Dell Computer Company's Supply Chain and Logistics Innovations

Supply Chain and Logistics Management
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Supply Chain and Logistics Management
Michael Dell founded Dell Computer Company while he was in college in 1984. The individual came up with a business idea of buying computers and modifying or customizing them to other college students wanted. In particular, in the 1990s, numerous large chains had no idea how the Internet will influence their relationship with customers. In other words, they could not see the future effects of e-commerce. In a highly competitive market, Dell realized that prioritizing customers' needs would enable his company to differentiate itself from competitors by gaining a competitive advantage. As such, Dell Computer Company started as a consumer-friendly firm. The enterprise has thrived in the computer industry, which is highly competitive, by emphasizing and fulfilling clients' needs in computing.
Comparison of Dell Computer Company's Supply Chain and Logistics Innovations with that of Competitors, Such as Apple Store and Others
The use of communication technology, such as the Internet and phone, enabled Dell Computer Company to communicate directly with its clients worldwide. The firm embraces a business-to-consumer strategy where customers are allowed to place orders for specifically customized products. Dell realized that he would do something that other companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, were not doing, keeping in touch with clients to know what they need and modify its products to meet its customers' requirements. Dell Computer Company had a website as early as the 1990s, which allowed its clients to access and fill order forms specifying the kind of computers they wanted. From those order forms, employees come up with something they call a traveler (MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, 1999). Notably, a traveler is a piece of paper that moves from one point to another that ensures a particular computer has been modified to the manner that a customer wants. As seen from the video Your Computer, Your Way: Dell and the Direct Sales Model, the entire process, from the receipt of an order to sending a finished computer to the customer, only takes four hours. As such, it means that Dell Computer Company makes products with unique specifications for its customers as opposed to Apple Inc., which launches iPhones and MacBooks and places them in their stores to wait for people to buy them. The firm started using the Internet before other companies, such as Amazon.com or Apple Inc. Dell Computer Company implemented a customer-oriented method to logistics and supply chain innovations based on its close and proper relationship with suppliers. That way, the enterprise minimizes inventory and agree with suppliers to work in the long-term to move volumes of its products. Unlike Apple Inc., Dell Computer Company uses a pull-to-order cycle, a strategy that enables customers' requests for computer customization to be received, checked, processed, and met within a short period and efficiently.
Emerging Supply Chain and Logistics Management Factors Portrayed in the Video that Affected Large Computer Chain Stores Adversely
Although the largest computer companies, such as Apple Inc., were up and running in the 1990s, the...