Premium Essay

Dell and the Pc Industry

In:

Submitted By egan288
Words 1635
Pages 7
1. How and why did the personal computer industry come to have such low average profitability?

Strong rivalry between the existing competitors and the production of almost similar products led to low average profitability in the personal computer (PC) industry.

IBM launched the first PC in 1981, however within the next few years, multiple firms produced very similar products, some of which were clones. This happened because of the open architecture of the PC when IBM set a standard with the combination of Intel’s microprocessors and Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Being in a fast-cycle market like PC industry, technology is diffused rapidly to the competitors within a short time. The technology is hardly protected by patents. Hence, more and more start-ups entered the industry and adopted the standard; IBM lost her pricing power because she no longer set standards.

Although the barriers to entry may be high in the PC industry due to the high capital and high costs in Research and Development (R&D), the increase in competitors in the markets had caused a very serious downward spiral on the prices. A price war existed between the direct model, build to order company, Dell and the other companies such as Compaq that believed in the numerous means of distribution and sales. Dell knew that they have to come up with new system of marketing and distribution strategy when entering the PC industry where Compaq is already very strong in retail. Instead of focusing on building good relationships with the retailers, Dell focused on providing the PC to consumers at a much lower and affordable price. direct method had proved itself to be a more successful method and eventually other major PC producers incorporated the direct method in their distribution approach. This method weakened the traditional retailers’ and suppliers’ power as the old methods of

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Mr Fezs

...Analysis of Dell Computer and its use of Information Systems in CUT THROAT PC Industry Simon T. Lau Table of Contents Analysis Paper Objective Section I : Industry Analysis : The Personal Computer Industry A. Personal Computer (PC) Industry Profile B. Porter Competitive Model for PC Industry Structure Analysis C. Business Strategy Model and Representative Business Strategies D. Globalization of the Industry E. Importance of the Information Technology to the Industry Section II : Company Perspective : Dell Computer in the PC Industry A. Business Leaders and Company Profile B. Competitive Strategy Statement C. Dell Computer Financial and Market Performance D. Significance of Information Systems at Dell Computer E. Strengths and Weaknesses of Dell Computer Section III : Structured Analysis of Information Systems at Dell Computer A. Strategic Option Generator B. Roles, Roles and Relationships C. Redefine and/or Define D. Significance of Telecommunications E. Success Factor Profile Section IV : Final Analysis – The Success of Dell Computer in the PC Industry A. Success of Business Strategy and Information Systems Use to Day B. Is Dell Computer effectively positioned themselves for the Future? Bibliography Three Outstanding Articles Analysis Paper Objective The objective of this paper is to analyze Dell Computer Corporation (Dell) business...

Words: 13153 - Pages: 53

Premium Essay

Matching Dell

...Profitability in the personal computer industry is very low because it is one of the most competitive industries that exists today. Consumers are constantly demanding newer and better technology in computers, and because this market is in such high demand, other companies want to enter the industry. It is very ironic that the profits of the PC industry are so low since the technology required is so complex and the products sell for such a high price. In analyzing why the profitability in the PC industry is so low, it is helpful to look at Porter’s five force model for an explanation. Competition (rivalry) is the biggest reason for why companies in the PC industry make such a small profit. In 1981, IBM published most of the specifications for their PC system so that an “open architecture” could be formed, in order to encourage software developers to “write programs for the IBM PC and to spur other firms to make compatible peripherals such as printers” (2). Because these specifications were made public, many IBM clones began to appear, which created many similarly-powerful competitors. Compaq entered with a low-priced portable clone, Dell Computer Corporation was established, and other competitors such as Hewlett-Packard shifted to the IBM standard (2). This industry is also so competitive because making PCs is not an arduous task- many companies manufacture them, and computers are all relatively homogenous products. They are manufactured by assembling standardized parts:...

