Innovation At Dell

Dell. Dell’s products—computers, servers and printers—are commodities. Dell tends not to develop the technologies underlying these products. Instead, it purchases the components from firms that develop the technologies (semiconductors and computer software). Dell’s direct-to-customer marketing strategy is not unique, but the extent to which Dell performs this strategy better than anyone else in the industry gives it a competitive advantage. Its size, purchasing power, quality control, and efficiency permit it to operate as a low-cost provider.

The direct supply chain model that Dell has been using for many years to sell customized PC’s to customers via the internet has been very successful. Dell designed and structured the supply chain to provide customized computers in a quick manner and with a reasonable price. Customers can visit the Dell website and configure the PC they desired and see the cost options they selected. Once the order was finalized, Dell would then start the building of that customized computer to meet the customer’s selection and ship the finished product directly from the manufacturing

Dell’s target market consists of personal computer users and corporate users. Dell is known for their ability to build computers suited to their customers needs. Because their largest customer base is marketed online, their geographic area is unlimited. Since technology is rapidly progressing and moving away from traditional PC’s, Dell has to diversify their products.

The proposal presented herein gives the background information of Dell Computers Corporation highlighting the current operation for the manufacture of computers. The proposal highlights the potential of the company to increase its market share and profitability through change of its culture from order based to inventory base.

Dell positioned itself as a successful differentiator; however, its competitive differentiation is no longer an advantage for it due to the ease of their Direct Model imitation.

Affordability of latest technology through Direct Sales Services - Dells uses direct customer relationship or as it calls it “customer intimacy” as its distribution strategy. This means meeting customer needs directly and cutting middleman interference as much as possible. This is done either through dedicated sales representatives, telephone based sales and online at www.dell.com. As a result, the purchase price would be lower than other competitors.

The business model of dell which concentrates on a built to order framework where the middleman is removed and PCs are sold directly to the end buyer

Dell is a computer technology corporation that involves sells, repair, support computer and their parts. Dell has found out that supply chain is becoming more and very important for the success of nowadays business global world and they work consequently to retain a

“Dell is not competing in the highly competitive market of component design and manufacturing. It evaluates potential suppliers and picks the one best suited for its operations” (http://www.academia.edu/4560034/Apple_Vs_Dell_Operation_Strategy).

But there is one company that has stood and fought its rivals. The name of that company is Dell. Started on November 4 1984 by Michael Dell, Dell grew by the early 90’s to become the largest seller of PCs and servers. The company currently sells personal computers,

“To understand what makes Dell so great, you need to understand the power of Dell's Mission Statement, as well as its history, growth, and entrepreneurial founder Michael Dell.” (Farfan, 2017) Today Dell forms partnerships with retailers on a global scale while adding online ordering and customization. With Dell’s variety of services coupled with its desktop, laptop, and other products, Dell has become a large company

Dell's value-chain strategy combines technologies from Intel, IBM, and Microsoft to serve customers efficiently and with state-of-the-art computer technology. Dell is able to introduce next generation products faster than its competitors can because its market-driven strategy is developed around a direct sales, built-to-order business design. This distinctive process capability is supported by effective supplier, distribution, and service partnerships with other companies. Dell's management understands its customers since company personnel are in close contact with buyers who make inquiries and place orders. Not only does Dell process some 500,000 telephone calls each week, but 65,000 corporate customers are linked to Dell through their own Dell Premier Pages on the Internet, and Dell's Internet based sales reached $50 million a day in 2000. Indeed, in 2001, Dell became leader in global market share. (market driven strategy ch 1, http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0072466650/46701/cra66650_ch01.pdf#search='dell%20external%20influences%20marketing%20strategy')

time, decided to cut prices drastically to drive Dell computers out of the market. As a

As it does with in-customer operations, the Web opens both new channel opportunities and new dimensions of customer service. However, this newly created channel must maintain the fit between a company 's account set and its business model. All too many companies lose sight of this critical factor as they indiscriminately pursue incremental revenues. Dell 's direct-to-customer channel strategy certainly is a breakthrough in the industry. In the early stages of a technology product 's lifecycle, distributors are important for supporting new adopters. Dell has discerned a lucrative set of high-end customers that were ready for direct distribution with arm 's length customer support from help lines. An innovative direct channel strategy gave Dell these crucial elements of its powerful business model: Ø Real-time customer feedback and market insights Ø The ability to "sell what you have"--that is, using day-to-day pricing and sales incentives to shift demand toward products that are currently makable Ø Extremely crisp product life cycle transitions Ø Elimination of the obsolete and excess dealer stock that plagues the non-direct competitors Ø The ability to control pricing on a real-time basis. The capabilities were rooted in each company 's core business processes, many of which focused on supply management. The new supply chain masters consolidated their supplier bases in

Dell has a build-to-order model for its PCs. Customers love that they can pick and choose what kind of system will fit their needs right from the internet. Since Dell makes most of its money in a B2B approach, they build customized intranet views for their enterprise customers. It allows the customers to plan ahead, and configure the product how they want