Dells Competitive Strategies And Supply Chain Dissertation

Dells Competitive Strategies And Supply Chain - Dissertation Example Founded by Michael Dell in the mid-1980s, Dell computers is one of the leading computer technology corporations in the world. At the height of the technology boom of the early 1990s, Dell reached a level where it had grown too large too fast to a point that it had to make radical internal changes to stay profitable. The company’s rock bottom was in 1993 when it lost a considerable portion of its market share, saw its cash flow and net income drop to $20 million and negative $ 40 million respectively. This called for rapid strategic changes to keep the organization afloat.  The company created a lasting profitability strategy through three major elements of; virtual integration, true value customer service features and having tailor-made manufacturing to meet specific customer needs. When Dell initiated computer sales through its website in 1996, it was an industry first, and when it expanded its line of products to include televisions, printer and audio players in 2002, the company had, in essence, the path of diversification aimed at sustaining profitability.   These events coupled with the organization’s three pillars of sustainable profitability saw it hold the spot of the largest seller of PCs worldwide in 2004 at 17.9% in 2004 up from the previous year’s 16.7%, followed closely by HP at 15.8%. For a company that saw negative net income 10 years ago, this market share was quite impressive. A macro-environment is the total sum of external factors that have the influence on a business.... ?s rock bottom was in 1993 when it lost a considerable portion of its market share, saw its cash flow and net income drop to $20 million and negative $ 40 million respectively. This called for rapid strategic changes to keep the organization afloat and that is exactly what Dell did. The company created a lasting profitability strategy through three major elements of; virtual integration, true value customer service features and having tailor made manufacturing to meet specific customer needs. When Dell initiated computer sales through its website in 1996, it was an industry first, and when it expanded its line of products to include televisions, printer and audio players in 2002, the company had in essence the path of diversification aimed at sustaining profitability. These events coupled with the organization’s three pillars of sustainable profitability saw it hold the spot of the largest seller of PCs worldwide in 2004 at 17.9% in 2004 up from the previous year’s 16.7 %, followed closely by HP at 15.8%. For a company that saw negative net income 10 years ago, this market share was quite impressive. Chapter 2: Theory of business and competitive strategy A macro-environment is the total sum of external factors that have influence on a business. These factors are usually beyond the control of an organization’s management and range from demographic, political, and technological to economic forces. Economic forces in this environment include demand and supply, the amount of competition in a market segment, economic resources available and the efficiency of production methods adopted by an organization (Hatten, 2012: P91). Each of the mentioned economic forces have an impact on both an organization’s production output and possible profit margin from the goods