for the Home Depot technology is the emerging e-commerce and he adds that Home Depot is ready for the boom. He explains that plans are underway to optimize the Home Depot mobile application entirely and make it available on all platforms so that the company remains relevant as technology keeps advancing.

Computer technology is constantly advancing over software and hardware that is available at any one given time. These constant changes affect how long computer products can sell for a premium price but also can make it cheaper for those consumers that are not interested in the newest and latest components. Personal computers (PC), also known as desktop computers, are common place in jobs, schools and homes. The demand for personal computers is constant and revolving since components of computers gets better and more powerful with time. The target market then becomes anyone that uses a personal computer for home or work. HP uses the fact that computers are a common item in any office or home to their advantage and offers not only PC’s but other accessories pertaining to computers as well. While HP currently excels at providing a product for a decent price they are missing out on consumers that Equalus will focus

By grafting its system of custom direct sales onto the Internet infrastructure, Dell has transformed these activities, creating an innovative and efficient procurement, production, and distribution network. The innovative advance made by Dell in deploying Internet communication as the foundation of its production network, is a process innovation. Although to some extent, the Internet has enabled Dell to create a new product -- a PC custom-configured through Internet communication -- it is the process of organizing flows of materials and information within its network, from customer order to procurement, production and delivery, by means of Internet communication, that defines the innovation at the Firm. The case supports this notion by stating “While most other PCs were sold preconfigured and pre-assembled in retail stores, Dell offered superior customer choice in system configuration at a deeply discounted price, due to the cost-savings associated with cutting out the retail middleman. Additionally, an important side-benefit of the Internet-based direct sales model was that it generated a wealth of market data the company used to efficiently forecast demand trends and carry out effective segmentation strategies. This data drove the company’s product development efforts and allowed Dell to profit from information on the value drivers in each of its key customer

In 2002, Shell Canada launched its online store called eStore for its customers. The objective was to keep costs low by having a self-service technology so that agricultural customers can buy their products without the need for a sales-representative. The statistics from eStore showed even though the number of customers who signed up for eStore was close to the target, number of customers who actually used eStore remained low. The problem seemed to be mainly due to customers having difficulty with the service. According to customer’s feedbacks, many encountered various technical problems when they tried to place orders. Others just preferred traditional methods of buying what they needed, while the remaining group were

Best Buy, a familiar retailer in the technology world, is struggling to stay on top. Online and mass stores have cornered the market in terms of convenience, customer service and price matching. The recent closing of over two hundred stores alongside falling sales has experts predicting that the giant won’t be in business long. Using a results-only work environment (ROWE), Best Buy has removed the customer from the equation and forced many employees out. A marketing disaster, Best Buy must change its marketing strategy from sales-based to a customer-based to stay afloat.

IBM needs to grow revenue and stay competitive in the dynamically changing computer marketplace of the 1990’s by maintaining technological leadership and accepting the organizational transformation which needs to be undertaken for them to excel. IBM needs to recapture their previously held powerful position in the personal computer and microprocessor markets and regain value in the company which will increase its stock value and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Home and corporate users dominate the five categories of buyers on PC consumption. There are large amounts of these buyers in the market that are price sensitive and have low switching costs on their products which raises overall buyers’ power. However, in the case of Dell, many customers became frustrated with Dell. For example, Dell’s call centers received manyf discouraged clients’ comments. One reason: many service representatives were trained to solve only one category of a problem, so almost 45% of calls had to be transferred from the agent who answered the call to someone with the knowledge needed to help the customer. Richard L. Hunter, who was brought in to improve Dell’s customer service, called the situation “terrible”, explaining that it was comparable to “delivering materials to the wrong factory 45 percent of the time.” Worse, to slow the tide of calls from customers, Dell tried removing its toll-free service number from its website. Customers’ reactions showed up in Dell’s declining market share and slumping customer satisfaction ratings (Certo, 2013). Moreover, when Dell went on to expand its tech support outsourcing with other call centres in India, customers began complaining. Consequently, Dell stopped being perceived as an American role

1. Achieve an increase in the market share to 50% or above in the next 7 years

In today’s environment, it is extremely essential for retailers to embrace technology in the course of their businesses. This is mainly because a significant number of consumers can be attracted and accessed through technological measures. It is essential to appreciate the fact that data, infrastructure and e-commerce software form the basis of United Parcel Service’s technological superiority. All these tools play a pivotal role in supporting the company’s e-commerce strategy and the company’s business strategy as a whole. One of the key attributes of United Parcel Service is its commitment to investing in researching emerging technologies. This gives it an exceptionally competitive advantage. United Parcel Service (UPS) consistently seeks to embrace technologies that that enhance the company’s efficiency (Russell Baker, 2008). The company’s commitment to technological advancement made the company appear in InternetWeek’s top 100 companies in 2004 (Russell Baker, 2008). On the other hand, InfoWorld ranked the company as the seventh company with the most significant contribution to technological infrastructure.

In 1996, there were three largest and absolutely dominant office superstores (OSS) chains in United States office supply market, Staples, Office Depot and OfficeMax. Office superstores can get access to much more convenient and cheaper supply of goods than small retailers through signing a mass of contracts with suppliers. They are mostly located in downtown business districts, and own considerable floor areas, a wide variety of product types and sizable supply size. Therefore, they can provide consumers with great user experience and convenience by

Over the last several years the process of reaching out to customers has been continually changing. Part of reason for this is because more people are turning to the Internet as a way to be able to promote their products and communicate to a larger audience. A good example of this can be seen with the election of Barack Obama in 2008, with him using this medium as a way to gain support and funding for his campaign. This allowed him to utilize this new technology to effectively connect with and inform voters about key issues. Over the course of time this helped his campaign to gain momentum. Once this occurred is when he was able to stand out against his rivals through effectively utilizing these tools. (Miller, 2008)