Words: 1563 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Dell Case

...Dell Computer Corporation Dell Computer Corporation since its arrival in the computer manufacturing business has been following the “Direct Model” that has helped it to leverage its position as a leading manufacturer of PCs. When Dell entered the PC manufacturing industry there were already established competitors like IBM, HP, COMPAQ, Gateway and Apple.IBM was the pioneer with respect to technical standards in the PC industry and also had an open architecture allowing developers to build applications suitable for running on the IBM machines. The industry was rallying around the standards set by IBM and all major players in the industry had IBM clone machines except for Apple which was using alternative standards and had its own proprietary architecture. The major players had strong sales force teams and dealer networks .So the PC industry had a lot of competition and there was very less opportunity for any substantial growth in the industry. Because of presence of so many competitors in the industry price wars were common and locking in customers could only be done by providing them with a cost effective solution. Also the PC manufacturing industry had two prominent suppliers for the microprocessor (Intel) and the operating system (Microsoft) ,the two most important things required in building a PC. Even though Intel made the microprocessor available to purchasers at a standard price it rationed new products to PC makers based on the proportion of their previous purchases...

Words: 2182 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Case Analysis

...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Dell computer was founded by Michael Dell at age of twenty one in his dorm at the University of Texas, Austin. Dell’s strategy is to build computer so that it can be order by the consumers. It’s build to order strategy has made Dell the most successful company in the information technology field. Dell sells its machines and other equipments directly to customers so it has eliminated the middleman. Dell has high margin because of direct sale strategy and customers get excellent state of the art machines at low cost compare to Dell’s competitors. Michael Dell’s visionary leadership has made Dell the second most successful PC maker in the industry. (IBM is the leader). Dell’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances is its great strength. One week after the September 11th 2001 attack, Dell reported selling 24,000 servers and desktops. Dell established mobile technology park in Washington D.C. and New York by converting three eighteen wheel trucks and operated its factories round the clock to fulfill the unexpected customers demand. The trustworthy relationship between Dell’s management and work force made it possible to change the disastrous moment in the I.T industry to a great opportunity for the organization. Dell has very user friendly web site and half of Dell’s sale, half of tech support and three quarter of order status takes place online. The supply chain and data integration with suppliers has made Dell one of the most efficient...

Words: 3942 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Dell

...A Direct Threat to the Status Quo An Analysis of the PC Industry and Dell, Inc. I. Personal Computer Industry Summary a. Industry Profile b. Typical Industry Competitive Strategy c. Porter Model Evaluation d. Globalization of the Industry e. Importance of I/T to the Industry II. Dell, Inc. a. Dell Company Profile b. Market and Financial Performance c. Competitive Strategy Statement d. Significance of Information Systems e. Strengths and Weaknesses of Dell, Inc. III. Structured Analysis of Information Systems Use a. Strategic Option Generator b. Roles, Roles and Relationships c. Redefine/Define d. Significance of Telecommunications e. Success Factor Profile IV Final Analysis a. Success of Business Strategy and I/T Use to Date b. Have the Above factors Positioned Dell for the Future? Objective of this paper A thorough analysis of the PC Industry yields a unique look at the most dynamic market arena in the last 25 years. This analysis paper seeks to offer just that: an in depth view of what it takes to succeed in this marketplace. While focusing on the international end-user and corporate markets, important topics such as threats, tactics, and future trends of the core market players will be scrutinized. Further, we offer an in-depth look at how Dell Inc., one of the market’s most successful players, deals with these threats and competition...

