...Harvard Business School 9-399-011 Rev. April 9, 2001 Acer America: Development of the Aspire In early 1998, Stan Shih, CEO of Taiwan-based personal computer (PC) manufacturer Acer, Inc., was reviewing the first estimates of 1997 year-end results. With revenue of $6.5 billion from own brand and sales to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as IBM, the company was now acknowledged to be the third largest PC manufacturer in the world. Although the performance was respectable in the wake of a dramatic drop in memory chip prices that had plunged the company’s semiconductor joint venture into losses, Acer’s extraordinary growth period of the mid-1990s was clearly over. (See Exhibit 1.) The ever-restless CEO was wondering how to re-ignite the fire. Shih was convinced that Acer’s mid-1990 successes were due at least in part to the revolutionary “client-server” organizational structure he had introduced in 1992. The concept was inspired by the network computer model, where “client” computers—the strategic business units (SBUs) and regional business units (RBUs) in Acer’s organizational metaphor—were capable of complete independence but could also take on the “server” role, adding value for the entire network. To Shih, proof of the client-server structure’s potential had come with the 1995 introduction of the Aspire multimedia home PC. Created by Acer America Corporation (AAC), Acer’s U.S. marketing subsidiary and one of Acer’s five RBUs, this new product confirmed Shih’s...
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...Why is the Acer Aspire in such trouble just two and a half years after its launch? What are the sources of the problems in the U.S.? Worldwide? There are multiple reasons for this: 1. Difference between design and the actual product Engineers from strategic business units were not involved in the design process which was solely owned and created by Acer American Corporation and Frog Design. So the SBU engineers faced difficulty putting hardware together with that design. 2. Many solutions, many problems Since client-server organizational structure tempted everyone to pitch-in his idea about this product using his own perception, which resulted in too many configurations resulting in brand dilution and no global support 3. Lack in customer service Acer aspire was targeting huge consumer market from high to low end. But since they lack in customer service, which is indeed a critical customer oriented approach, it never created the required awareness which never enabled customers to actually able to see the value of the product 4. Market competition US market was already flooded with huge empires like HP which were putting in a strong competition making it difficult for Acer to reach target figures 5. Marketing strategies Although successful in some regions, the marketing strategy failed in many regions. Many customers who had seen the fully featured product in a marketing message...
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...Patumtip W. ID 5210037 SEC 404 Individual Case Analysis: Acer America I. Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose Case Summary The company was established in 1976 and began to expand internationally in the mid-1980s through strategic alliances. They’ve changed organizational concept into “client-server” model where the strategic business units (SBUs) and regional business units (RBUs) were given greater freedom to manage its unit locally. This led the company evolves towards a federation of locally responsive units close to their markets yet linked by the emerging Acer brand. In 1994, a U.S. based sourcing company; Acer America (AAC) foresees the opportunity to create a home PC with multimedia capabilities to sell in the market which they named it “Aspire”. The AAC’s RBU have outsourced other company to design the product since they aren’t specializing in this field and the development of the product has been kept in secret. Until it’s time to present to Taiwan’s SBU, the engineers felt they could be of only limited help at this stage of the development process that it created many challenges in getting the standard components to fit since they didn’t integrate from the beginning. The computer’s part was then break down into sub-assembly systems responsible by different product managers. The problem then arises as when one of the sub-assemblies delayed, the whole process also been delayed or when the final product has problem, the engineers had to decide where the problem...
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...ACER: AN IT COMPANY ACER: AN IT COMPANY LEARNING TO USE INFORMATION LEARNING TO USE INFORMATION CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION University of California, Irvine 3200 Berkeley Place Irvine, California, 92697-4650 AUTHORS Jason Dedrick Kenneth L. Kraemer Tony Tsai October, 1999 Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations TECHNOLOGY TO COMPETE Acknowledgement: This research has been supported by grants from the CISE/IRIS/CSS Division of the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, whose members include: ATL Products, The Boeing Company, Canon Information Systems, IBM Global Services, Nortel, Rockwell, Seagate Technology, Sun Microsystems and Systems Management Specialists (SMS). The authors would like to acknowledge the research assistance of Bryan MacQuarrie. They would also like to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of numerous Acer Group executives and managers who agreed to be interviewed and provided vital data and information Acer_case_10-99.doc 2 Acer: An IT Company Learning to Use IT to Compete Jason Dedrick, Kenneth L. Kraemer, Tony Tsai I. INTRODUCTION Acer Computer is an unusual company in the personal computer industry. Companies such as Dell, Compaq and Gateway focus on designing, configuring, marketing and servicing PCs and increasingly leave the manufacturing to contract manufacturers and OEM producers. By contrast, Acer is a diversified...
