Case Study

Dell Computer inc., is one of the great success stories of the past decade. The computer business Michael
Dell started while still a student at the University of Texas grew to a multibillion-dollar enterprise guided by
the insight that it could bypass computer dealers and could sell directly to customers ranging from
individuals to large companies buying thousands of computers. Many of Dell’s large competitors
traditionally pre-built PCs using estimates and distribute to their distributors to be sold to individuals and/or
businesses. Thus, they decide how many computers to assemble based on an estimate, ship them to
distributors, and hoped the computers would be sold before they become outdated. Dell uses a different
approach. It could eliminate mark-up charges by dealers and vastly reduce the risks of carrying large
inventories by taking orders directly from the customers and building computers only when it had customer
orders specifying the options individual customers wanted. Dell implemented this strategy through a
combination of outsourcing and mass customisation. As this system developed, Dell became more and more
efficient in providing a wide range of options, yet manufacturing the computers efficiently and delivering
them through a delivery service within two weeks. Dell reached the point at which it typically received
payment for the computers before having to pay suppliers for the components. This means that Dell’s
inventory holding cost is negative.
Dell’s approach to mass customisation is to create an efficient order fulfilment process that provides rapid
delivery and low prices while also providing customers important options related to computer power,
storage, the type of monitor, and features. Because many customers wanted specific software installed on the
computers before delivery, Dell created a network within its factory that made it possible to select one of
many possible configurations and load it efficiently. The internal processes that made this mass
customisation approach possible start with estimates of demand and long-term contracts with over 200
suppliers, 30 of whom account for 78% of Dell’s total purchases. Dell maintains electronic links to its
suppliers that tell them exactly when the parts are needed. These electronic links help make sure that Dell
uses only the most current parts and does not have to store large inventories. Dell tracks inventory velocity
and related measures closely and has reduced its inventory to 11 days, meaning that its risk of holding
obsolete inventory is minimal. When its inventory balance is not quite right, it uses its direct sales model to
steer customers toward products that can be built with the available inventory.
As an aggressive outsourcer, Dell has been a leader in permitting partners and suppliers to do work that
might otherwise be done by company employees. At each stage in its value chain, Dell asks whether there is
any reason to do the work internally. Dell does not manufacture the semiconductor chips used in its
computers and does not attach the chips to the computer motherboards. Instead, it buys computer
motherboards from suppliers with which it has long-term contracts. Similarly, it does not make monitors, but
purchases them from suppliers such as Sony. Since there is no advantage in receiving a shipment of Sony
monitors, and repackage them, and re-ship them to customers. Dell asks Airbourne Express or UPS to pick
up computers at the Dell plant in Austin, and matched them with monitors from Sony plant in Texas, and
Ship both to the customer at the same time. In a similar fashion, most of the 10,000 technicians who service
Dell computers in the field are actually employees of other firms operating under contract with Dell.
Furthermore, since there is no special value in insisting that only Dell employees have access to Dell’s help
desk tools and information, employees of Dell’s major customers such as MCI can access this information
directly through www.dell.com.
Dell is also an early leader in using the Web for sales and achieved $3 million of sales per day by 1998. Dell
provides a number of ways to buy from them. For example, customers can order through the Web without
talking to anyone, order through a sales representative without using the Web, or set up a tentative order on
the Web and then talk to a sales representative. About half of Dell’s customers “use Dell’s web pages to
configure their orders. And only 15% of customers place the order electronically. The remaining 35% design
the order online and then submit it in some way that requires Dell to take a second step to feed it into the
system, such as via emailing or faxing.

Sales to large companies occur through more traditional industrial sales relationships. This combination of
different sales methods provides a comfortable shopping experience for different types of customers with
different preferences and experience levels.
Questions:

1. In what way(s) is Dell Computer inc. an e-Business?

2. In what way(s) is Dell Computer inc. an e-Commerce?
3. How does Dell differ from its competitors when it comes to marketing and selling of products over
the Internet?
4. In what ways did dell achieved a competitive advantage over rivalry?
5. State and discuss the system(s) used by Dell and MCI to access Dell’s help desk tools and other
information?
6. What type(s) of e-commerce is Dell Computer inc. engaged in? Discuss your answer
7. What was Dell’s Business Model in this case?
8. To what degree of digitization is Dell Computer inc.? Describe all as in this case study
9. Explain how Dell inc. used the VALUE CHAIN in this case
10. Apply the Michael Porter Forces Model to this case with specific emphasis on the Forces Dell
Computer inc. faced in this case
11. For which strategic objective(s) did Dell inc. set-up its e-Commerce system to achieve?
12. As a consultant to Dell, advice on how Dell can engage in social e-commerce
13. By what means can Dell assure its customers of their privacy and security? Describe a technology
that Dell can used to give its customers this assurance.
14. Outline and describe 3 electronic payment systems Dell customers can use to make purchase(s) from
Dell.
15. Which of the Porter’s Generic Strategy(s) did Dell Computer inc. adopted? Give reason(s) for your
answer