Evolution of the Xbox Supply Chain

If you've never touched a video game controller in your life, but do have avid players in your household, you may be in for a bewildering month. That's because we're on the verge of what the gaming industry excitedly calls 'a new console generation'. In short, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, once the most powerful games machines on the planet are being replaced – the former by the Xbox One, the latter by the PlayStation 4 (PS4).

In order for Microsoft to become the leader in the console industry, it is critical to know the kind of consumers that are going to be targeted. According to the Fundamental Marketing article by Isaiah King, the target market for Microsoft Xbox users focuses on three main components: demographic, psychographic, and behavioral (Fundamental Marketing 1). The demographic of Xbox users range from age, generation, and gender. The hardcore gamers age group range from 16 to 30 years old. However, generation plays a huge role in the demographics of the console. Students of 18 years and younger are aimed highly more than older people, as they are leaders of the digital innovation. This variable of the demographic is important, as this age group will be the future industry in new products.

b) Software programs combined with extensive customized programming updates / additions. The software and software customization industries both have numerous suppliers. However, given the complexity and uniqueness of such an information network, there are probably only a limited number of software and customization companies that can provide a carrier with a high quality system that is capable of smoothly integrating all the operation and customer service divisions. Furthermore, the switching costs have the potential to be extremely high because such a transfer could disrupt communication between the divisions, leading to poor quality service. In addition, the company would

Through the years of all the generations consoles Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation both prove to be, arguably, number one. The flames of the console war since the release of the latest generation of consoles back in 2013 have been set ablaze by fans and gamers alike. Microsoft had a weak start with the Xbox One and with nonstop updates and quick releases they crushed their competition. What exactly makes Xbox better?

Microsoft started developing their console after the DirectX, which was a programming unit that was mostly used for creating videos and various types of graphics for computers. Microsoft modified their DirectX and made it into the Xbox. Since Microsoft built the Xbox from a computer it was extremely powerful compared to Sony’s Play Station 2, Nintendo’s Gamecube, and Sega 's Dreamcast ( ). Microsoft was concerned if they would get support from third party developers because it was the first video game console they produced.

In 1995, Li and Fung had discovered the intranet as a way to link its offices to manufacturing sites all over the world. Internal communications were simplified, order progress easily monitored, and online inspections done in real-time. In 1997, customized extranet sites linked key retailers with manufacturers. Three years later, ten extranet sites existed; each of which facilitated online product development processes. The use of the internet prompted quick response manufacturing

As sales of Nintendo’s Wii and DS dominate the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and PlayStation Portable, respectively, the pressure continues to mount on Sony and Microsoft to move to the next level in the ongoing console wars. Sales of the Wii in 2008

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

The XBOX is now a 6th generation video game console that is manufactured by Microsoft. The machine itself was released in November of 2001, just in time for the 2001 Holiday Season in the United States, then subsequently worldwide. The decision to manufacture and release the system was Microsoft's first plunge into the gaming console market and designed to compete with the Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCUbe, and Sega's Dreamcast. By November of 2002, Microsoft launched the Xbox Live service that allowed players to play interactive games online (Gamer's Catch, 2006). Looking at the evolution of the system, however, we now know that the Xbox began to be discontinued in late 2005 (in Japan) and then in early 2007 in North America. The last game was released in August 2007, and even support for out-of-warranty consoles was discontinued in 2009, with all new faulty consoles replaced with Xbox 360. Xbox Live support was discontinued in April 2010 (Whitten, 2010).

o The technology solutions unit provided modular and embedded systems design and manufacturing systems that customers could utilize to enhance their operational efficiency.

The Xbox One has many strengths that can be used in order for it to become a profitable product.

The very first iteration of Xbox Live did not even have a name, as it was simply a server system set up by Microsoft to allow video game players the ability to play with other players over the internet. The first Xbox, also known more affectionately as Xbox Original, or XO, was released in 2001. This system was supported by 500 servers, according to Ed Grabianowski and Stephanie Crawford in their 2006 article for Live Technology, which was dispersed through four locations in three countries: the United States, England, and Japan. This initial set-up is estimated to have cost Microsoft $500 million, and was considered by the company to be one of the necessary start-up costs for their first entry into the console wars. Rich Miller (2013) further reports that the server numbers jumped to over 3,000 when the Xbox 360 (X360) was released in 2005 and again to 300,000 in 2013 with the introduction of Xbox One (X1). With datacenter hubs all over the world now powering the Microsoft Cloud, Xbox Live has become a worldwide recognized name.

EPOC will gain more profit if it is console-enabled only, when compared with PC-enabled only. The retail sales console game is almost five times more than PC game as we can see from Exhibit 8 in this case. The retail sales of console software game is 6.6 billions of dollars, but PC is only 0.9 billions of dollars in 2007. Moreover, from this exhibit, we can see that the number of PC software game retail sale is decreasing year by year, from 1 billions of dollars to 0.7 billions of dollars in 4 years. Most of consumer purchases a

Quantum Corporation had formed the eSupplyChain Group in April 2000 with the aim of restructuring it's, then inefficient, supply chain and take the advantage of new emerging e-technologies to improve efficiencies across the chain. The company has recently entered into a new strategic alliance with eleven other top computers makers and suppliers. This alliance, known as eHITEX would build a new B2B online exchange protocol for supply chain management and

Improving the functionality of any industry’s supply chain sets up corporations for profitable and triumphant operations. Sony, one of the world’s leading players in gaming and entertainment, has shown that their innovative and artistic approach has contributed to their success. To further the company’s accomplishments, focusing on profits, we have established the goal to decrease COGS by utilizing more sensitive approaches by 2% while increasing Game & Network Services sales by 2% over the next 2 - 4 years. With our selected strategies, we believe that this goal is within the achievable realm, setting a path for long-term future success.