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...The Acer Group is one of the world's largest PC and computer component manufacturers. Associated Acer companies include the world's third largest PC manufacturer, and Acer's mobile computers, network servers and personal computers are ranked in the world's top ten most popular brands in their respective product categories. Acer is the market leader in many countries around the world, and is ranked in more than 30 countries globally owing to the strength of its core business. On the distribution side, in 2007 it is the world's No.4 PC branded PC vendor, number one in South East Asia, Latin America and Middle East, etc... Since spinning-off its manufacturing operation, Acer has focused on globally marketing its brand-name products: mobile and desktop PCs, servers and storage, LCD monitors and high-definition TVs, and handheld/navigational devices. Acer's unique Channel Business Model is instrumental to the company's continued success. The model encourages partners and suppliers to collaborate in a winning formula of supply-chain management, allowing Acer to provide customers with fresh technologies, competitive pricing, and quality service. Established in 1976, Acer Inc. employs 5,300 people supporting dealers and distributors in more than 100 countries. Estimated revenue for 2006 is US$11.31 billion (Acer Annual Report 2005). Stan Shih, the founder and chairman of the Acer group and widely regarded as a high-tech visionary, had a long term vision to transform the Group into a...
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...Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Sec 1 Hsichih, Taipei 221 Taiwan Company Perspectives: Acer ranks among the world's top five branded PC vendors, designing and marketing easy, dependable IT solutions that empower people to reach their goals and enhance their lives. History of Acer Incorporated Read more: Acer Incorporated - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Acer Incorporated http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:GLjJKFtD2DAJ:www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/90/AcerIncorporated.html+determine+what+strategies+acer+can+apply+to+become+the+world's+third+largest+pc+company+behind+Dell+and+Hewlett+Packard&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#ixzz12MuHMLNY Acer Incorporated is Taiwan's leading exporter and the world's fifth largest computer manufacturer. The company designs, manufactures, and sells computer hardware and software products; it ranks among the world's largest manufacturers of individual components such as keyboards, motherboards, set-up boxes, storage drives, monitors, CD-ROM drives, keyboards, printers, scanners, and software. Acer's nearly 30 years of growth results primarily from its business of manufacturing and assembling branded and contract PCs in several locations throughout the world. The company sells its products through dealers and distributors in more than 100 countries. Taiwan's high-tech industry pioneer Stan Shih cofounded Acer. Over the years Shih guided his company through several corporate restructuring...
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...BACKGROUND Acer was founded by Stan Shih, his wife Carolyn Yeh, and a group of five others as Multitech in 1976, headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. It began with eleven employees and US$25,000 in capital. Initially, it was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies, but over time it emerged as a PC manufacturer. The company was renamed Acer in 1987. In 1993, Acer posted record profits of $80 million. Total sales grew to $3.2 billion in 1994, and net income increased to $205 million, as Acer America turned its first annual profit in the 1990s. From 1994 to 1995, Acer advanced from 14th to ninth among the world’s largest computer manufacturers, surpassing Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Toshiba. Acer’s operate in more than 38 countries, and each business unit is operated as decentralized strategic business unit. Acer’s Canadian business had in a past served as an intermediation between Acer America to deliver products to Canadian distributors, but in 1996 Anthony Lin was chosen as general manager of Acer’s operation in Canada. Previously the Canadian operation was selling no products directly to consumers in Canada, but Lin saw this as an opportunity to use local distribution and assemble the computers in Canada, “to order,” and sell directly to consumers. VISION To have a line product sold to three different target groups- Commercial, Home and non-profit. Acer in Canada envisions itself to be...
