This case study talks about the success and challenges of Dell Inc., which was started by Michael Dell in 1984 (Wheelen & Hunger, 2012, p. 9-1).
They explain how he started the corporation by buying and reselling computers. Eventually he began to manufacture his own computers. They explain the market share between Dell Inc. and competitors. They list problems of the corporation buy growing too quickly. They had to slow down the growth process and focus on organization of the company. The business model, product lines, strategies used and more are also discussed Resources, Core competencies, and capabilities
They focus on business aspects such as customer support and service as well as providing affordable personal computers. Our text explains, “The company held virtually no parts inventory. As a result, Dell made computers more quickly and cheaply than any other company” (Wheelen & Hunger, 2012, p 9-2).
They explain how dell focused on enhancing manufacturing processes and were able to using buying power to get hold of cheaper parts. (Wheelen & Hunger, 2012, p 9-3).
They focused on getting computers directly to the consumer versus spending too much time with retail stores. They’re not really worried about creating new innovative products as they explain it is more profitable to wait until technology becomes the norm than to risk it. They are fully capable and are currently competing with the top computer suppliers including HP, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo and more. Finding of Fact
“Although the company outsourced some operations such as component production and express shipping, it had its own assembly lines in the United States, Malaysia, China Brazil, India, and Poland… In contrast to its global desktop manufacturing strategy, 95% of Dell’s notebook computers were assembled in Dell’s plants in Malaysia and China” (Wheelen & Hunger, 2012, p 9-3).
I found this rather interesting that they used different manufacturing locations in the world for desktops versus laptops.
References
Hunger, J. David, Wheelen, Thomas L. (2012).
Strategic Management and Business Policy Toward Global Sustainability. Upper River Saddle, New
Jersey: Person Education, Inc.