The Dell Corporation

Dell Corporation establishment was in 1984 by Michael Dell. He was a student at Texas University. In the year 1999, Dell was the leading personal computers seller in the United States. It was second worldwide. The success of the company is phenomenal. The reason is that it developed from being a student’s own company to a big company with thousands of employees. The company deals with the sale of computers and other related computer services. The company has grown through acquisitions and adding its customer base.

There are unique factors that make the company unique from other companies that deal with the same products. Other companies that deal with computers and other related services are Hewlett Packard, Apple, and Toshiba. The company is driving out other companies in the business dealing with desktop computers. It has a remarkably efficient and innovative system in which there is little presence in the retail market. Dell has a unique strategy of maintaining consistency of the product components. When the company obtains a contract on graphic cards, it can be able to attract suppliers quickly. This is an advantage to the consumer. In the case of business buyers, it is almost impossible to do maintenance of the product as components change every time one purchases a new computer. The company offers an outstanding program to business persons. This program assures the business people that the company will maintain the components of its products for a long time. Many companies dealing with the sale of computers do not offer such assurances to their clients. The company actively participates in a program known as Environmental protection agency. It has participated in this program for a long time. It is an environment protection program that requires products to meet certain qualification of energy star. The company offers many laptops, computers and printers that convene these requirements. It also leads to minimization of environmentally-sensitive materials emitted during generation of power. Most of the products developed by Dell Company consume little energy, less than 5 watts when operated in low power mode. The company has taken an extra step in minimizing the amount of time consumed before entering a low power form.

Dell Corporation has qualifications for its capacity to lower down the prices of its computer products. This makes the products to be affordable since the company has control over its venders. The company has been able to influence the internet providers to a great advantage. It can be noted that Dell is a foremost supplier of personal computers through the internet.

The strategic choices together with effective ways of achieving them have played a vital role in the success of the company. One of the key elements of success in business is the supply chain management adopted by the company (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson 2009). Most competitors of Dell Corporation try to copy its business model. In the sale of its computers and computer services, the Dell Corporation has adopted a direct business model. It has done away with the resell markup. It has also eliminated some risks connected with large stocks of finished goods. It regularly receives parts some minutes or hours before it starts assembling them to meet a customer’s order. In other situations, the company holds six days of stock up to eleven days. Its competitors can have up to 58 days of inventory. This is advantageous to the company since the cost of computer components drops each day. It is not profitable to buy large inventories at once since they can be purchased later at a lower price.

The company recognizes three customer segments. One of the customer segments is the large organizations that include government institutions and large companies. The other customer segment is medium and small businesses. The last segment is personal consumers who occupy the large percentage of Dell’s sales. The company has adopted a virtual integration mode due to increase in the number of customers. This brings about direct relationship with customers. The development of information technology has helped Dell Corporation to have a close connection with the customers (Holzner, 2006). Two main amenities that bring dell closer to its customers are platinum councils and premier pages. They are all found in the internet sites.

The company has also adopted a build-to order supply strategy. The strategy involves a chain that produces quality products and services that based on individual customer requirement at a lower price. The company engages in manufacturing products and services that meet customers’ specifications at a short time and complying with information technology. The company picks suppliers who have experience, ability and expertise to deliver products on time. The performance of the suppliers can be assessed by the company. After every three months, the company meets the suppliers so as to get the direct feedback that involves future expectations and performance of the company. The performance assessment is carried out by the use of a score card that has a comparison of every supplier with that of the competitors. The evaluation has a base on cost, reliability, continuity and quality of supply.

The dell corporation has developed strategies that are valid. These strategies intend to improve the performance of the company. This makes it to be one of the top most successful firms in the sale of computers and computer components. However, this does not mean that the company is perfect in its operations. It is able to overcome the challenges, it faces. Competitors should learn a lot from Dell Corporation.