Dell is a well known PC developing corporation that develops, sells, repairs and supports PC’s and PC related tasks. Dell computers are ranked number two in computer system companies worldwide, as it was one of the first major companies to move their sales channel onto the Internet. This essay will be divided into five parts looking at Dell’s own supply chain, the types of products Dell produces, the integration throughout Dell’s managerial levels, Dell’s collaborative planning strategies and the integration within Dell’s supply chain. The purpose of discussing these five parts is to explain why it is important to align the supply chain strategy with the design of the electronic business platform of Dell.
Dell’s main strategy of selling directly …show more content…
Due to this technique Dell is able to provide directly to their end consumers as they configure and assemble every PC to order while maintaining a cost advantage over their rivals. Dell is also able to create a direct relationship with their customers and do so by categorising their customers into groups such as consumer, medium business, large corporate, government and education (Simatupang, Wright & Sridharan, 2002). Another strategy that makes Dell unique is their bespoke configuration meaning that their machines are custom designed for their consumers (Reichhart & Holweg, 2007). Having a bespoke configuration requires a built-to-order strategy and for Dell this is done by information sharing as visibility of customer orders, inventory levels and replenishment are provided regularly to component suppliers who are able to act on this information once an order is placed (Simatupang et al., 2002). Dell also implements the activity-based channel strategy which lets the customer check their product to see if it meets their specific needs before purchasing (Payne & Frow, 2004). The combination of all these strategies provides Dell computers with a competitive advantage, as Dell is able to maintain a relationship with both their customers and their suppliers leading to seamless …show more content…
Figure 3 shows that Dell consists of strategic, tactical and operational sectors within their corporation. Strategic supply chain management decisions involve the design and configuration of the supply chain, capacity planning and facility location; tactical decisions include supplier selection and evaluation, bidding and contracts; operational decisions include inventory management, production planning and scheduling, and replenishment policy (Manataki, 2007). Senior management undertakes the strategic decisions for Dell whereas middle management makes tactical decisions and junior management makes operational decisions. Strategic integration is concerned with long-term partnership based on shared risks and rewards, tactical with medium term alignment of information and material flows, and operational with integration of daily operations across the interfaces enabling seamless flows (Childerhouse & Towill,
Dell’s main strategy of selling directly …show more content…
Due to this technique Dell is able to provide directly to their end consumers as they configure and assemble every PC to order while maintaining a cost advantage over their rivals. Dell is also able to create a direct relationship with their customers and do so by categorising their customers into groups such as consumer, medium business, large corporate, government and education (Simatupang, Wright & Sridharan, 2002). Another strategy that makes Dell unique is their bespoke configuration meaning that their machines are custom designed for their consumers (Reichhart & Holweg, 2007). Having a bespoke configuration requires a built-to-order strategy and for Dell this is done by information sharing as visibility of customer orders, inventory levels and replenishment are provided regularly to component suppliers who are able to act on this information once an order is placed (Simatupang et al., 2002). Dell also implements the activity-based channel strategy which lets the customer check their product to see if it meets their specific needs before purchasing (Payne & Frow, 2004). The combination of all these strategies provides Dell computers with a competitive advantage, as Dell is able to maintain a relationship with both their customers and their suppliers leading to seamless …show more content…
Figure 3 shows that Dell consists of strategic, tactical and operational sectors within their corporation. Strategic supply chain management decisions involve the design and configuration of the supply chain, capacity planning and facility location; tactical decisions include supplier selection and evaluation, bidding and contracts; operational decisions include inventory management, production planning and scheduling, and replenishment policy (Manataki, 2007). Senior management undertakes the strategic decisions for Dell whereas middle management makes tactical decisions and junior management makes operational decisions. Strategic integration is concerned with long-term partnership based on shared risks and rewards, tactical with medium term alignment of information and material flows, and operational with integration of daily operations across the interfaces enabling seamless flows (Childerhouse & Towill,