CONTENTS

S. No Particulars Page No

1 Introduction to Company

2 Need for the Study

3 Scope of the Study

4 Objective of the Study

5 Limitations of the Study

6 Methodology of the Study

7 Industry Profile

8 Company Profile

9 Findings

10 Suggestions

11 References

12 Conclusion
 DELL INT. CORPORATION

Introduction to DELL:

Dell Inc. is an American computer hardware company based in Round Rock, Texas.
During 2005 Dell was the number one supplier of personal computer systems (PCs)
worldwide as well as in the United States. Dells founder, Michael Dell, pioneered the
direct-to-consumer sales model for computers. Dell has completely abandoned retail
stores and sells all its custom-assembled PCs directly to consumers by mail order,
allowing for higher flexibility, lower inventories, lower costs, and higher profit margins.
A second feature of Dell is the Wintel platform (Microsoft Windows operating system
and Intel microprocessor), which characterizes its PCs. Although Dell has exclusively
used Intel chips in its computer systems in 2006 the company announced plans to use
chips from AMD in some of its high-end servers.

To supplant sales in the saturated PC market, Dell is increasingly entering new markets.
Although desktop and notebook PCs still make up the largest share of total sales, the
company also offers a broad range of other computer-related products, including
software, network servers, workstations, storage systems, printers, handheld computers,
digital music players, LCD and plasma televisions, projectors, and Ethernet switches.
The company also markets third-party software and peripherals and it services
department provides systems integration, support, and training. With total sales of more
than US% 36 billion (65%), the Americas are Dells most important market of which the
largest share is generated in the business market (51%). Europe and Asia/Pacific count
for 23% and 12% of total sales, respectively.

Dells brand names for PCs are: OptiPlex for office desktop computer systems,
Dimension for consumer Desktop computer systems, Latitude for commercially-
focused laptops and Inspiron for consumer laptops.
Establishment year

Dell computer was founded by Michael Dell. Dell traces origins to 1984 when Michael
dell created PCs limited. The company changed its name to Dell Computer Corporation
in 1988 and began expanding globally as a multinational company first in Ireland.

In 1992 Fortune magazine included Dell computer corporation in its list of the worlds
500 largest companies. Michael Dell is the youngest CEO of the fortune 500 ever. Dell
Inc. is now the 41st among the fortune 500 companies

Reasons for establishment:

In the process of making the Dell Company they came upon a grand idea. They would set
them up on a custom built basis, which means that whenever someone would order a
computer, they would be made to their specifications. That means that you would be
making your own computer when you wanted to buy a new computer from Dell. You
would go on the Dell website and then just start building your computer to however you
wanted it. If you wanted a gaming computer you could get it but it was going to be like
$5000.

Dell Computer company started in 1984 which is earlier then I had thought and they have
been trying to come up with a good computer ever since. They have made some good
computers like the one I am working on now but I just prefer AMD over Intel any day. I
don't know why I just like it better and just do not like the Dell computer cases. You have
to almost break them to get into to them to do work on them. If you do not open it up at
perfect angles you are going to snap your case of the sliders and then you will not have a
good case for your CPU.

Even though Dell is doing good on business doesn't mean that I like their computers but I
do have to say I like how long my computer has lasted from Dell so far. I just ordered it
like I wanted because 4 years ago I didn't know anything about aeoncraft.com so now
that I know about them I just go to them and do whatever it is that I do. I either buy
computer hardware or nothing from them even though they have the best prices.
 NEED FOR THE STUDY

The major purpose of the existing study to give an overview on company history, vision
and mission, management performance, finance, marketing and human resource
management, products and other related issues of Dell corporation. In this study the
researcher also incorporate the Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)
analysis of the company.
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is being conducted at Dell Corporation This study tells us an over view of
organization. The study based on the relevant literature and material from the various
internet databases. It is also help to analyze present and future trend along with the
industry market size, product lines and impact on company. The scope of the study also
includes the corporate social responsibility of the company, financial position, available
products and management system of the company.
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To know the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

To know the marketing mix of a company.

To know the corporate social responsibility of company.

To analysis the Growth rate of the company its contribution for the
development of the economy.

To analyze the finance, marketing and human resource strategies of the

company.

To give concrete suggestions for improvement of the company performance.

 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

The study was conducted based on the secondary sources of data collection.
All the percentage and figure related to the company are gathered through
secondary source like different website portals.
The analyze the data we use both qualitative and quantitative tools like graphs, pie
charts and SWOT analysis

The collection of the data mainly through web source.

 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

It is the best to report with complete frankness flows in the process adopted because
imperfection may have little effect on the validity and reliability of the data, which may
in validate the data entirely.
The data was available for the company analysis was gathered only through
secondary sources and calculation was made certain assumption.
In the financial statistical data is collected from secondary source and hence the
validity the may be subjected to certain errors.
The recommendations and comments are made with a view of ideal conditions but
actual at same situations need not be ideal.

Time is one of the constraint.

 Chapter II

INDUSTRY PROFILE

Industry Information
History

Competitors in conglomerate industry

Industry Information:

The personal computer (PC) industry has grown significantly since its inception in the
late 1970s, as the computer has become an essential tool both at work and at home, and
has taken on an increasingly important role in communication and home entertainment.
Sales of PCs grew at double-digit rates from the late 1970s through the 1990s. In the
1990s, Internet access and new multimedia applications accelerated the pace of this
technological change, while stiff competition among PC makers drove prices steadily
downward. Over the course of the decade, computing power rose exponentially, while PC
prices fell from an average of $2,500 to under $500.1.

This growth cycle ended suddenly in 2000, as markets in the US and Western Europe
became saturated, and both businesses and households began to hold onto their PCs for
longer periods before replacing them. By 2000, a majority of American households
already owned at least one PC. Between 2000 and 2001, PC sales actually declined for
the second time in 15 years.

Since 2001, the industry has rebounded. In 2004, PC sales in the US increased by 8.3
percent, and worldwide by 11.8 percent, back to the double-digit growth experienced
earlier, but this time sales were driven mainly by demand for notebook computers and by
demand in developing countries.
This report outlines the key trends and the global dynamics that are shaping the PC
industry, and their implications for employment in the US.

Global division of labor:

The personal computer industry has had a global production network almost from its
inception. In a rush to catch up with Apple in the early 1980s, IBM decided to standardize
the basic components of the PC so they could be assembled in a modular fashion. IBM
then outsourced most of those components to other suppliers. The common standards,
modular design, and simple assembly of the PC made it possible to disaggregate the
production process among the various components, outsource production and even
assembly, and locate that work anywhere in the world. Some of the components for the
original IBM PC came from Asian suppliers. Other components also began to be
produced overseas, as IBM and other PC makers began locating their assembly
operations overseas to gain access to foreign markets, and as their suppliers moved their
operations abroad to reduce production costs.

Most PC component production and assembly is now outsourced, with component

production located mainly in Asia, and with PC assembly located closer to the customer
in North America, Europe, and Asia. Given the simplicity of assembly anyone with
minimal training can assemble a PC in 15 minutes with a screwdriver and a socket set
and the lack of differentiation among components, the only way for PC makers to
differentiate themselves is by how quickly they get the latest technologies to market, how
efficiently they manage their supply chains, and how effectively they manage their
branding, marketing, sales, and technical support.

Most PC makers do little product innovation on their own. They have come to rely
mainly on their suppliers for product development, and on Microsoft and Intel for new
technologies. Apple and IBM have been the exceptions to this rule.

For suppliers of hard disk drives and semiconductors, the main components of a PC,
product innovation is critical to their survival. For example, the competitive advantage in
hard drives has historically gone to whoever can increase storage capacity the fastest and
cut costs at the same 3 Jason Dedrick and Kenneth L. Kraemer, Globalization of the
Personal Computer Industry: Trends and Implications, Center for Research on
Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, Irvine

David Mc Kendrick, Leveraging Locations: Hard Disk Drive Producers in International

Competition, in Martin Kenney and Richard Florida, Locating Global Advantage
(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004). At the same time. US hard drive
manufacturers have accomplished this through a division of labor that has ended up
locating R&D mainly in the US, and production mainly in Asia.