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...to 3.7 GHz turbo) RAM: 10GB DDR3-1333 Hard Drive: 2TB 5400 RPM SATA Price: $879.99 Dell XPS 8700 Desktop Processor: Intel® Core i7-4770 (8M Cache, up to 3.9 GHz) RAM: 12GB 2 Dual Channel DDR3 Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM SATA Price: $1,099.99 Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook Laptop Processor: Intel Core i5-3317U (1.7GHz, 3M cache) RAM: 8GB DDR3 (1600 MHz) Hard Drive: 128GB SSD Price: $1,599.99 Acer Aspire 2-in-1 Laptop Processor: 3rd Gen Intel Core i5-3337U (1.8 GHz, 3M cache up to 2.70 GHz) RAM: 6GB Hard Drive: 500GB / 24 GB (HD / SDD hybrid) Price: $849.99 Profession 1: Video Editor For the video editor, I believe the Dell XPS 700 would be most efficient. It has 12 GB of RAM, which is essential for fast processing as video editing, rendering, and recording can put a big strain on a PC with less RAM. The hard drive is also especially important; at 1TB it should give you plenty of room for multiple video files and editing/recording software, as this can potentially take up a large amount of space. Profession 2: DJ The Acer Aspire 2-in-1 may be best for the professional DJ, as this particular profession requires a fair amount of RAM and a good processor for multitasking (running the “mixing” software, inputting multiple commands into said software, recording, etc.). This also requires a large hard drive for the software itself, and hundreds (possibly thousands) of songs. Laptops are also ideal for easy transportation, minimum wire connections...
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...Company History: Acer Incorporated was called "the region's most impressive technology company" in a 1996 article in The Economist. The company also ranks among the world's ten biggest manufacturers of individual components like keyboards, monitors, and CD-ROM drives, and is America's ninth-largest personal computer producer. By 1995, the company was producing four million PCs annually, 25 percent of them OEMs (products sold under other companies' labels). Under the guidance of Chairman and CEO Stan Shih, Acer used ground-breaking strategies to bounce back from a US $22.7 million loss in 1991, earning US $205 million on sales of US $3.2 billion in 1994. Shih hoped to increase Acer's global sales to US $15 billion by 1999, by which time the company would operate as a "federation" of local manufacturing, assembly, and marketing units. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Acer-Inc-Company-History.html Business Origins: Acer Incorporated is Taiwan's leading exporter and the world's fifth largest computer manufacturer. The company designs, manufactures, and sells computer hardware and software products; it ranks among the world's largest manufacturers of individual components such as keyboards, motherboards, set-up boxes, storage drives, monitors, CD-ROM drives, keyboards, printers, scanners, and software. Acer's nearly 30 years of growth results primarily from its business of manufacturing and assembling branded and contract PCs in several locations throughout the world...
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...Around Christmas time of last year I purchased an Acer Aspire V515.6-Inch touchscreen laptop in cool steel. Performance: The primary function of the device is to facilitate everyday activities like web browsing, communicating and playing videos. Features: Thanks to its powerful Quad-Core processor everything is more vibrant. It features HD browsing, great visuals on the 15.6" HD touch screen display. Conformance: The fundamental standard for this product would be its ability to provide clear media display along with crisps sound, long battery life and fast browsing. In my opinion this product conformance is within quality standards. Durability: Since my initial purchase my laptop has fallen off the bed several times and still performs with the same quality of its unpacking. Serviceability: Aspire provides a one year limited warranty which provides hardware, software and technical support for that given timeframe extended warranties are available only at an addition cost. Aesthetics: My Aspire touchscreen notebook is very thin less than 1" thin, which is much slimmer than any of my previous laptops. Very sleek and modern with vibrant touch screen display. Perceived Quality: For a long time Acer has had quite suspect perceived quality. But recently Acer has changed and have been paying more attention to quality, this notebook is proof of their efforts that has few complaints against it. This notebook looks well-built and has powerful hardware that is hard...
