Dell computers

The power supply to the electrolyser was a Model 710 from The Electrosynthesis Company, Inc. of Lancaster NY. It was operated in constant current mode rather than in constant voltage mode. The maximum current and maximum voltage available was 50 amperes and 20 volts, respectively. In addition to current measurement provided by the power supply, a calibrated shunt was connected to the output to allow for independent measurement of current. Voltage taps independently connected to the cell electrodes were connected to the data acquisition system (DAS). The instrument signals from thermocouples, pressure gages, and flowmeters were connected to the DAS, which was comprised of a Dell computer with special acquisition boards and Labview software. Observations and some data were manually recorded in a laboratory notebook. 

Dell Computers understands the new paradigm probably better than any company as we enter the new millennium. It began selling products onhne in 1996. In 1999, it received 2 million hits per week and did 40% of its business on the Web. That is 20 million doUars of computers and stuff each day. No computer is built until it is ordered, making inventory expenses minimal. Michael Dell believes that three words control the future of business. Businesses that understand the power of these words and can implement them will win. What are these three words The consumer experience. That expression placed on or in view of everyone s desk reminds all Dell employees that their salaries, cars, desks, and retirement accounts and the presents they give all depend on the experience they provide to the customer at all customer touch paints. To make certain they ace on top of that experience, Dell created the Consumer Experience Council, a group that scrutinizes every aspect of how Dell interacts with the customer. 

The company can sell products to distributors and/or directly to customers through business-to-customer e-commerce. In some cases, products may be designed by the customer himself or herself. This is related to mass customization. Customer needs are then captured directly through the customers preferences—the customers understand what they want and can submit their preferred design electronically. A well-known example is Dell Computers, where customers can select the elements that constitute a computer according to their own preferences. 

Dell Computer Corporation (now Dell, Inc.) pioneered direct sales channels for personal computers. Dell s methods, labeled its secret sauce, are copied widely in other industries. At the time of writing, Dell had become the world s largest personal computer manufacturer and the most profitable. 

Executing, or execution, processes recognize three supply chain business models Make-to-Stock (MTS), Make-to-Order (MTO), and Engineer-to-Order (ETO). In the MTS company, forecasts drive production requirements. Customer shipments are made from a finished goods inventory. An MTO company has an order in hand before it produces. Boeing s commercial aircraft business and Dell computers are examples. An ETO company must design parts of the product for customer requirements. Each delivered product to a customer is unique. A Configure-to-Order company, not specifically addressed in SCOR, is a hybrid of the MTO and the ETO models. 

Magretta, J. 1998. The Power of "Ritual Integration An Interview with Dell Computer s Michael Dell. Harvard Business Review 76(Mar./Apr.), 73-84. 

Research indicates that several companies may dynamically adjust the price of their products over time. Indeed, dynamic pricing is a popular strategy in computer industry. Dell Computer Corp., which is the No. 1 PC maker in the world, is one of the pioneers in this area. By working with the company main suppliers, Dell can forecast prices for each component in its computers several... 

The Dell Computer Corporation is famous of its direct business model (see Dell and Fredman, 1999) that assembles customized computer systems based on customer orders, and ships directly from the factory to the customers. Based on Kraemer, et. al. (2000), Dell basically segments its customers into Transaction, Relationship, and Public/Intemational customer segments, in which more refined sales channels, including Home Home Office, Small Business, Medium Large Business, State Local Government, Federal Government, Education, Healthcare, are offered at Dell. By doing so, Dell is able to satisfy special needs in each customer channel. 

Kraemer, Kenneth L., Jason Dedrick, and Sandra Yamashiro (2000). Refining and Extending the Business Model with Information Technology Dell Computer Corporation, The Information Society, 16, 5-21. 

Kraemer, Kenneth L. and Jason Dedrick (2001). Dell Computer Using E-commerce to Support the Virtual Company, Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, Irvine, CA. 

Rhee (2001) generalizes Rhee and Park (2000) by explicitly modeling a competitive impetus for a manufacturer to add a direct channel alongside its established retail channel to respond to a direct-sales-only challenger (usually Internet-based). A motivating example is Compaq s 1998 introduction of the Compaq.com online store, largely viewed as a response to the likes of Dell Computer. 

Dynamic pricing becomes much more feasible when selling online, as there are no physical price tags or display labels to manually update. Dell Computer is known to alter its prices on a frequent basis to balance demand and supply (McWilliams 2001). 

Transfer the risk Here the company makes its suppliers to assume all the risk. For example, Dell computer has long required its suppliers to maintain inventory of parts near its assembly plant in Texas. 

Kraemer, K. L., Dedrick, J., Yamashiro, S. (2000). Refining and extending the business model with information technology Dell computer corporation. Information Society, 76(1), 5-21. 

Supply chains vary significantly in complexity and size but (he fundamental principles apply to all operations whether they be large or small, manufacturing or service, private or public sector. Supply chain management is not just for large big name businesses such as Dell Computers, Wal-Mart and Toyota Motors. It is for all businesses and for all operations. 

The influence of the Internet on the economy in general and business practice in particular has been tremendous. The direct business model employed by industry giants such as Dell Computer and amazon.com enables customers to order products over the Internet and thus allows these companies to sell then-products without relying on third-party distributors apart from those providing the physical delivery service. 

There are a few widely recognized models for partnerships in industry. Wal-Mart is recognized in the retail industry for building processes and information systems that distribute nearly instant information on actual sales throughout the supply chain. Dell Computer Corp. has a similar reputation for pioneering direct sales channels for personal computers. Dell s methods are now widely copied in both the personal computer industry and, increasingly, elsewhere. 

All of this requires an understanding of what core competencies are required to be competitive in the future. Our forecast is that SCM will, in many companies, be seen as a required core competency on a par with product technology competencies. Examples where it already is include our examples, Wal-Mart and Dell Computer. Figure 17.1 shows how an SCM competency will fit with product technology competencies. 

From this framework, one could conclude that cost reductions for the innovative supply chain are not necessarily strategic, while those for functional products are. Fisher points out, in fact, that hacking cost and inventory from a supply chain full of innovative products can be coxmter-productive. We also believe that an innovative supply chain can make a functional product innovative. Starbucks and Dell Computer are examples. 

Supply chains are a hot management topic. Eyes are opening to a more global view of end-to-end material, information, and financial flows. As this introduction is written, two achievements exemplify the trend. Dell Computer has topped the Standard Poor s 500 index for its 88,918% value gain in the decade of the 1990s. Forbes magazine has crowned UPS as the 1999 "company of the year" for its exploding role in e-commerce. Each distinction is a variant on the supply chain theme. 

Such market positions, moreover, are not limited to high-technology players such as Dell Computer and Intel or retail giants such as Wal-Mart. Consider the case of Scholastic, a leading publisher of children s books, which has parlayed its emphasis on supply chain into industry-high standards. Known mostly for its Harry Potter series of books. Scholastic... 

Using Dell computers, let me give you an example of a fully integrated, end-to-end e-commerce-based supply chain (eVCM or e-commerce value chain). In their purchasing process, customers go on-line and identify their customized configuration of the product they want to purchase. For example, if they want a laptop computer, they configure the computer out exactly the way they want... 

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