This global division of labor represents a shift from the early days of the hard drive
industry. In the early 1980s, virtually all of the worlds hard drive production was in the
US and Japan. At that time, US firms produced 93 percent of their hard drives in the US,
and Japanese firms produced almost all of their hard drives in Japan. However, relentless
pressure to cut costs prompted some US firms to move production to Singapore, where
they could reduce the cost of labor by 80 percent. Their success prompted others to
follow, and by 1990 Singapore was the worlds largest producer of hard drives,
accounting for 55 percent of global production. By 1995, 70 percent of the worlds hard
drives were produced in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, while only 5 percent were
still produced in the US.4 However, these overseas operations remained largely in the
control of US-based firms.
By being the first to move production overseas, US firms were able to drive down prices
and increase their share of the market at the expense of the Japanese, who were slower to
take advantage of the lower-cost labor in nearby countries. And US firms were able to
focus more attention at home on R&D, which allowed them to stay ahead of the
technological curve. The global leader in hard drives, US-based Seagate Technology, has
become the largest private sector employer in Singapore and the largest employer in
Malaysia and Thailand, while continuing to increase employment in the US by staying on
the cutting edge of technological developments.

Semiconductors, the other key component in PCs, have followed a pattern similar to hard
disk drives. In 1980, around 80 percent of the worlds semiconductor fabrication capacity
was located in the US and Japan, with 42 percent in the US and 38 percent in Japan.
During the 1980s, the Japanese share grew to 45 percent, and the US share fell to 30
percent, while the share of countries like Taiwan and South Korea grew to 12 percent.5
This was largely the result of a strategy adopted by new entrants to the US market to
design and market semiconductors themselves, and to contract out the manufacturing to
facilities in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Taiwan. This model became so
successful that the established US semiconductor firms followed suit, outsourcing much
of their production to Asian facilities.

Build to Order:
Another important industry trend has been the advent of a new business model in which PCs
are built only after customers orders are received, rather than building them to forecasts of
customer demand, and in which PCs are shipped directly to the customer, rather than going
through a retailer. This model, most closely associated with Dell Computer, takes advantage
of the commoditization of the PC by relying on consumers willingness to purchase a
computer sight unseen, basing their purchase primarily on a set of specifications, price, and
the reputation of the PC maker.

The build to order model has a number of advantages. Building only what the customer
orders makes it possible to eliminate a lot of inventory in components and assembled PCs
that are normally needed to buffer against differences between forecasted and actual demand.
The costs associated with holding this inventory, and with its obsolescence due to rapid
changes in technology, are greatly reduced by building only what the customer orders.

There are also advantages on the back end. By shipping directly to the customer, theres no
need for distributors or retailers to handle the PC, and take their own cut of the sale. And
there are fewer returns by disappointed customers, since customers order exactly what they
want.

Dell embraced this new business model wholeheartedly and now sells 90 percent of its
PCs directly to the final customer. Orders from customers are routed directly to the
factory and are compiled into daily production schedules. Dell requires its component
suppliers to maintain warehouses within 20 minutes of the factory for easy replenishment
of parts, and they dont pay suppliers for the parts until they arrive at the factory,
eliminating inventory holding costs for Dell. By tracking trends in customer orders in real
time, Dell is able to give accurate information to its suppliers on demand for the
components they need to have on hand, eliminating the need for suppliers to maintain a
large inventory of surplus parts. Dell considers its ability to manage the smooth flow of
information and materials needed to make this system work efficiently to be a distinct
competitive advantage.

Dell does most of its final assembly for high-end PCs and configuration for its notebook
computers in-house, locating operations as close as possible to the final customer. The
company has manufacturing facilities in Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina for the US
market, Brazil for the South American market, Ireland for the European market, and
Malaysia and China for the Asian market. However, Dell sources most of its low-end
PCs, as well as base units for its notebook computers, from Taiwanese firms with contract
operations in China.

The build to order model has paid big dividends for Dell, which went from a global
market share of 4 percent in 1995 to its current share of 19 percent, making it the global
market leader. Dell is also the industry leader in the US with 30 percent of the market.8
During the downturn from 2000 to 2003, when most other PC makers were reporting big
losses, Dell continued to make money and to increase its market share. The saturation of
the US and European markets touched off a price war, which Dell was well positioned to
win with its vastly more efficient production and distribution system. Dell also benefited
from the rapid rise in Internet access and the trend toward shopping on-line.

Dells success has prompted other PC makers to implement their own build to order and
direct sales models, but they have had mixed results. Trying to implement build to order
has proven difficult in organizations that have traditionally built to forecast. Also,
shipping directly to the customer competes with the distribution and retail channels that
those organizations already have in place.

Global Dynamics :

Ironically, the business model that Dell exploited to become the industry leader over the
past decade may be losing some of its potency. With the markets becoming saturated in
the US and Western Europe, an estimated 80 percent of new PC sales are expected to
come from developing markets like India and China in the next 5 years.9 Worldwide,
more than 80 percent of PCs are currently sold by retailers, where customers can get
assistance from salespeople.10 That figure is even higher in developing countries like
India and China, where most people live in rural areas, have little knowledge of
computers, no credit cards, and are not accustomed to making purchases over the phone
or on-line.

In 2005, Dells market share in Asia, excluding Japan, dropped by a full percentage point
to 7.8 percent.11 While Dell has been focusing on large businesses and government
agencies in the large cities in China, the market has been shifting to consumers in smaller
cities, where rivals like Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, and Founder have established retail
outlets.

Computer hardware industry:

The computer or IT industry is the range of businesses involved in designing computer
hardware and computer networking infrastructures, developing computer software,
manufacturing computer components, and providing information technology (IT)
services. The industry is affected by seasonal sales cycles. Factors affecting this
seasonality include the retail cycle for home PCs and the year-end sales push for
corporate hardware. The industry is characterized by short product life cycles. In the case
of several sub-segments (including PCs, servers and storage equipment), new products of
small form factors and with fast processing capabilities are being frequently introduced in
the market.

Implications for Employment:

How will these trends affect PC industry employment in the US? First, its important to
note that, even though PC sales have rebounded since 2000, employment in the industry
has continued to fall. Over the past decade, the number of jobs in the PC industry has
fallen from 298,700 to 212,100, or roughly 29 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
predicts that industry employment will continue to fall over the next decade, despite
projected growth in output of 23 percent, which is higher than any other industry. The
combination of rising output and falling employment is mainly due to continuing
technological advances, the outsourcing of production work overseas, and stiffening
competition from imports.

Some of the stiffest competition from imports is at the low end of the market, where
imports from China are starting to make inroads in the US and around the world. That
trend is likely to continue, as growth shifts to developing countries, where the demand is
mainly for low-end PCs. In general, China is well positioned to benefit from the shift to
low-end PCs, because of its low labor costs and high-volume manufacturing. China is
also well positioned to benefit from the shift to notebook PCs, because 85 percent of
notebook PCs are already being made in China today.
With one-third of the Chinese market, which on its way to becoming the largest market
for PCs in the world, and an expanded global reach following its deal with IBM, Lenovo
is in a strong position to become the world leader in low-end PCs. Dell is no longer able
to lay claim to being the lowest-cost PC provider, and with margins thinning at the low-
end of the market, they will need to focus more attention on the high end of the market.

Demand for high-end PCs will continue to increase, particularly in developed countries,
and especially if the PC becomes central to the digital home and office. The key to how
growth at the high end of the market will affect employment in the US over the next
decade will be innovation. Currently, the picture is mixed for US-based PC makers and
their suppliers.

With the exception of Apple and IBM, US PC makers have not made a big investment in
R&D. As mentioned earlier, they have mainly relied on their suppliers for product
development, and on Microsoft and Intel for new technologies. For example, in 2004
Microsoft spent $6.2 billion on R&D (16 percent of revenue), and Intel spent $4.8 billion
(14 percent of revenue), while Dell spent just $463 million (less than 1 percent of
revenue). In contrast, IBM spent $5.7 billion on R&D in 2004 (6 percent of revenue),
while Apple spent $489 million on R&D in 2004 (6 percent of revenue).

Lenovo is now in a position to benefit from IBMs investments in R&D. In addition,

Lenovo is opening joint innovation centers in Beijing and Raleigh, NC to leverage the
R&D capacity of Microsoft, Intel, Symantec, and LANDesk, as well.