Words: 13166 - Pages: 53

Premium Essay

Dell vs Hp Marketing Mix

...showcasing procedures utilized by Dell and HP Near investigation of Dell and HP Presentation: From the creation of first PC by Charles Babbage in 1832, PC industry has made considerable progress. Industry watched emotional development after the progressive innovation of microchip in 1959. The interest for PCs and related gadgets is expanding each year. PC industry is profoundly focused and there are a few organizations contending energetically for all of piece of the pie. Dell and HP are two major US based organizations which are significant players in the PC business with a differing arrangement of items. The business incorporates items like desktop and PCs, gadgets and PC fringe gadgets. This report concentrates on the advertising techniques connected by both the organizations in this industry. Examination will be finished with the assistance of some vital promoting measurements and after that recognize the focusing on and situating techniques. Market capitalization: Dell and HP are two goliaths in the PC business and reliably demonstrate their vicinity among the main three. Dell enrolled an income of 59 billion US dollars in the year 2014-15 (Dell 2014 Annual Report to Customers, 2014). In the second from last quarter of 2015 it had a piece of the overall industry of 13.8%. Its adversary HP enrolled income of 111 billion US dollars from its different arrangement of items and benefits and appreciates a piece of the overall industry of 18.5% (Gartner, 2015). In...

Words: 1435 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Dell Case Study

...Information Technology: Dell Computer Corporation Kenneth L. Kraemer, Jason Dedrick, and Sandra Yamashiro Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO), Graduate School of Management, and Department of Information and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA Keywords The exceptional performance of Dell Computer in recent years illustratesan innovative response to a fundamental competitive factor in the personal computer industry—the value of time. This article shows how Dell’s strategies of direct sales and build-to-order production have proven successful in minimizing inventory and bringing new products to market quickly, enabling it to increase market share and achieve high returns on investment. The Dell case illustrates how one business model may have inherent advantages under particular market conditions, but it also shows the importance of execution in exploiting those advantages. In particular, Dell’s use of information technology (IT) has been vital to executing both elements of its business model—direct sales and build-to-order—and provides valuable insights into how IT can be applied to achieve speed and exibility in an industry in which time is critical. Many of the insights gained from this case can be applied more generally to other time-dependent industries, suggesting that the ndings from the Dell case will have implications for a growing number of companies and industries in the future. build-to-order...

Words: 12929 - Pages: 52

Premium Essay

Matching Dell

...Matching Dell Case Analysis 6/27/2013 Submitted By: Group-4 Manjul Shrestha Megha Shrestha Mohit Basnet Sujal Dhungana Submitted To: Mr. Rupesh Krishna Shrestha Facilitator, Marketing Management Kathmandu University School of Management Background The case “Matching Dell” basically describes the history, market structure and environment of computer and peripherals industry especially emphasizing the success story of Dell Computer Corporation. Despite the fierce competition from the IBM giants and the IBM clones, Dell stood out as a successful name by focusing exceptionally on operations and manufacturing, measuring performance through several performance metrics and concentrating on products and market trends. Dell Computer Corporation emerged as a small dorm room part-time business in the mid-1980s, the era of booming popularity and purchases of the personal computers when every family wanted to own a PC for their homes and every employee wished to have a PC on their desk. So, consumers were demanding PCs and there was Dell bursting on the scene with its “direct approach”, handling each customer individually through customized PCs, delivering its core strategies of improved customer satisfaction and minimum inventory holdings. While all the other big competitors were running towards developing their retail and reseller chains and relationships, Dell with its unique approach focused on handling its customers directly and thus was rewarded with huge raise...

Words: 2322 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Dell Case Analysis

...Introduction Dell Computer Corporation was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell in his dorm room at the University of Texas. In 2003, the company name was changed to Dell Inc. to reflect evolution of it from a computer manufacturer to a company that provides a wide range of technology related services. Dell Inc., now an American privately owned multinational company, became successful by providing quality inexpensive computer products than its competitors and grew to be the number one in the world (Exhibit 1) by implementation of its Direct Model. While competitors sold primarily through distributors, resellers and retailers, Dell directly took specified orders from customers through its established website and telephone lines, built and shipped devices to customers. Dell’s success started when its revenue surfaced $80,000 per month in 1984, and its ever growing revenue to billions of dollars, shares price and domination of PC market and standards until its defeat by Wlett-Packard (HP) in 2007. The ever falling of Dell’s shares price eventually made Michael Dell to buy back Dell’s shares in order to be able to restructure its legacy PC business one day. Company’s Current Strategy Dell Inc. pursues a focused differentiation strategy by offering premium quality products and devices and the best possible before and after sales customer service in a very timely manner. Dell believes it has the most efficient business model in the fierce competitive PC making industry. The company’s...

