Dell Computers
Dell began as the vision of Michael Dell. The company began in 1984 with a simple business concept to build computers to order and to sell directly to customers (Thompson and Gamble C-132). Dell has a history of achieving double-digit increases in annual sales. To maintain this growth, Dell is faced with many challenges due to the constant changes in the general environment, in the industry, in maintaining it's competitive advantage, and lastly using objective analysis to ascertain it's strength's, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The computer industry has benefited from the explosion of home computer usage. According to the US Census Bureau, computer usage has increased from 8.2% in 1984 to a current level of 51% as of August 2000 (appendix A and B). Internet usage is at an all time high of 41% (appendix A). In the business sector, small and large businesses are constantly upgrading their systems in response to an increasingly suave customer. Rapid technology and the computer industry complement each other. As the demand for faster, efficient, and lower cost computers in the home market increase, this partnership will steadily increase. This phenomenon is echoed in t
Another strength is Dell's excellent management strategies like Demand Forecasting, which allows the company to communicate better with suppliers in terms of what components the company needs at a specified time to efficiently provide Dell with just-in-time inventory (Thompson and Gamble C-148). These services demonstrate Dell's attentive and responsive customer service and technical support, all of which create more value and help Dell achieve a competitive advantage. In the opportunities section, several recommendations were made to increase market share. com in 1994 and adding e-commerce capability in 1996. Through procurement, customer support, and relationship management, Dell continues to capitalize on the efficiencies associated with the Internet. com, Dell conducts business with over 113,000 business and institutional customers worldwide (Thompson & Gamble C-154). Dell is also looking at the opportunity to standardize some services and sell them directly to customers at a fixed cost; "Dell needs to increase its professional services if it wants to sell heavy-duty hardware to big business" (Seitz P-1). CulturalIn the US, the overall trend towards increased home/business computer and Internet usage has directly contributed to success the direct sales strategy at Dell. Dell designed and built all its computers, workstations, and servers to order. In response, companies must continually adjust to produce exactly what their customers are looking for in a PC. Dell has confirmed plans to "sell its own printers and handheld organizers" (Harrison P-1). AnalysisStrengthsDell's main strategy has always been to sell direct at lower costs and has furthered its strategy by becoming a world leader in incorporating e-commerce technology. com, Dell shares information with its suppliers on a variety of topics.
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