Convergence:

Another factor affecting employment in the PC industry is the emergence of new devices
that perform many of the same functions as a PC. For example, in the home, many TV
sets now have set-top devices that perform many of the same functions as a PC. And
video game consoles, like Microsofts XBox, are becoming increasingly sophisticated
and include many of the same components as a PC. Businesses are turning to wireless
personal digital assistants (PDAs), such as the Blackberry, to keep their employees
connected. Wireless PDAs accounted for more than half of all PDAs shipped in 2005, and
sales of Blackberry devices grew by 76 percent, making it the global leader in PDAs.30
Wireless phones are also starting to perform many of the same functions as a PC,
particularly as wireless broadband access becomes more available and more phones come
equipped with 3G technology.
They are also relying heavily on the ODMs for design and technology expertise that they
lack in these new arenas, which limits their ability to differentiate themselves based on
design, since they all use the same ODMs.

Gateway was one of the first PC makers to branch out beyond PCs, establishing itself as
an early leader in plasma televisions, betting that consumers would link their PCs with
their TVs in a wirelessly networked home. Hewlett-Packard has expanded into digital
cameras, capturing 6 percent of the market from industry leaders such as Nikon and
Canon.31 Dell has targeted printers, MP3 players, TVs and smart phones, hoping to
leverage its direct sales model to get a foothold in new markets. Lenovo offers its own
cell phones, digital cameras, and printers domestically, with plans to begin exporting
them globally.

Dell has managed to eke out a 2.4 percent market share in LCD TVs, and a 3.3 percent
market share in plasma-screen TVs. But, Dells direct sales model may be getting in the
way. Most consumers prefer to see what kind of picture they will get before buying a TV.
Gateway sells its TVs through major retailers like Circuit City, Best Buy, Comp USA,
and Costco to take advantage of this preference.

Apple has opened its own retail outlets, as well as selling through major retailers. And the
company has hit it big with its iPod, which has more than 70 percent of the market for all
types of MP3 players, and 90 percent of the market for those with built-in hard drives.
Apple claims that the success of the iPod is boosting computer sales, with two out of five
computers it sells through its Apple Stores going to first-time Mac buyers. Apples
strategy is to become the digital hub that connects all of consumers digital devices
together through the computer, using software developed by Apple that works with all
digital devices, no matter who they are made by.

It remains to be seen which strategy will work best for PC makers. However, PC
component suppliers like Seagate and Intel are clearly benefiting from convergence
already. Their substantial investments in R&D have allowed them to stay on the cutting
edge of new technologies. For example, Seagates strategy has been to focus its R&D on
the most technically advanced, lowest cost products in the widest range of markets. They
are now positioned to supply disk drives to hand-held media players, digital video
recorders for TV, home networks, gaming consoles, PDAs, and media servers. Their
revenue from these devices grew from 5 percent of total revenue in 2004 to 13 percent of
total revenue in 2005.

Between them, US-based Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) control almost the
entire global semiconductor market for PCs. Intel continues to increase its spending for
R&D, which reached $4.8 billion in 2004. Approximately 25,000 Intel employees were
involved in R&D in 2004, out of a total workforce of 85,000, with the majority of them
located in the US. However, product development work has been shifting to Israel, India,
Malaysia, China, and Russia

Dell and most other PC makers are shifting their focus to high-end products and to
emerging products that perform many of the same functions as a PC or can be packaged
with the PC as part of a digital home or office. However, they are limited by their over-
reliance on others for innovation and by the stiff competition they face from other
companies already entrenched in these product markets. Apple is the exception, with
their heavy emphasis on innovation and their strategy of tying other companies products
together with Apples software.
Project Concept:

Classification of Computer Hardware Companies:

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A component supplier is a traditional OEM. Component OEMs supply components or

equipment to integrated OEMs to resell or incorporate into another product using the
reseller's brand name.
Major players Toshiba, Gigabyte, Mektee, Unimicron, Delta

An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is a company that designs and specifies

product under its company name and brand and usually repackage equipment (such as
computers) made by other companies or integrate components into complete systems.
Major players Dell, Oracle, Lenovo, HP, IBM

Distributor can be a direct seller to the end market or can sell to, or act as a support to, the
VAR community, providing training, technical expertise before and after sales, and may
also offer marketing support.
Major players Ingram Micro, Best Buy, Amazon.
An electronic manufacturing services (EMS) provider is a firm that provides contract
design, manufacturing and product support services on behalf of OEMs.
Major players Foxconn, Jabil Celestica, Elcoteq, Plexus, Sanmina-SCI

An original design manufacturer (ODM) manufactures products of its own designs,

which are then sold under an OEMs brand name. Typically, the ODM determines what
products to build and the OEM simply purchases the items ready to go.
Major players - Pegatron, Quanta, Compal Electronic

A value-added reseller(VAR) is a company that takes an existing product, adds its own
"value to it usually in the form of a specific application for then product.
Major players - Accenture, IBM, Fujitsu, NEC, Hitachi

Revenues from Indian IT products in FY15

SmartphoneS
Phablets
Notebooks
Desktop PCs
Tablets
Others
1. Indian IT products market stood at INR825 billion, growing at 8.3% y-o-y and has
been driven by the demand for storage and data centres.
2. Hardware industry is expected to contribute 27% to the IT-BPM industry in 2016.
3.Smartphones, phablets and notebooks are the largest segments of the Indian Industry,
comprising around 85% of the Indian IT products market.

4. The number of phablets grew 527% y-o-y to reach INR50.8 million units and is
expected to grow by ~65% in FY16, driven by its multi-utility coupled with the ease of
usage and handling, primarily for information consumption, especially in the larger cities.
On the contrary, tablets grew at only 4% yo- y, indicating decline in its demand when
compared to the huge growth in the last three years.

5. The total PC sales (desktop computers and notebooks) stood at 10.62 million units,
registering negative growth of 10% over 2014.

HISTORY:

At age 13 Michael Dell was already a successful businessman. From his parents' home in
Houston, Dell ran a mail-order stamp trading business that, within a few months, grossed
more than $2,000. At 16 he sold newspaper subscriptions and at 17 bought his first
BMW. When Dell enrolled at the University of Texas in 1983, he was thoroughly bitten
by the entrepreneurial bug.

Dell started college as a pre-med student but found time to establish a business selling
random-access memory (RAM) chips and disk drives for IBM PCs. Dell bought products
at cost from IBM dealers, who were required at the time to order from IBM large monthly
quotas of PCs, which frequently exceeded demand. Dell resold his stock through
newspapers and computer magazines at 10%-15% below retail.

By April 1984 Dell's dorm room computer components business was grossing about
$80,000 a month -- enough to persuade him to drop out of college. Soon he started
making and selling IBM clones under the brand name PC's Limited. Dell sold his
machines directly to consumers rather than through retail outlets, as most manufacturers
did. By eliminating the retail markup, Dell could sell PCs at about 40% of the price of an
IBM.

The company was plagued by management changes during the mid-1980s. Renamed Dell
Computer, it added international sales offices in 1987. In 1988 the company started
selling to larger customers, including government agencies. That year Dell went public.

The company tripped in 1990, reporting a 64% drop in profits. Sales were growing -- but
so were costs, mostly because of efforts to design a PC using proprietary components and
reduced instruction set computer (RISC) chips. Also, the company's warehouses were
oversupplied. Within a year Dell turned itself around by cutting inventories and
introducing new products.

Dell entered the retail arena by letting Soft Warehouse (now CompUSA) in 1990 and
office supply chain Staples in 1991 sell its PCs at mail-order prices. Also that year Dell
opened a plant in Ireland.

In 1992 Xerox agreed to sell Dell machines in Latin America. Dell opened subsidiaries in
Japan and Australia in 1993. The computer maker abandoned retail stores in 1994 to
refocus on its mail-order origins. It also retooled its troubled notebook computer line and
introduced servers.

In 1996 the company started selling PCs through its Web site. The next year Dell
entered the market for workstations and strengthened its consumer business by separating
it from its small-business unit and launching a leasing program for consumers. In 1998
the company stepped up manufacturing in the Americas and Europe and added a
production and customer facility in China.

Dell began selling a $999 PC in 1999. (Dell phased out the WebPC line after just seven
months due to slow sales.) That year the company made its first acquisition -- storage
area network equipment maker Converge Net -- and opened a plant in Brazil. In 2000
Dell broadened its high-end network servers and Internet-related services offerings, and
formed a division for its storage operations.
Faced with slumping PC sales in early 2001, the company eliminated 1,700 jobs -- about
4% of its workforce. Soon after, it announced it would cut as many as 4,000 additional
positions. Late that year it expanded its storage offerings when it agreed to resell systems
from EMC.

Looking to grow its services unit, Dell acquired Microsoft software support specialist
Plural in 2002. The following year the company shortened its name to simply Dell Inc.