Words: 1790 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Dell Computer Success and Decline

...Dell Computer Corporation is one of the world’s largest computer systems organizations. They design, build and customize products and services to satisfy a range of customer requirements, from the server, storage and professional services needs of the largest global corporations, to those customers at home. Dell is a perfect example of how harnessing the power of the Internet can lead to total market dominance. Through the company’s direct sales model, Dell has managed to grow from a $6 million to a $23 billion dollar company in 15 years. This is largely due to their extension of the direct model with information technology and the World Wide Web. The Internet became a worldwide tool for reaching Dell’s customer base and gave the company the ability to directly do business with partners and customers all over the world, one at a time, at no additional overhead. This successful business model put much emphasis on the customers. From the beginning to the end of the transaction, Dell understood completely what the needs of the customers were and this ony led to a network of satisfied customers with the potential to do business again and again in the future. However, the direct-sales business model was merely a tool for Dell to do business. If the success of Dell was based solely on this model, Dell would have not been able to rise to the top of the competition in two decades despite being a late entrant. Many competitors of Dell duplicated the model and tried to do...

Words: 1392 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Capstone Paper

...Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, while he was a student at the University of Texas with only $1,000; he presently is the CEO and chairman of the board for the corporation. The original name of the company was PCs Limited and was changed to Dell Computer Corporation in 1988; then to Dell Inc in 2004 (Hitt, 2011). Dell Inc is one of the leading technology companies that offers a broad range of products, including desktop, personal computers, servers, networking products, storage, mobility products, software and peripherals, and services. Today, Dell has global revenues of over $60 billion and employs more than 78,000 individuals. Despite this tremendous growth, the organization has remained committed to its core values. The “Soul of Dell” creates an ethical framework in which people are the common thread which links the organization’s current position and future aspirations. The organization’s mission is “…to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in the markets we serve” (Soul of Dell, 2006). The vision of the company is: “…to lead in all regions we serve. The foundation of our success is the same in the United Kingdom and France, China and Japan, Canada and other countries. Customers want technology products that are relevant to them, offer great value and can be easily purchased and used. That’s what our team around the globe consistently delivers” (Fiscal 2005 in Review, 2005). Considering variations in customer...

Words: 2291 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Matching Dell Case

...n c e . c o m Matching Dell: A Strategic Case Analysis Dan Demers GS 604, Thursday 5:00 – 7:20 Matching Dell: Dell’s Key Strategic Issues At the close of the case, Dell is presented with two key strategic issues. The first strategic issue facing Dell is the movement of rivals seeking to mimic Dell’s direct sales model, while the second strategic issue is the declining trend in pricing in the Personal Computer Industry and the effects this trend will have on the operations and profitability of both Dell and Dell’s Rivals. In this case analysis, I recommend that Dell answer these issues by assuming a Cost Leadership in a Broad Market strategy to win the price war on cost, establish strategic relationships with system integrators and resellers to counter the product diversification threat of multi-offering Rivals, and strengthen its brand presence internationally to enable continued market growth. Personal Computer Industry: Industry Structure Analysis In this analysis, I define the Personal Computer Industry as that which is comprised of computer manufacturers responsible for the assembly of personal computers, either in entirety or with the assistance of contractors or channel partners. Dell is included in this definition, as are Dell’s Rivals highlighted in the case. In applying Michael Porter’s Five Forces Modeli, it is clear that the Personal Computer Industry is largely unfavorable when viewing the industry facts specific to 1998. Industry Rivalry is high, with many...

