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The Lessons from Dell's Supply Chain Transformation

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Submitted By elan91
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had a good time in Round Rock, Texas.

A few weeks ago, I was there along with Dr. David Simchi-Levi of MIT to film our Videocast that was broadcast Wednesday on Dell's Supply Chain Transformation. The team at Dell, from Annette Clayton, VP of Global Supply Chain and Operations, to a number of supply chain, communications and video professionals, was first rate and universally friendly (thanks Bruce Raven). You can see an on-demand version of this outstanding broadcast here: Dell's Supply Chain Transformation Videocast.

It was our biggest event ever, and I believe the largest on-line event in supply chain history. We had a huge audience from around the globe.

I frankly learned a thing or two. When Dell announced in 2008 that it was moving into the retail business and making other related changes to its supply chain, it really did seem to me like the end of an era. The primary corporate icon of supply chain excellence was giving up on its legendary make-to-order model, outsourcing large swathes of manufacturing, and seeming to move back to the supply chain field it had been previously outdistancing by many lengths.

But as many of our readers noted at the time, the customer has to drive the supply chain. There was a significant portion of the market, especially globally, that wanted to buy a different way. To grow, Dell had to expand its customer value proposition to reach different market segments. That required different supply chain strategies across multiple dimensions. Dell wasn't giving up on make-to-order - it remains a multi-billion business - it was adding new supply chain capabilities to serve markets and customers that wanted something else.

What impressed me most in this great discussion was the way Dell attacked to challenge. Many if not most of us have heard of the concept of "Voice of the Customer," if not been actually involved in such

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