Dell stepped down as CEO in mid-July 2004. Company president Kevin Rollins filled
the position; Dell remained chairman of the company.

In 2006 the company announced plans to open display-only retail locations in Dallas and
New York. (The Dallas store opened, but plans for the New York location were put on
hold.) It also added search giant Google to its list of server customers.

Early in 2007, Rollins resigned as CEO and as a member of the board of directors, and
Dell reassumed the role of CEO.

Key moments in Dell history:

Our company history is full of interesting developments. And we couldn't help but pick
out a few of our favorite milestones to share:

1984 At the age of 19, Michael Dell found PC's Limited with $1,000 and a
game-changing vision for the technology industry.

1988 We complete our initial public offering, raising $30 million and
increasing market capitalization from $1,000 to $85 million.

1992 Dell debuts on the Fortune 500, making Michael Dell the youngest CEO
on the list.

1996 Dell.com launches, generating $1 million in sales per day just six months
after site is live.
 2001 Dell becomes the No. 1 computer systems provider worldwide.

2005 Dell tops the list of "America's Most Admired Companies" in Fortune
magazine.

2010 Dell is ranked the No. 1 healthcare information technology services

provider in the world according to Gartner, Inc.

2013 Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners buy back Dell
from public shareholders to accelerate our solutions strategy and to focus on the
innovations and long-term investments with the most customer value.

2016 Dell and EMC together become Dell Technologies - the biggest
technology integration in history.

Competitors:

TOP COMPETITORS
Acer
Hewlett-Packard
Lenovo
ALL COMPETITORS
3Com
Acer
Apple
Brother Industries
Canon
CDW
Cisco Systems
EMC
Enterasys
 Extreme Networks
Fujitsu Siemens Computers
Gateway, Inc.
Hewlett-Packard
Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi
IBM
Lenovo
Matsushita Electric
MPC Computers
NEC
Epson
SGI
Sony
Sun Microsystems
Toshiba
Unisys

Supply Chain
Dell purchases its intermediates from a wide number of suppliers in a variety of regions:
US and Latin America (27 %): US, Mexico, Costa Rica; Europe (1 %): Germany, Ireland,
Italy, Spain; Asia (72 %): China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand (see Figure 2)

Figure 2: Global View of Dell Suppliers

Dell's suppliers in Taiwan include Hon Precision Industry, Quanta Computer, Compal
Electronics and Wistron. Quanta recently won 60 percent (10 million units) of Dell's
2007 notebook orders, becoming the company's biggest laptop supplier.

An industry observer notes that Dell is very keen in pressuring its suppliers to higher
efficiency and performance. It rates all of its vendors on their ability to compete on cost,
technology, supply predictability, and service, and posts their scores daily on a password-
protected Web site. [] Based on that comparison, they are awarded a percentage of
Dell's purchases for the upcoming.

Environmental Policies

Dell's environmental policy consists of the following objectives:

Design products with the environment in mind: reducing energy consumption and avoiding
environmentally sensitive materials Prevent waste and pollution: waste minimization,

recycling and pollution prevention

Continually improve performance: implementation of environmental management system

Demonstrate responsibility to stakeholders: communication and engagement of stakeholders

Comply with the law: comply with environmental laws and meet commitments with

voluntary environmental programs.

Dell requires that its suppliers are compliant with ISO 14001 certification or submit a
schedule for achieving certification. According to information in the sustainability report
98 percent of the target suppliers (i.e. top 80 percent spend with focus in China) achieved
or maintained the ISO 14001 certification in the fiscal year 2006.

Dells goal is to comply with the EU directive on the Restriction on Hazardous

Substances (RoHS) prior to its implementation on July 1. Through its integrated
Restricted Materials Program, Dell already restricted the use of more than 50
environmentally sensitive materials, completely prohibiting the use of cadmium,
hexavalent chromium, mercury, PBBs and PBDEs.

Dell requires suppliers to sign a Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoC, modeled

after ISO/IEC 17050-1) to ensure that all materials used comply with Dells
environmental policy. This documentation is required in order to release a part to
production revision. In addition, Dell uses a quarterly audit in which parts are selected at
random and tested for restrictive materials by a third party as well as in depth supplier
surveys to verify if suppliers comply with the SDoC.

Dell has actively participated in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star
program for more than a decade. It states that many of its desktops and notebooks now
exceed the current levels set by the EPA for energy efficiency. Finally, Dell actively
participates in a number of environmental standards.

The environmental performances of Dell according to Greenpeace

In the Greenpeace report, Dell scores the number one position Dells position due to its
strong definition of the precautionary principle, reasonable timelines for substituting
toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominates flame retardants (BFRs) and explicit
support for Individual Producer Responsibility. Dell only falls down for not having
models free of PVC and BFRs on the market.

Field Research
This section identifies and describes CSR issues specific to the Suppliers of Dell. The
findings are based on the analysis of labour conditions of eight Dell suppliers, located in
China (3), Mexico (1), Philippines (1) and Thailand (4). In addition it summarizes CSR
issues related to the Hard Disk Drive supply chain of Dell in Thailand and the
Philippines.

Most research into working conditions in the ICT sector concentrates on the ILOs eight
primary labor rights, which are specified in most model codes of conducts such as the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) base code and the CSR
Frame of Reference SOMO works with.

Much of the overall manufacturing process of ICT hardware is low-tech and labor
intensive and thus faces similar working condition issues as in the garment and
footwear industries. This research reveals violations including dangerous working
conditions, degrading and abusive working conditions, excessive working hours and
forced overtime, illegally low wages and unpaid overtime, denial of the right to strike,
discrimination in employment, use of contract labor and trainees, workers without a
contract, and lack of freedom of association and unionization.

SOMO in cooperation with local labor organizations have gathered information about the
working conditions in the factories producing (parts of) computers for one or more of the
targeted companies. This information is obtained through interviews with the workers
and trade unions, field organizers and factory management in some cases. The interviews
are conducted outside the factory in an informal setting, in a situation where the workers
feel safe to speak openly, i.e. not in the presence of the management. A reasonable
amount of workers per factory is interviewed. The workers are selected (as far as
possible) on the basis of sex, age and type of job so as to represent the workforce in the
factory. The worker interviews are undertaken through individual interviews with each
worker, or through group discussions.

Dell has responded that they in collaboration with their 1st tier suppliers have
launched an immediate investigation to gather further information on all issues
cited in the report. This exhaustive investigation includes verification into sub-
tier (3rd-4th level) supplier activities. Investigation is in progress but as of
12/22/06 we did not get more information yet.
CHINA

Tyco (Dungun) Electronics Ltd.

Tyco (Dungun) Electronics Ltd. (hereafter Tyco Electronics) is one of the 16

manufacturing facilities in China of US-based Tyco International Inc. The company was
founded in 1990 in Jinmen Village in Champing Town, eastern Dungun City. Over the
past 15 years, its manufacturing plant and dormitories have expanded to a floor size of
more than 50,000 square meters. It has a very large workforce of some 5,000 persons
and the majority is young female workers. Its major electronic outputs include wire and
cable, data connectors, printed circuit boards, magnetic, resistors, and circuit protection
devices, which are used in IBM, HP, and Dells notebook and desktop computers,
servers, disk drives, engineering workstations, mass storage systems, and touch screen
business equipment (for example, LCD touch monitors).

Dongguan Primax Electronic Products Ltd.

Dongguan Primax Electronic Products Ltd. (hereafter Primax Electronics), was

established in 1989 as the first offshore manufacturing site of the Taiwanese company
Primax Electronics Ltd. Its plants (headquarters and branches) and workers dormitories
are located in industrializing Shijie Town, northeast Dongguan City. Primax Electronics
main factory has a workforce of over 3,000 persons. The factory supplies imaging
products (such as scanners and printers) and computer peripherals (such as wired or
optical wireless PC mouse) for IBM, Dell, HP, and Philips. They also provide their
customers with other office equipment (for example, shredders) and communication
devices (for example, MP3 players).

Volex Cable Assembly (Zhongshan) Co. Ltd.

Volex Cable Assembly (Zhongshan) Co. Ltd. (hereafter Volex Cable) was founded in
October 2000 at the Torch Hi-Tech Industry Development Zone in Zhongshan City,
Guangdong Province. It is a subsidiary of Volex Asia, part of the Volex Group a global
producer of electrical an optical cable assemblies and power cords (plugs, cables and
connectors). Volex Cables factory occupies 80,700 square meters and has a workforce of
about 1,500 to 2,000 persons, with variations between low and peak seasons. It produces
3-wire angled plugs and straight plugs which are widely applied to desktop PCs,
notebook PCs, printers, and other home appliances as well as office equipment. The
company supplies to HP for its Compaq brand and Apple, Dell, Epson, Canon, Nortel
and Ericsson.

