Introduction
This paper focuses on information derived from a short video clip regarding Dell Company and its sales model. It intends to look at how Dell uses innovation in its supply chain and logistics to compete with its rival companies effectively. Furthermore, this paper will offer insights on the approaches that Dell uses to getter the better side of its competitors in terms of winning more customers and how its marketing approach shaped the approaches used by its rivals.
Comparison between Dell’s supply chain and Logistics innovations with those of Apple store and other competitors
From the video transcript, it is apparent that Dell’s reputation out dos that of Apple store and other competitors. The primary secret behind Dell’s success is engagement in an innovative and smart supply chain from the initial process of manufacturing their products to the later stages of supplying them to the markets. Furthermore, Dell has the most effective approach and method of distributing its products, translating to a strategic way of winning more customers.
According to Noyak (2013), as an organization, Dell saw the need to conduct market analysis and research to identify the most outstanding strategies they could use to add value to their PCs. By doing so, they ensured that their personal computers were appealing to the customers and enjoyable when used by their clients. To deal with emerging trends in the market, Dell Company acted quickly by putting up control measures that enabled it to be on par with the new changes. To emerge as a dominant force in the market of personal computers, Dell instituted the use of online capability strategy and phones liked by customers, which set it much apart from Apple store and other competitors.
Customer sale strategy is another crucial approach that Dell came up with to enable it to sell its products directly to the customers. This was a critical move they made as it helped them foster a good business relationship between the company and its customers. With Apple and other competitors, they mainly pursued business to customer company strategy to vend their products to customers, which did not work out well. Moreover, Apple was obsessed with designing up its pre-configured computers, meaning that they had little focus and attention in dealing with customers’ preferences. A majority of them preferred computers installed with systems of their choice.
Given that Dell was much interested in customers’ preferred choices; they configured their computers to suit the clients’ preferences; thus, the majority of customers perceived Dell as the new computer technology while those of its competitors as the traditional ones. The above factor made Dell Company have a wider market of personal computers than its rivals.
Emerging supply chain and logistics management factors shown in the video that was already negatively affecting large computer chain stores
From the video, the internet forms an integral part of factors that were already negatively affecting large computer chain stores. Considering the tremendous changes made in the world of business, such as shifting from the conventional methods to online business, many large computer chain stores have been affected. For instance, not all customers believe in businesses carried out online; therefore, some will prefer to physically visit the chain stores to make procurement rather than doing it online.
From the emerging factors in supply chain and logistics, there are different reasons why there is a big gap in competition between the large chain stores and those operating online. First, the limited capacity in terms of storage space in large chain stores means that they cannot favorably compete with those operating online. Generally, large chain stores offer little choices when it comes to the selection of computers preferred by customers. They only store specific types of computers, thus limiting a customer’s ability to select certain types of computers. With those operating online, they offer a large variety of computers plus their specifications, making it easier for a client to select the type of computer that suits his/her needs. Moreover, with large chain stores, there is a higher probability of a customer to move from one chain store to another in search of his favorable computer. This is a time-consuming exercise compared to online ones, which offer more flexibility as a client is only required to look for products of her choice after that make an order.
Second, large chain stores are associated with huge operational costs; thus, they tend to sell their products at relatively higher prices to cover up for rent, electricity, and labor costs. With online business, firms experience little operational costs; thus, their computers’ prices tend to be relatively low (discounted prices) compared to those of large chain stores. Price is a key determinant of supply and demand forces. Customers will always favor computers whose prices are within their affordability range, hence online firms being the preferred choice for buying and selling. The majority of online firms offer after-sale services such as free shipping and free delivery to their customers, an appealing factor that is rare with large chain stores.
Even though large chain stores cannot match online stores’ prices, they have got their way of offsetting some of those issues. They offer to resell services and in-store discounts which are not available in online stores. Furthermore, with a large chain store, a customer gets a security guarantee through seeing the items and making further inquiries over an item before opting to buy (Your computer, your way, 2019).
Ways in which market research may have helped prevent the large technology businesses from failing.
Finding the most effective and better approaches for selling computers in the market was the first practical step Michael Dell made. The man objected to the traditional means of manufacturing computers then presenting them in the market for sale. From that point, the consumers started envisaging him as the best option due to providing acceptable terms of service, which wasn’t present with the large technology companies. Previously, most companies used forecasts to predict market demands, something that dictated how they operated. In some cases, the forecasts would turn out to be disastrous if the market demand goes down. The companies had anticipated high demands leading to surplus production with no markets to absorb the produce. Therefore, it is always imperative for large technology companies to conduct market research to enhance their businesses’ sustainability.
With market research, it makes the large technology companies identify the target market. Once a company has identified its target market, it is possible to produce high-quality items that meet the consumers’ needs and preferences. Also, marketing research helps companies identify opportunities in the market and any problem to do marketing, thus enabling it to strategize to meet the market demands. Dell Company was best in using market research to dictate its operations. Unlike Dell, its competitors heavily relied on forecasts, which did not work out well at certain times, thus ending up incurring huge losses. The use of market research could have helped them make necessary adjustments and fostered a good relationship with their customers.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is apparent that innovation was instrumental in helping out Dell succeed in personal computers. Despite having other giant companies within the same industry, such as Apple, Michael Dell carried out careful market research that enabled his company to identify various market opportunities that its competitors could not see. The above chance made sure that Dell had the best-selling brand that met the customer’s needs and preferences.