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...Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Class Name Date when Due Strategic Alternatives for Acer, Inc: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon Acer, Inc: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon has been in the business of PC selling and other stuff for a while now. It has been able to transverse across several nations in attempts to do business. In doing so, it has come across a number of issues which some have strengthened its operations and others have been identified as area which need new strategies to mitigate the arising risks. That being the case, this section deals with such strategies which will see Acer, Inc: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon remain in business internationally. Firstly, for this organization to win, it must not relent on its already established operation policies that are already working for the good of the organization. For example, targeting neglected small groups of people and organization should be accentuated. Nevertheless, the organization should now venture into aggressive scramble for new large clients who will see the company’s turnover increase and make the organization partake other benefits which come with dealings of large clients. This way the company will have diversified its client target base thus spreading the risk across all the types of clients i.e. large and small. As the company is increasingly establishing its international presence, decentralization of its offices from Taiwan to other countries where it has operations in is inevitable. Though this might complicate...
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...Acer group employs around 6000 people worldwide and revenues for 2012 reached nearly US$ 18 billion, it was founded in 1976 with $25.000 capital and 11 employees Since its founding in 1976, Acer has constantly pursued the goal of breaking the barriers between people and technology. Focusing on marketing its brand-name IT products around the globe, Acer ranks as the world's No. 3 vendor for total PCs and No. 2 for notebooks, with the fastest growth among the top-five players. A profitable and sustainable Channel Business Model is instrumental and fundamental for Acer's continued growth, while the successful mergers of Gateway and Packard Bell complete the company's global footprint by strengthening its presence in the U.S. and emerging markets Acer philosophy is to deliver better performances at lower price than the competition, there are able to manage it thanks to their size (e.g. large buying power, strategic partnerships with key partners like Intel, Microsoft or Amd) and their willingness to compromise on certain aspects of their products, this to meet the customer demands for cost-effective performance. Acer Channel Excellence (ACE) Program, is a new channel partner initiative that was born with the aim to deliver enhanced tools and offers for best-in-class value-added resellers (VARs). The next phase in Acer’s continued commitment to its channel partners, the ACE Program ensures successful sales and support of Acer products for qualified authorized resellers with...
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...Aspire 4935/4735Z Series Quick Guide Copyright © 2008. Acer Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Aspire 4935/4735Z Series Quick Guide Original Issue: 11/2008 This company makes no representations or warranties, either express or implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Although care has been taken to ensure accuracy, this company shall not be liable for any errors (including, but not limited to, typos, factual errors, etc.) contained in this publication. Changes may be made periodically to the information in this publication without obligation to notify any person of such revisions or changes. Such changes will be incorporated in new editions of this manual or supplementary documents and publications. This company makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Record the model number, serial number, purchase date and place of purchase information in the space provided below. The serial number and model number are recorded on the label affixed to your computer. All correspondence concerning your unit should include the serial number, model number and purchase information. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronically...
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...Matching Dell Outline with General Questions Read the following instructions before proceeding. 1) Write in a continuous, narrative style within each question. Keep section headings. 2) The questions in the outline are to help you analyze the case and develop your own thought. 3) Limit your memo to three pages of text. Diagrams and tables do not count as part of the three pages of text. Do not use bullet points. 4) Double-check your grammar before submission. It matters! 5) Upload your write-up in Word format to WISE. What can we learn from this case? 1) Barriers to imitation (entry): it illustrates how fit among numerous activities, tradeoffs between positions, historical commitments, and threats of retaliation by other players can deter imitation. Interestingly, the retaliation threats come from both immediate rivals and downstream “partners.” 2) Different types of imitation attempts: “Straddling” by Compaq and IBM, “repositioning” by Gateway, and potentially new entry by some members of the channel. 3) The case allows us to quantify Dell’s cost advantage and estimate the portion of that advantage which is threatened by the imitation attempts of others. 1. Environment a. Threat of New Entrants: It is low. Because high technology industry is highly competitive with continuing developments. Costumers are more likely to purchase on famous brands and be loyal to those familiar brands. So there...
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...to move straight to global. Lenovo wanted to start marketing out of the Asia Pacific region to areas such as Hong Kong and Spain. Explain how the “global markets-Local Markets” paradox figures into Stan Shih’s strategy for China. Global Markets are the products of the company. The company is trying to expand their products across the board but with the Local Markets it’s all about the people; the people in the company and the customers. The company will have to think outside the box which is global but it has to act local by taking care of the people who buy and sell the product. With this in mind, someone who thinks globally is still a product of his or her own culture. Stan Shih’s Strategy for China was that it is crucial for Acer to develop a strong brand image in China before moving on to other countries. Work with...
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