Shenzhen Yonghong

Shenzhen Yonghong (hereafter Yonghong) is owned by Shenzhen Zhonghan Science &

Tech Co., which, in turn, is a subsidiary of the FSP Group. The FSP Group, a Taiwanese
owned company us is the 10th largest power supply vendor worldwide. Its main products
are PC / Industrial Power Supplies, ODM or OEM Power Supply, Open Frame, LCD TV
Power and Adapters. Yonghong is a supplier of Lenovo, Huawei, Founder, Tsinghai Tong
fang, Great wall, TCL, Ruijie (formerly Start), Evoc and Datang, Dell , NEC, Siemens,
Motorola, Acer, Samsung and Fujitsu.

Company Perspectives:

Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, the computer industry's longest-tenured chief
executive officer, on a simple concept: that by selling computer systems directly to
customers, Dell could best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most
effective computing solutions to meet those needs. This direct business model eliminates
retailers that add unnecessary time and cost, or can diminish Dell's understanding of
customer expectations. The direct model allows the company to build every system to
order and offer customers powerful, richly-configured systems at competitive prices. Dell
also introduces the latest relevant technology much more quickly than companies with
slow-moving, indirect distribution channels, turning over inventory every three days on
average.

Additional Details

Public Company

Incorporated: 1984 as Dell Computer Corporation

Employees:101,800

Sales: $41.44 billion (2004)

Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ

Ticker Symbol: DELL

NAIC: 334111 Electronic Computer Manufacturing; 334112 Computer Storage

Device Manufacturing; 334119 Other Computer Peripheral Equipment
Manufacturing; 454110 Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses

Principal Operating Units:

Dell Americas; Dell Asia Pacific - Japan; Dell Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Principal Competitors:

Hewlett-Packard Company; International Business Machines Corporation; Apple

Computer, Inc.; Gateway, Inc.; Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Chronology

Key Dates:

1984: Michael Dell founds Dell Computer Corporation.

 1988: The company goes public with 3.5 million shares of company stock.

1991: Dell introduces its first notebook PC.

1993: Dell establishes subsidiaries in Australia and Japan.

1996: The company begins selling over the Internet.

1997: Dell introduces a line of workstations.

2001: The company gains the leading share of the global PC market.

2003: Reflecting its widening interests, the company changes its name to Dell Inc.

2004: Michael Dell announces he will step down as CEO but remain chairman.

Chapter III

COMPANY PROFILE

Logo

Companyoverview

Awardsachievements

Vision and Mission

SWOT analysis
Logo
Name Dell Inc.

Revenue $ 63.07 billion (2012)

Profit $ 3.49 billion (2012)

Employees 110,000 (2012)

Main Competitors

Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Lenovo Group Limited,Hewlett-Packard

Company, Sony Corporation, Fujitsu Limited and many others

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
Corporate social responsibility (CSR):

This corporate social responsibility (CSR) company profile on Dell is part of a research
project on the ICT hardware sector by SOMO, co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in the Netherlands. Other financers are member organisations of International
Consumer Research and Testing (ICRT) and two development organisations, namely
Bread for All and the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund.1 In addition to this profile, profiles
are made on Hewlett Packard (HP), Acer, Fujits Siemens Computers, Apple, Toshiba,
Sony and Packard Bell.
The methodology used for the survey consists of:
 Website analysis
Analyses of annual- and CSR reports;
Questionnaires to major computer brands sent by ICRT;
Workers interviews in China, The Philippines, and Thailand;
Interviews with the management of production sites.

The research is conducted by SOMO in collaboration with research and labor

organizations in china, The Philippines and Thailand: SACOM in China (Students and
Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior); the Workers Assistance Center, Inc (WAC) in
The Philippines; the Centre for Labor Information Service and Training (CLIST) and
Asia Pacific Workers Solidarity Links (APWSL) in Thailand. The definition of CSR used
by SOMO is based on the CSR Frame of Reference published by the Dutch CSR
Platform: a Coalition of 30 Dutch Civil Society Organizations and Trade Unions actively
promoting CSR.2
The first part of the profile provides a short general company overview and then focuses
on the companies CSR policies and operational standards like supply chain
responsibility, stakeholder involvement, independent verification and transparency and
reporting.

The second part of the profile provides research findings of the field studies on social
issues including workers interviews. Where relevant, the non-compliance cases with the
EICC code reported by the Center for Labor Reflection and Action (CEREAL) in its 2006
report are also included.3 For the analyses of the environmental policies and practices
SOMO relies on the research reports of Greenpeace.

The research by SOMO and its partners covers in total 33 supplier companies: 9 suppliers
of The Philippines, 6 suppliers in China, 12 suppliers in Thailand. In addition information
on 6 Mexican supplier of Dell and can be found in this draft report. Most of these
suppliers are shared by the other brand companies.
Finally, this report also includes information on working conditions in the Hard Disk
Drive (HDD) supply chain of Dell. The HHD market is dominated by six HDD
manufacturers (Fujitsu, Hitachi, Toshiba, Seagate/Maxtor, Samsung and Western Digital),
which together produce 98.4 percent of HHDs percent of total factory unit shipments of
HHDs in the world 5. A survey among computer repair shops and technical research
department of the Dutch consumer organization indicates that, similar to other PC brands,
Dell uses HDDs of all 6 large manufacturers. This means that the suppliers of these 6
HDD manufacturers are also part Dells supply chain and therefore Dell can be held
accountable for possible social and environmental problems at these second-tier
suppliers.

To prevent the publishing of any inaccurate information about the company subject in
this profile:
SOMO has implemented a review process in which the companies are requested to
review the draft profile and inform SOMO about factual misunderstandings.
The comments of Dell on the draft version of this report are incorporated6. Their
comments are focused on the first part of this profile: the description of the CSR
policies. Although Dell has responded that they in collaboration with their 1st tier
suppliers have launched an immediate investigation to gather further information on all
issues cited in the report. Investigation is in progress as of 12/22/06 but SOMO did not
receive more information yet (21 February 2007).

As this profile is written to serve as a basis for other publications, as one of eight profiles,
it offers the information in a way it is comparable with the other 7 profiles, with analyses
but without
Conclusion:
The ICRT member organizations together with the participating development.
Organizations are responsible for the task to rate the included companies on CSR policies
and practices and will publish their own publications based on this research.

CSR Policies
Dells website contains clear statements on its CRS policy: As a company with an
extensive global supply chain, we recognize that we have a responsibility to work with
our suppliers to promote sustainable environmental practices, the health and safety of
people and fundamental human rights and dignity. Accordingly, Dell has defined a set of
standards which describes its policy towards CRS drawn from a review of global best
practices, management systems and acknowledged standards, such as: United Nations
Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child,
fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Electronic
Industry code of conduct International Organization for Standardization (ISO14001),
Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS 18001),. Dells supplier
principles, first launched in 2004, reflect the companys CRS policy towards its suppliers.
It is structured around four areas:
1. The corporate philosophy referred to as the soul of Dell
2. The Dell Company Code of Conduct
3. Supplier commitment
4. Supply chain management system

At the same time when Dell was developing its supplier principles, it started to cooperate
with other electronic manufacturers to draft a joint industry code, which resulted in the
Electronic Code of Conduct (EICC). At present, Dell is a member of the board and
steering committee of the EIC.

Environmental Policies:
Dell's environmental policy consists of the following objectives:
1. Design products with the environment in mind: reducing energy consumption and
avoiding environmentally sensitive materials
2. Prevent waste and pollution: waste minimization, recycling ad pollution prevention
3. Continually improve performance: implementation of environmental management
system
4. Demonstrate responsibility to stakeholders: communication and engagement of
 stakeholders
5. Comply with the law: comply with environmental laws and meet commitments with
voluntary environmental programs.
Dell requires that its suppliers are compliant with ISO 14001 certification or submit a
schedule for achieving certification. According to information in the sustainability report
98 percent of the target suppliers (i.e. top 80 percent spend with focus in China) achieved
or maintained the ISO 14001 certification in the fiscal year 2006.

