Dell Computers (a): Field Service for Corporate Clients [Hbs 9-603-067]

The most critical shifts in Dell’s contextual factors, including industry dynamics, trends, technology changes and shift of the competitive landscape are following: The industry has changed significantly over the last 20 years. The traditional business model in the PC industry was inside-out, supplying machines based on orders from distribution, resell and retail channels, thus following the indirect selling concept. Dell’s direct model was at this time a new, challenging concept, taking orders directly from the end-consumer, and thereby, eliminating the middleman, costs and time. This was the initial crucial shift away from the traditional schema, allowing Dell’s quick

Historically, Dell has been known as an industry leader in supply chain management. They have been credited with developing supply chain processes that have come to be recognized as some of the most innovative not only in their industry but throughout all business sectors. All of these accolades made Dell an unlikely choice since there didn’t appear to be much room for improvement, at least from a supply chain standpoint. However, over the past few

Dell Company is one of the leading brands in the computer industry. Its long stint in this computer business has been inspiring for many small IT companies and current entrepreneurs. The given case study has blended a lot of crucial info on the Dell regarding its early growth period with issues, industry specific details, business model, product line and structure, issues and policies in its business in cooperation with future prospects of the Dell Company. Hence, this paper will reply the below questions, based on this case study of Dell Company.

Some authors say that Dells business model is successful because they offer ‘dependable support, combined with competitive prices and build to order convenience’ (Lee & Thornhill 2005). However it is argued that Dells success is falling due to a lack of investment in customer service, recently their reputation has been damaged as complaints increase (Gross 2005).

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing computer support is that it minimizes the time spent by employees fixing their own or co-workers computers and systems. This improves productivity by increasing their focus on their specific tasks and not worries on how to fix computer problems. Even though self-support may be a good thing to have, it is advisable for employees to give their full attention to the important tasks at hand. Additionally, if an employee tries to fix his or others’ computers, he may not be following the company’s standards and guidelines. Workstations will always have important or sensitive data in them so it is critical that the organization ensures the third party computer support provider is trustworthy by reviewing their history and analytical reports and by also retrieving feedbacks from their past and existing clients. Several security policies must be put into place so that the organization will feel safe that the data within the systems being fixed are not abused in any way or form.

a. Dell computers cover needs pertaining to strategy and deployment, IT and business consulting, managed services and all around expert advice and world-class support. Dell products can be used within organizations to use business processes efficiently, and assist with technology infrastructure and applications services to pinpoint growth opportunities that essentially reduce costs.

Dell is a multi-national information technology corporation which designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports a range of computer systems and services that are customized to individual customer requirements. As one of global PC suppliers, Dell set 2 strategic objectives to achieve, to be the No.1 global market share PC supplier, and optimize the balance of liquidity, profitability, and growth with a focus on increasing the mix of their product portfolio to higher margin products and recurring revenue streams. (Dell annual report 2009, pg 4). Dell existed in one of the biggest

Concerning corporate customer service by Dell and Compaq should be mentioned deep understanding of customer needs at Dell Corporation and 24/7 support against based on forecast production system with 64 days of delivery period. (see Appendix 4, 4.1 for detailed explanation)

Schaeffer 's corporate management has to consider the report submitted by the task force recommending to outsourcing their IT support services to ABC Corp and analyze both the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing proposal before making the final decision. One of the main advantage that most of the companies try realize by outsourcing its services is cost cutting. However in this case, the outsourcing proposal does not bring significant cost savings to the table

Once received, Dell incorporates just-in-time management when manufacturing. Parts for the operating systems arrive “just in the nick of time” while the desktop is being combined. This process in turn would not be possible if Dell did not have a unique relationship with its suppliers. They have excellent supplier co-ordination, almost making their suppliers like partners. Dell do not make the parts for their own computers but work in harmonisation with suppliers, and get suppliers who are located close to the factory

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

One of the most important forces of outsourcing is that organizations do not have gain the needed and required sources internally. And they have a difficulty in integrating and attracting expertise, where outsources own capabilities on a global level, modern technologies and other required resources. Also, by outsourcing the cost of keeping employees and consultants for short term is reduced. Furthermore, outsourcers are able to offer better career opportunities for business IT staff if they decide to transit to the outsourcer. As the manager of BP Company viewed the main reason of BP Company outsourcing is that "it has become increasingly apparent that service companies provide us with technical skills and ideas that we could no longer develop inside our own company" (Kremis, 2006).

Second, Dell has a rapid-response system for providing customer service. This interactive real-time communication system can be accessed by telephone or computer for personal or automated technical and customer support in dealing with computer problems. This service is toll free 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the world in multiple languages. Dell monitors these service interactions in order to construct maintenance profiles on each piece of equipment and the appropriate instructions for its use, and to develop appropriate repair sequences for each type of problem for use by its live and automated repair processes. Such profiles allow Dell to warn customers of potential problems, develop clear problem correction routines, and access equipment and worker performance in manufacture and assembly. This interactive customer service system has won Dell awards from Fortune Magazine, PC World Magazine, Windows Magazine, and Best Buy Stores as the number one computer firm in customer service.

IT service providers deliver the technical expertise small businesses need at a much lower cost than hiring IT staff. They can recommend, install, and manage technology according to business’ objectives and core competencies and ensure that critical data is safe. That’s why nearly 70% of U.S. small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) and many of New York and New Jersey’s top companies work with a managed IT services provider like Exigent for some or all of their IT service needs. There are many considerations for SMBs thinking about when moving some, or all, of their IT services to another company. In this eBook, we’ve summarized the key factors to help

Although Dell is an extremely successful company, there are areas of improvement and enhancement that should be considered. After a thorough analysis of Dell¡¯s IT tools, business model, IT infrastructure and competitive advantage, we have developed seven key suggestions. By implementing these recommendations, Dell can keep its high ranking in the competitive computer industry by increasing customer satisfaction, competitive advantage and superior value chain, without changing its principal operations to achieve these goals.