Mis.Dox

Dell's business strategy combines its direct customer model with a highly efficient manufacturing and supply chain management organization and an emphasis on standards-based technologies. This strategy enables Dell to provide customers with superior value; high-quality, relevant technology; customized systems; superior service and support; and products and services that are easy to buy and use.

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.

Supply chains must be managed to coordinate the inputs with the outputs in a firm to achieve the appropriate competitive priorities of the firm’s enterprise processes. The Internet offers firms an alternative to traditional methods for managing supply chains. A supply chain strategy is essential

Dell is a computer corporation recognized for manufacturing computer systems through parts assemble. In 1983, Michael Dell saw an opportunity in using IBM compatible computers for a new assembly line that can be sold to local businesses. The idea as explained by Michael Dell, in one of his interview, is that in the early days of computers' manufacturing, companies had to be able to produce every part of the system. As the industry matured, companies started to focus on single parts and to become specialized in creating items that can be assembled with other parts to prepare a computer. As a result, Dell understood that to have a competitive edge in the market, they needed to

When Dell started its campaign to allow customers to configure and customize their computers according to their needs and budget Dell had serious issue regarding Inventory Management. Dell needed and Inventory which comprised of right computer parts at right time and right place. To manage this entire Dell

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

Supply chain management (SCM) is the efficient management of the flows of material, data, and money in the supply chain. SCM software concentrates on improving decision making, forecasting, optimization, and analysis. The benefits of SCM have long been recognized in business, government, and the military. In today’s competitive business environment, efficient, effective supply chains are critical to survival and fully dependent on SCM software, which depends on up-to-date and accurate data. If the network goes down or data are outdated, those managing the supply chain are mostly working

Dell is able to sustain a competitive advantage over competitors in the computer industry because of an extremely efficient supply chain/distribution system and its JIT inventory system. Since inventory and labor are the highest liabilities of a firm and Dell operates with a few days of inventory, they are able to cut costs on warehousing, hiring people to track and maintain inventory, and avoid holding on to obsolete technology.

Dell uses a push-pull strategy. It produces computers by using components after a customer order. Dell’s model is called a Direct model where suppliers deliver to Dell and Dell is directly in relationship with the customer without distributors and/or retailers. The customer is in the beginning (specific order) and at the end of the process. Suppliers are situated very close to the plant which results in a easy coordination. There are few suppliers and it saves money through shipping directly to customers. Next to specific components, Dell also uses some components through all orders. Each order consists of a motherboard for example.

Dell Computer Corporation was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. From the early 1990s until the mid-2000s, Dell was ranked as a PC market leader relying on their distinctive marketing pattern “Direct Model” which undertook direct communication with customers and provided customized products. Recently, the PC industry is facing inconceivable worldwide competition, and Dell is gradually losing their competitive advantages by using its direct model in critical business segments. The company is facing shrinkage of growth, increasing competition, declining quality of customer service, and limitation of expansion. These issues have an enormous impact on Dell’s position as a technological giant in the PC industry.

Third, Dell has a rapid-response system for linking all suppliers, workers, managers, and customers to Dell’s value chain. This interactive real time communication system is employed to order parts, manufacture and outsource computer modules, and coordinate assembly and distribution of products to customers. Managers employ this system for all human resource functions, workers and suppliers for all coordination sequencing and quality control processes,

A supply chain can be termed as a network of organizations that collaborate to share information and materials. Supply chain management is a way by which the companies can gain competitive advantage over their competitors by reducing their cost and lead time and at the same time increasing their efficiency by differentiating the processes and the links between the suppliers and the buyers (Klassen & Why bark, 1994). For doing so, using IT based systems is the need of the hour. With the ever growing demand and expectations from the customers along with dynamically changing market, the companies are turning to the successful deployment of IT to re-engineer their supply chain, so as to sustain and grow their business. (Poter, 1986). This is a great opportunity to incorporate IT into supply chain due to the increasing development in IT and communication that leads to integration of system architecture and Information technology (Balan, Vrat, & Kumar, Assessing the challenges and opportunities of global supply chain management, 2006). Moreover optimal information sharing using IT based systems has reduced the need for sharing of information within the organization (Balan, Vrat, & Kumar, Information distortion in a supply chain and its mitigation by using Soft Computing Approach, 2009). The recent advances have also made it possible for the companies to be flexible and be able to respond quickly to the changing demands and conditions of the market. (Lee, So, & Tang, 2000)

A recent study conducted by the Forrester Research indicates that U.S manufacturers are dependent on the benefits of Information Technology to improve the supply chain, improve the cycle time and receive high efficiency in order to deliver the products to their customers within the time frame. Stevens defines Supply chain management as the “series of interconnected activities that are concerned with the planning, coordinating and controlling materials, parts and finished goods from the supplier to the customer and works as a transporting link between these facilities.” With the development of Information Technology the companies has adapted online communications which helps to increase the interaction between firm and the customer effectively. According to Bakos & Brynjyoolfsson (1993) Information Technology decreases transactional costs between the transaction costs between the buyers and suppliers and creates a more cooperative governance structure which finally results in closer buyer- supplier relations. The research revealed that the effect of information technology on Supply chain management are on 4 aspects which are purchase, logistic, firm, vendor relationship management and customer relationship management.

Dell, one of the largest technological corporations in the world, sells personal computers, software, computer peripherals and other digital products among the world. According to the Fortune 500 list, Dell is currently listed as number 51. Dell is well known for its customer-oriented services such as supply chain management and electronic commerce. More specifically, the supply chain management (SCM) used by Dell allows customers to build their own PC online and successfully satisfies each customer’s specification. The selling and buying of products in Dell is conducted over electronic systems, for instance, online transaction process enables consumers attain various services through the Internet. Such considerate

The difference, however, was the structure of distribution. The traditional distribution system was not competitive for the time-based environment. The traditional distribution was referred to as “the channel”. The PC maker would sell the products to distributors who would buy the products from many manufacturers and then sell to a variety of resellers and retailers. Even the best of the PC makers were plagued by their inability to accurately forecast future market demands and were either left with excess slow selling inventories or a short supply of the hot products. Even with the best of forecasting, the PC makers had to hold inventory for each step in the channel to fill orders. It was common, in the 1990’s, for PC makers to have at least 90 days of inventory on hand within the channel. With the severe lack of efficiency with the channel, it allowed an opportunity for improvement. Dell was the company that seized the opportunity and established a new business model based on selling PCs directly to the customer and making the PCs built to order. Selling directly to the customer removes two links in the supply chain that enabled inventory to build up. Dell was able to provide better service to the customer, now knowing who they are, as well as promoting sales to them. By building the computer to order, Dell is able to introduce new technology as soon as the customers want them and that ensures supply and demand are adjusted