Dells goal is to comply with the EU directive on the Restriction on Hazardous

Substances (RoHS) prior to its implementation on July 1. Through its integrated
Restricted Materials Program, Dell already restricted the use of more than 50
environmentally sensitive materials, completely prohibiting the use of cadmium,
hexavalent chromium, mercury, PBBs and PBDEs.

Dell requires suppliers to sign a Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoC, modeled

after ISO/IEC 17050-1) to ensure that all materials used comply with Dells
environmental policy. This documentation is required in order to release a part to
production revision. In addition, Dell uses a quarterly audit in which parts are selected at
random and tested for restrictive materials by a third party as well as in depth supplier
surveys to verify if suppliers comply with the SDoC.

Dell has actively participated in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star
program for more than a decade. It states that many of its desktops and notebooks now
exceed the current levels set by the EPA for energy efficiency.
Finally, Dell actively participates in a number of environmental standards.

The environmental performances of Dell according to Greenpeace

In the Greenpeace report21, Dell scores the number one position Dells position due to its
strong definition of the precautionary principle, reasonable timelines for substituting
toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominates flame retardants (BFRs) and explicit
support for Individual Producer
Compliance with CSR Standards:
Responsibility:
Dell is also clear which companies in the supply chain have to comply with its supplier
policy:
While our principles do not vary regardless of the level of supplier, our focus on
communicating and reviewing performance against those standards is at our first-tier
supplier level. Despite this focus, violation of Dell's Supplier Global Citizenship
expectations at any level of our supply chain is unacceptable. As part of every new
supplier contracting process, Dell requires suppliers to sign an agreement acknowledging
they are aware of and will abide by Dell requirements and principles. To ensure that
suppliers live up to Dells expectations the company provides training in a variety of
relevant areas such as environmental practices. In addition Dell closely monitors the
behavior of its suppliers using combinations of: business reviews, self audits, executive
oversight and review, board of directors oversight and engagement with third parties and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs). When suppliers fail to meet the Dell
expectations, Dell and the supplier will initiate a root analysis and create an action plan to
ensure future compliance. Dell works collaboratively with suppliers to find solutions to
address non conformances, however if suppliers fail to comply critical requirements it
might result in termination of their contract.

Stake holder involvement:

Dell engages with third parties and NGOs as it deems necessary in order to ensure the
effective implementation and oversight of its supplier principles. Dell conducted several
focused interactions with stakeholders in fiscal year 2006, including CAFOD, Computer
take back campaign, Forest Ethics, Greenpeace, Green Blue Institute. An example of its
stakeholder involvement is its formalization of a chemicals management process in 2002
in which it consulted, NGOs, customers and regulators to develop a list of
environmentally sensitive materials. Dell also participates in a wide number of CRS
indices.
Verification:
Dell is working on multiple levels to monitor its suppliers and improve labour and
environmental conditions, including:
1. Signed Executive Commitment letter - to ensure that the management team is fully
aware of the requirements
2. Quarterly business reviews with first-tier suppliers to review implementation plans of
the EICC and Dell's standards which includes a rating system
3. External audits of high risk areas. During 2004 and 2005, Dell cooperated with Impactt
Limited, a third-party auditor, to perform on-site audits in China to assess working
conditions and develop corrective action plans.
4. BPI (business improvement projects) with selected suppliers: working with corrective
action plan and have on site local advisors, which specifically focus on working hours,
Health and Safety , and EICC awareness.
5. Joint audits with the EICC, planned for 2007.

Awards achievements
Dells major achievement related to fair labour conditions in the production and supply
chain
The main achievement for Dell has been and is to set up programs that focus on analysing
root causes and plan corrective measures, rather than focus all efforts on fostering
"inspection relationships". Realizing that real efforts will take long term commitment
and is not something that will be solved only by "shipping over western training
programs". Dell has set up a Business
Process Improvement (BPI) project with selected suppliers and evaluates monthly the
number of working hours, the reasons for overtime, the possibilities for improvements. A
local Dell BPI advisor works on site with the supplier and will do so for a year. The
projects also focus on EH&S and EICC awareness training.
SWOT analysis of DeLL:

Dell SWOT analysis

Strengths Weaknesses
1. Brand name valued at $7.5 billion 1. Commodity (computer hardware) products

2. Product customization 2. Poor customer services

3. Environmental record 3. Low investments in R&D

4. Competency in mergers and acquisitions

4. Weak patents portfolio

5. Direct selling business model 5. Too few retail locations

6. Low differentiation

Opportunities Threats

1. Expand services and enterprise solutions

1. Growing demand for smartphones and
businesses tablets

2. Obtain more patents through 2. Profit margin decline on hardware products

acquisitions 3. Slowing growth rate of the laptops market
3. Strengthen their presence in emerging 4. Intense competition
markets

4. Tablet market growth

Strengths:

1. Brand name. Dell has a very strong brand reputation for quality products. Its
brand is valued at $ 7.5 billion.

2. Product customization. Dell allows its customers to customize their laptops.

Such services were not originally found within any other major computer retailer
(and currently only Sony and Toshiba allow that), but add great value to the
customers and provides Dell with a competitive advantage.

3. Environmental record. Dell is engaged in many green initiatives and has

received many rewards for being an eco-friendly business. This is a benefit when
working with public and government agencies.
 4. Competency in mergers and acquisitions. Over the last five years Dell has
spent $13 billion for successful mergers and acquisitions, which brought patents,
new capabilities, assets and skills to the business.

5. Direct selling business model. Dell doesnt sell its products through big-box
retail outlets but instead sells directly to consumers and enterprises, keeping their
already thin profit margin to themselves.

Weaknesses:

1. Commodity products. The large stream of Dells revenues comes from

computer, especially laptop, sales, which is a commoditized product. Computer
hardware (commodity) products are sold with a very low profit margin.

2. Poor customer services. Once praised, Dells customer services deteriorated due
to outsourcing its call centers offshore. Dell invested a large sum of money in
fixing this, but hasnt yet regained its previous reputation for customer services.

3. Low investments in R&D. The company spends a much lower percentage of its
income on R&D that its main competitors and thus, missed an opportunity to
develop strong products for smartphones and tablet markets as well as to learn
new skill and capabilities.

4. Weak patent portfolio. Due to low spending on R&D Dell hasnt acquired a
strong portfolio of patents and is now finds it hard to compete in lucrative smart
phones and tablets market.

5. Too few retail locations. Selling products online saves money and allows for
product customization but provides less visibility for the products. The consumer
finds it hard to trust the products if it cant hold it first in his hands.

6. Low differentiation. Low price was once Dells competitive advantage but the
company is no longer able to provide competitive prices. Apart from the price,
 Dells products are little differentiated from competitors products and are in
competitive disadvantage if the price offered by competitor is lower.

Opportunities

1. Expand services and enterprise solutions divisions. Dell provides various

services (cloud, security and infrastructure) and enterprise solutions (servers,
networking and storage), which are the most profitable Dells business at the
moment. Dell business should focus on growing these divisions as they promise
better growth opportunities and higher profit margins.

2. Obtain more patents through acquisitions. If Dell wants to diversify, it needs

new technology patents and new ideas. Dell hasnt properly established its R&D
facilities to discover new technologies and patents, so the only feasible way to
obtain patents and technologies is to acquire other companies.

3. Strengthen their presence in emerging markets. Emerging economies are the

fastest growing markets for laptops, tablets and other electronic devices. Dell has
a good presence in these markets but should strengthen its position as the
company experiences declining market share.

4. Tablet market growth. Tablet market is expected to grow in double digits for the
next few years and the company has a great opportunity to release new tablet
models and benefit from the market growth.

Threats:

1. Growing demand for smart phones and tablets. With a lower price and
strongly improved capabilities, consumers often choose tablets and smartphones
over laptops. The growing demand for the previous devices takes a share out of
laptops, the main stream of revenue for Dell.
 2. Profit margin decline on hardware products. Dells main income is from
selling hardware products, which prices will increase in the future due to rising
raw material prices. This will add to costs for Dell and will further cut the profit
margin.

3. Slowing growth rate of the laptops market. Growth rate of the computer market
is slowing down and in the near future the markets will become saturated. It will
prove hard for Dell to compete in such market or at least fight back the lost
market share.

4. Intense competition. The company faces intense competition in all its business
segments. It competes in terms of price, quality, brand, technology, reputation,
distribution and range of products, with Acer, Apple, HP, IBM, Lenovo and
Toshiba.