Words: 2962 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Porter Model

...competitive landscape of the PC and peripheralsindustry through analysis of thecompany strategy, business model, distribution channels, competencies and value chain to provide a series of recommendations for Acer’s Board of Directors. Acer is the third largest PC manufacturer in the globe using atransnational strategy to procure components to maintain cost leadership. By using strategic group maps, Porter’s five forces, SWOT analysis, value chain review and the Dranove model a comprehensive analysis of the Acer external and internal forces are reviewed. On the basis of the analysis a series of recommendations have been made to ensure that Acer remains competitive, retains the number 3 ranking and are sustainable into the future. It is recommended that Acer find blue ocean against competitors through the use of the premium branding of product, whether this be Ferrari or another premium luxury brand and determine if some of this can be derived from sustainable and green materials. Once these are determined it is recommended to use a balance scorecard with alliances to help drive innovation together with a tried and tested sales system to increase Acer market share. Background and Context Acer is the third largest PC Company in the world (9.5% market share) with growth being experienced outside the mature USA market, predominately in emerging nations. Although Acer experienced growth in 2007, increasing its sales by 32.9%, the PC and peripherals industry is very competitive and...

Words: 2910 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Dale Case

...Dell, Inc. A Strategic Management Case Study October 8, 2013 Sophie Yanez University of the Incarnate Word Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Dell’s Strategy a. Vision Statement b. Mission Statement c. Strategies and Objectives III. Recommended Vision and Mission Statements IV. External Assessment a. Porter’s Five Forces Model b. External Factor Evaluation c. Competitive Profile Matrix V. Internal Assessment a. Value Chain b. Internal Factor Evaluation VI. Porter’s Five Generic Strategy VII. SWOT Analysis a. SPACE Matrix b. Boston Consulting Group Matrix c. Internal-External Matrix VIII. Strategy and Objective Recommendations IX. Recommended Implementation Plan X. Strategy Review and Evaluation References Appendixes I. Introduction Dell was founded in 1985 under the name, PCs Limited by Michael Dell who at the time was a college student of the University of Texas. In 1988 the company’s name was changed to Dell Computer Corporation. The company is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas and is the world's #3 supplier of Personal Computers (PC) behind HP who ranks as #2 and Lenovo who ranks as #1 (According to IDC worldwide quarterly PC tracker). Dell provides a broad range of technology products for the consumer, education, enterprise, and government sectors. In addition to its line of desktop and notebook PCs, Dell offers network servers, data storage systems, printers, ethernet switches, and peripherals, such as displays and...

Words: 5223 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Operations Management

...o m Matching Dell: A Strategic Case Analysis Dan Demers GS 604, Thursday 5:00 – 7:20 Matching Dell : D ell’s Key Strategic Issue s At the close of the case, Dell is presented with two key strategic issues. The first strategic issue facing Dell is the movement of rivals seeking to mimic Dell’s direct sales model, while the second strategic issue is the declining trend in pricing in the Personal Computer Industry and the effects this trend will have on the operations and profitability of both Dell and Dell’s Rivals. In this case analysis, I recommend that Dell answer these issues by assuming a Cost Leadership in a Broad Market strategy to win the price war on cost, establish strategic relationships with system integrators and resellers to counter the product diversification threat of multi-offering Rivals, and strengthen its brand presence internationally to enable continued market growth. Personal Computer Industry : Industry Structure Analysis In this analysis, I define the Personal Computer Industry as that which is comprised of computer manufacturers responsible for the assembly of personal computers, either in entirety or with the assistance of contractors or channel partners. Dell is included in this definition, as are Dell’s Rivals highlighted in the case. In applying Michael Porter’s Five Forces Modeli, it is clear that the Personal Computer Industry is largely unfavorable when viewing the industry facts specific to 1998. Industry Rivalry is high...

Words: 2951 - Pages: 12