ISORG - Group Mini-Research Project: Research 2

Dell Computers is an American hardware company, founded by Michael Dell in 1984. The Dell brand is one of the best known and renowned computer brands in the world. It specialises in producing computing devices such as notebooks, desktops, servers, storage and network, ink and toner, monitors, electronics and accessories and projectors.

CHARACTERISTICS

Dell supplies directly to the customer and the components are made by suppliers. It uses information technology and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) approaches to capture data on its loyal consumers.

Customers are able to add items and upgrade a selected PC model to their own specification. They are also able to keep track of their delivery by contacting the customer service, which is based in India. As the products are assembled using cheap labour, they are able to price their products at a lower price. Customers can make online purchases in a quick and easy way and communicate with the company through their sales representatives by phone for enquires.

In addition, the company is able to communicate with their customer via the internet, over the telephone, or in person directly, who range from home consumers to corporate customers. Dell pursues a diversification strategy, and has introduced many new products to its range, such as peripherals like printers and toners. They have also started to sell LCD televisions and other non-computing goods now.

FEATURES

Its website is basically a business to business and business to consumer virtual storefront e-commerce model that is divided into links for the different categories of products and consumers, namely home and home offices, small businesses and medium and large businesses. Under each, they are further divided into products, services, support and purchase help which will be elaborate below.

Products

Provide the relevant catalogues online and in print

Supports

Online technical support is offered to both home and enterprise user. Under enterprise support (Basic, Silver, Gold and Platinum Plus Enterprise Support), Basic Enterprise Support provides phone-based support during business hours and on-site servicing upon completion of phone-bases troubleshooting on the next working day. Silver Enterprise Support presents a 24 by 7 support for both hardware and core software troubleshooting, followed by expedited on site arrival of service technicians and parts when necessary. Gold provides rapid response and resolution to critical issues in order to maximize server and storage system uptime and performance whereas Platinum support provides the most comprehensive level of support. It combines response and resolution for critical issues with customized account planning and reporting to proactively improve uptime.

On the other hand, for home and home office users, Dell provides a step to step guide for troubleshooting, technical support tools such as PC checkup that offer a free virus scan and security FAQs. However, if there happens to have any unsolved service or technical support problems, (they already contacted customer service and have their reference number but problem not solved or outstanding), customers would be contacted by Dell's representative within 1 business day once they make a report.

Purchase Help

Purchase Help contains steps to online purchasing such as selecting, customizing, and pricing of systems. It also involve saving of the cart to a later submission date and retrieving of the cart saved. Consumers who are concerned about the privacy and security of their order information can submit their order requests online and provide personal information over the phone instead. In this way, no information such as the credit card number will be given online.

Payment mode:

There are various payment methods. Customers can choose to pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express), telegraphic transfer, cheque or bank draft, direct deposit, Flexi payment and financing or leasing. It normally takes about 5-7 days for the product to reach the customer, starting from the time of online ordering. In addition, delivery charges are applicable to all purchases. They range from $12 to $136, depending on the product type and location. Delivery times are from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

Services

Dell provides online services like installation services and extension of warranty. It also gives online training courses for consumer.

Changing advertisements of DELL refreshes people.

STRENGTHS

Dell is the world's largest PC maker and has maintained its position as the market leader for the last few years after beating its rival, Hewlett Packard. Its profits for the 3 months to July 2005 were in excess of $1 billion US, representing a growth of around 28%. The company has diversified a lot in the types of products they offer, to provide peripheral and non-computing products too.

As the products are assembled from the components supplied by suppliers using cheap labour, they are able to price their products at a lower price.

Customers are allowed to customise the products they want according to their requirements, from its internal components to electronics and accessories. In this way, the needs of each individual can be catered to, and they would be able to get a product which most meets their needs.

Also, online comparisons of the products are provided to help them determine the strengths and weaknesses of each system, thus enabling them to make easier choices, especially when there are so many different types of products to choose from. In addition, consumers can have the ease of getting information of products through the e-value code, for products advertised in the newspapers. The products are divided into 3 groups, namely home and home offices, small businesses, and medium and big businesses. This allows consumers to make choices more easily as they narrow the type of products that are more suitable for each group, so that they can choose a system which they would be able to utilise fully.

WEAKNESSES

The company has a wide range of products and components from many suppliers in different countries, and occasional product recalls can cause Dell some embarrassment. For example, in 2004, Dell had to recall 4.4 million laptop adapters because of a fear that they could overheat, resulting in electric shocks or fires.

Dell gets its supplies of components from a group of concentrated hi-tech component manufacturers. This is a very good advantage in terms of business operations, because it allows Dell to focus on other areas like marketing and logistics. However, as the company is reliant on a few large suppliers, it may be locked in for periods of time (i.e. unable to switch supply dues to the lack of large suppliers in the world). For Dell's website, although it does provide for the comparison of products offered, it is only available for medium and large businesses.

Comparisons should also be provided for home and home office users too. Also, the procedure for purchasing may be too troublesome for users who may not like the process of customising their own systems. However, if they do not want to customise, they can actually choose from the systems as featured in the website. Some people may not be used to the idea of purchasing online, and may feel unsafe, such as about whether the products may differ from what they see online, and the online privacy/security of their information.

POTENTIALS

In 2004, Kevin Rollins replaced Michael Dell as Dell's Chief Executive Officer. The new blood and change in management thinking could bring the company into a new, even more profitable period and greater heights. Dell, in pursuing a diversification strategy, has introduced more new products. This may help in expanding their market share, but would also mean that it would have more competitors now, such as iPod from Apple and other consumer brands.

The website has achieved its aim of providing users with information and full customisation on their purchases. Other ways of improvement may include making recommendations and storing of buyers’ information in the database. When making a purchase, the website could recommend users to leave details about what type of products they are interested in, what they might require, the type of environment are in, and what they prefer, so that they could provide or recommend appropriate upgrades as compared to their previous purchases. This would help users to use the system more efficiently, and may most meet their needs by making the best recommendations. The details of the users could be stored in a database, so that when the users revisit the website and want to purchase a new system, the site can just grab the information from the database and provide the most help to the user.

SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Dell allows for the customisation of systems after selecting the notebook model such as the processor speed, operating system, memory, hard disk, software (choice of version of Microsoft office). This choice may not be available for products from other companies. Dell has also set up a blog, Direct2Dell, to provide up-to-date information about the company, such as new products, new retail expansions and customer enquiries. Customers can add comments to any posts, thus providing a platform for communication between Dell and its customers.

In addition, Dell does its part to protect the environment by considering the impact of its actions to the environment, and organises programmes such as recycling programmes, and ‘Plant a Tree for Me’ programme.

RIVALRY

Toshiba, Apple, Hewlett Packard

BILIOGRAPHY