Vision:

The way Dell does its business, the way it interacts with the group of people and the way
it interprets the world, its customer needs, future of technology and the global business
environment may affect constructing the strategy and formulating it within the premises.
Catering service to the customers after experiencing them by direct selling is the mission
of Dell. This mission can impact the organization as it only focuses on the direct selling
model (Dell, 2010).

Objectives: Every organization has a set of objectives, with which it carry on its
business aiming to achieve them. Dell has framed an outline of its business given below:

A bigger market share and size

Faster design-to-market times than competitors

Greater product quality than its competitors

If these objectives are defined using the SMARTER method, so that the goals are more
likely to be achieved (Dell, 2010).

S-specific term states that while setting an objective establish what, why and how
because it is the primary step.

M-measurable depicts that it should be measurable otherwise it would not be

manageable.

A-assignable suggests that its allotment should be precisely defined.

R-realistic states that the objective should not be too easy or too hard.

T- Time bound reveals that dates and deadlines should also be set to achieve these
objectives.

E-extending part of this model explains that objectives should have the flexibility so that
time can be extended at the time of need.

R-rewarding depicts that after the achievement of each objective, reward should be
provided on the basis of individual performance.

Moreover, it can have the cultural and environmental effect on the strategic plan in terms
of affecting its formulation. Once the factors are determined, implementation phase
comes forward. Forthcoming segment will describe the process of formulating the
strategic plan.

Dell Mission Statement:

"Dell's mission is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering
the best customer experience in markets we serve.

In doing so, Dell will meet customer expectations of:

Highest quality
 Leading technology

Competitive pricing

Individual and company accountability

Best-in-class service and support

Flexible customization capability

Superior corporate citizenship

Financial stability"
 CHAPTER IV

CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK OF DELL

CORPORATION

Financial strategy

Marketing strategy:

Human resource strategy:

Human resource strategy:

Human and Labor Policies:

Dell's suppliers are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations consistent
with local law. The company states that: The key components of our approach are:
Environment, Health and Safety, and Labour Rights. These standards also include
adherence to Dell's supplier principles and the industry's principles as outlined in the
Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC). It is not clear, however, to which standards
Dells suppliers have to adhere. The statement above suggests that Dells supplier
principles are identical to the EICC but this is not true. According to the information on
the companys website, Dells supplier principles include the following standards:

*Every employee must be a voluntary employee and that there be no use of indentured,
slave, convict or bonded labor.
*Every employee must be of working age. Employees must meet appropriate legal age
requirements or be at least 15 years of age, whichever is greater
Training and development programs:

Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Computer Corporation, in a recent annual report,
summarized where the CEO stands on the role that learning plays in his company. He
said it was people who produced results in any business, laying emphasis on how
building a talented workforce remained Dells greatest priority as well as its greatest
challenge. This challenge contained two primary issues. The first being training,
developing and retaining their existing employees so they continue capitalizing on the
career opportunities Dells growth provides them. The second being to actually
successfully recruit employees at all levels to support Dell.

The CEO said the company progressed pertaining to both issues in the previous fiscal
year, adding Dell would continue to keep it a critical area of focus. Dell filled more than
half of its executive-level positions with promotions from within the organization, hiring
the remaining externally. Dell also modified its core training and development programs
to improve employee effectiveness as well as, for the second successive year,
compensation programs.

Michael Dell said hyper-growth companies that lack long-established practices have
better chances of adapting with the ever-changing environment, while laying emphasis on
the fact that enough structure had to be in place to ensure that growth would not go out of
control. He said hyper growth needs to be dealt with in a particular manner regarding
learning and leadership development.

Dell Learning was established to meet Dell`s needs pertaining to human resources.
Although training had always been an integral part of Dell, in 1995, it realized the need
for greater emphasis on ensuring the employees were sufficiently skilled to keep up with
the firm`s hyper growth. Dell Learning, following the expansion in 1995, was also
assigned a series of objectives:

Bringing learning in line with Dell`s key business

Making learning directly and openly available
 Creating a clarity around competencies required to maintain Dells hyper growth
Providing consistency through a global curriculum

Naturally, as a response to hyper growth, Dell had to structure three fourths of its training
program to target new employees, products and basic job skills. A centralized corporate
team was established for training development and administration. Training managers
were appointed to:

Develop business based educational plans

Hold business leaders responsible for execution of plan
Ensure that sufficient resources exist to execute the plan
Report on the plans impact

In addition to providing strategic direction, the corporate team includes fulfillment teams
that serve Dells different businesses on demand. One team produces learning tools for
training sales and technical audiences on Dells products and services. Another,
Education Services, manages classrooms, registration, scheduling, tracking, and other
logistics. A third group consists of highly experienced instructional designers who
oversee development projects requested by the businesses. Essentially, the training
organization operates as a federation. There are three parts: Corporate Training, Regional
(HR) Training, and Regional (Non-HR) Training, held together by the senior
management team and a series of Dell Learning councils.

The corporate group comprises six major elements:

1. Corporate and Regional Operations global education planning, financial

management and reporting, and process and infrastructure.
2. Dell Learning Services instructional design services and consulting.
3. Dell Learning Technology Services enables rapid distribution of new learning
technologies.
4. Education Services handles event management, vendor management,
registration, facilities, and a wide range of administrative services.
5. The New Product Training Group provides core training materials for sales and
technological support.
6. The Program Management Office develops strategies and aligns them with
global curricula to support strategic initiatives. The specific areas of focus shift from
year to year based on business needs.

The Corporate Group reports to Human Resources, a few groups, do however, report to
marketing or customer service organizations even though they still take part in
management meetings, operations reviews, and global strategy sessions.

This organizational structure is, in part, a response to Dells hyper growth status. The
companys training charter was revised around the time Dell University was reassessed
and thereby renamed Dell Learning to include:

Education should be business-issue based

Education should be as cost-effective and time-effective as possible
Business managers should be in charge of managing their own training
investments
Education must be flexible and able to scale
All training should be competency based
All learning should be just enough, just-in-time
Learners should be in control
Learning solutions have limited shelf life and should be treated accordingly
Learning occurs everywhere, so our obligation is to leverage it across the
organization
The education function must create access to the intellectual capital of Dell

The establishment of such a charter as well as the nature of the computer business have
forced Dell to take an aggressive take towards technology-enabled learning. In order to
put learners in control, it was essential that learning solutions be available to them all the
time, as well as them being able to control what they learn and when. Low-tech solutions
made that possible, however, classroom learning never could. Technology has made
learning omnipresent and a natural part of work

Dell Global Health and Safety Policy

Dell aspires to provide an injury-free workplace. Accordingly, Dell will promote the
health and safety of our employees, contractors, visitors and the local community. The
following criteria provide a framework for establishing and reviewing our occupational
health and safety objectives:

Prevent Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

Provide a safe and healthy work environment for our employees.

Require all persons working at or visiting Dell locations to adhere to our health
and safety requirements

Operate our facilities in a manner that protects our neighbors.

Comply with the Law

Conduct business in full compliance with applicable occupational health and

safety regulations.

Meet the commitments of the voluntary occupational health and safety programs
in which Dell participates.

Continually Improve

Promote a health and safety culture throughout Dells businesses.

 Evaluate and continually improve health and safety management and
performance

Marketing strategy:

Dell is a diversified information technology providers and partners directly to customers

cover a wide range of global products and services. Dell in Fortune
magazine America the most appreciated companies rankings, and ranked No. 1 in
Global most appreciated companies rankings, ranked third. Dell commitment to
provide our customers design, build and deliver innovative customized based systems in
order to provide customers with outstanding value.

Spanning over 20 years, the company has always been associated with designing,
manufacturing and customizing products and services to satisfy a diversified range of
customers including individual customers to corporate and retailing businesses. The
companys philosophy to deal with customers one-on-one has become a management
model for other companies. Having gained the market leadership position in computer
products and services, Dells team have always been careful in sustaining its marketing
strategy of providing standard-based computing solutions.

Marketing Environment

Dells strategy is global. It realizes that being closer to the customers is essential in
carrying out its marketing strategies as well as in enabling it to build customer base.
First by establishing the Internet infrastructure for booking/orders related activities it has
been able to increased its customer base from existing markets. Using the same
infrastructure it has been able to carry out its marketing strategies in new offices as well.
However, Dell differentiate in its marketing tactics in that it believes in establishing a
brick and mortar market presence. This is why the company has established sales offices
and manufacturing outlets across North America, Europe, Asia and South America. This
way it has been able to gauge the local customers needs as well a services desired.

Apart from the above customer level niche marketing, Dell also believes in reducing
competition through collaboration. Unlike other leaders in the industry such

as HP and Compaq, Dell does not believe

in taking over existing competitors to eliminate competition. Instead the company have
always pride itself in using partnerships and associations for integrated marketing. For
example Xeroxs addition to the company as a partner for providing printing products
and services has served the purpose of integrating one more technology to its lists of
comprehensive business services. As James Vanderslice, Vice Chairman of Dell
says:By adding Xerox to our roster of preferred printing partners, we are even better
equipped to serve our customers with a full range of office printing technologies that
provide end-to-end solutions. The Xerox brand is synonymous with quality, technology
leadership and world-class services. We share these core values.

Product diversification is a key strategy for Dell as it seeks to maintain a

competitive advantage in the declining PC market. Dell needs to restructure its
core business priorities and develop new structures that can help it to gain leverage in
a highly competitive industry. It needs to develop a comprehensive strategy, which can be
based upon achieving key targets through the focus on innovation and creativity. The
development of a comprehensive approach is essential because it can lead to competitive
advantage in the future
Product diversification should focus on smart phones, tablet PCs, software, storage
management solutions, enterprise services, and supercomputers, which can help the
organization to attain growth within short periods of time. Dells corporate branding
strategy is also essential because it must be restructured so that it helps to target home
users as well as corporate users. It should create a competitive strategy, which should
help it to offer value proposition to its customer
Dells key competitive advantages, which include a lean, supply chain management
system and lowered costs through its direct distribution model need to be are invented so
that they can offer value added services to home users

Marketing Objectives:

The following are the marketing objectives of the organization:

Dell should work on corporate branding so that it can retransform itself from a PC
manufacturer to a firm that provides products and services to different niche markets.
Corporate branding is extensive and Dell should focus on enterprise level solutions,
storage networks, and supercomputers, which will target the corporate sector.

Dell needs to be cohesive through acquisitions and mergers.

Product diversification should be supported by innovation in the field of software,
enterprise solutions, tablet PCs and smart phones.
Innovative technologies can be developed so that they can be sold at lower costs. This is
the backbone of the organization, which has been successful because of its ability to
manage its logistics.
Dell should enhance its relationships with its customers as means of ensuring highlevels
of success.
It should not abandon its PC hardware business but find ways to develop innovative
devices that are in accordance with current market conditions.
Dell should employ its key strengths to remove weaknesses
Targeting and Positioning:
Dell needs to restructure itself so that it can create the image of a diversified technology
solution provider. Services and software will be the main backbone of its new marketing
strategy. Besides that, its core business, which is hardware, will remain but it will provide
technological and innovative solutions.
Dell needs to target home users as well as different corporate customers. The
development of a comprehensive business strategy is critical for success as it will lead to
long-term growth. (Graham, 2005)Dell needs to conduct an analysis of the cash flows
from the profitable product and services. This will help the organization to attain strategic
competitive advantage.

Cloud computing is another area where Dell can foster growth and development. It can
employ the power of software and storage technologies through the Internet as means of
attaining clear leverage in a highly competitive industry. Supporting the cloud computing
industry is another innovative way for growth in the market. Dell needs to appear
cohesive through its mergers and acquisitions. This will help it to have a centralized
strategy for attaining growth. It should focus outwards so that its business processes
areare flexible, reliable and agile. It needs to redefine its priorities and make investments
in the areas where there are potential for increased cash flows. This will help the
organization to attain success by leveraging its key products and strengths.
Selection of Competitive Advantage:
Dell can attain competitive advantage by using following strategies:
Product diversification should continue but its core products of hardware should be
given priority so that it can determine profitable markets.
Niche markets need to be targeted by the organization for success.
It needs to focus on branding itself into a complete IT services and devices provider.
Dell needs to revamp its marketing and business strategies through efficiency,
competence, and professionalism.
Marketing Mix
Product :
 Dell believes that, Marketing is not about providing products or services it is
essentially about providing changing benefits to the changing needs and demands
of the customer.

Dell provides a wide variety of both business class and home/consumer class
products and services.

Dell designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports a wide range of
products that in many cases are customized to individual customer requirements.

A few examples of products for individual and professional customers are Dell
Precision workstations, OptiPlex desktops, Dimension desktops, and Inspiron and

Latitude notebooks.

Price:

Pricing strategies usually change as the product passes through its life cycle,
because there is constrains on the companys freedom to price a product at
different stage.

The main objective of Dell is to produce the low price and profitable PC for the
customers.

For the above reason Dells product pricing reflects the affordability of the local
consumers.

Because Dell products are so customizable, the price is largely dependent on the
options and services added to the product.

Dell is undercutting competitors in price to rapidly gain market share.

Place:
 Place is also known as channel, distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism
through which goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer / service
provider to the user or consumer.

Dell has been able to affect the location strategy aspect of its marketing campaign.

As Dells products are always available at the nearest dealers customers develop
trust for the local Dell thereby achieving the objective of gaining their trust in
Dell products and services, and forming a large and diversified consumer base.

Promotion:

Another one of the 4 Ps is promotion. This includes all the tools available to the
marketer for marketing communication.

Dell in the past have not concentrated on extensive marketing campaigns but
these revolutionaries in 1999 when Dell changed its tactics by engaging in
extensive marketing campaigns.

Dell markets its products primarily by advertising on television and the Internet,
advertising in a variety of print media, and mailing or emailing a broad range of
direct marketing publications, such as promotional materials, catalogs, and
customer newsletters.

Dell has recently started promoting its products through retailers like Best Buy,
Staples, Wal-Mart, GOME, and Carrefour.

Chapter-V
Findings/Suggestions & Conclusion
Dell Major Findings:

Dealing with a large amount of supplies from many different countries can cause
a large issue when products are recalled.
 They build computers and not developing them.

Their supply orders are so large that they become limited to dealing with a small
few supplies that can handle the volume.

They have weak business relationships with many computer retailers.

They do not have unique technologies to offer the market.

A huge range of products and components from many suppliers from various
countries.

Computer maker and not the computer manufacturer, making DELL unable to
switch supply.

Dell lacked solid dealer / retailer relationships.

No propriety technology

Not attracting the college student segment of the market. Dells sales revenue
from educational institutions such as colleges only accounts for a merely 5% of
the total.

Dells focus on the corporate and government institutional customers somehow

affected its ability to form relationships with educational institutions.

For home users, Dells direct method and customization approach posed
problems. For one, customers cannot go to retailers because Dell does not use
distribution channels.

Customers just cant buy Dell as simply as other brands because each product is
custom-built according to their specifications and this might take days to finish.

Worlds largest PC maker.

 One of the best known brands in the world.

First PC maker to offer next-day, on-site product service.

Direct to customer business model. Uses latest technology.

Dell has remarkably low operating cost relative to revenue because it cuts out the
retailer and supplies directly to the customers.

Dells Direct Model approach enables the company to offer direct relationships
with customers such as corporate and institutional customers.

Dells direct customer allows it to provide top-notch customer service before and
after the sale.

Each Dell system is built to order to meet each customers specifications.

Reliability, Service and Support.

Dell boasts a very efficient procurement, manufacturing and distribution process

allowing it to offer customers powerful systems at competitive prices.

Dell is able to introduce the latest relevant technology compared to companies

using the indirect distribution channels.

Personal computers are becoming a necessity now more than ever. Customers are
getting more and more educated about computers. Second-time buyers would
most likely avail of Dells custom-built computers because as their knowledge
grows, so do their need to experiment or use some additional computer features.

The internet also provides Dell with greater opportunities since all they have to do
now is to visit Dells website to place their order or to get information.
 Since Dell does not have retail stores, the online stores would surely make up for
its absence. It is also more convenient for customers to shop online than to

actually drive and do purchase at a physical store.

Conclusion:
Dell has been successful in the PC market because of its supply chain management and
direct business model. It has a flexible and reliable supply chain management system that
reduces inventory and costs. It reduces risks of operating in a competitive industry. Dell
has a brand image among its customers because of its cost effective rates. All of these
factors have made the organization very popular among the customer segments.
However, Dell has been facing stiff competition as the trend in the PC markets has
changed. It has faced new entrants and new technologies that erode its traditional
competitive advantage. Dell needs to devise a vibrant business strategy that is based
upon product diversification.
It should also continue with its primary model of computer hardware. Furthermore, it is
through the emphasis on a strategic edge that the organization can attain success in the
long term. The long-term growth should be based upon using its competitive advantages.