REPORT ON:
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
SUBMITTED BY
INFORMATIVE ABSTRACT
This case study is based on the supply chain management of two notable PC manufacturing MNCs, Hewlett-Packard and Dell. The objective of this case study is to compare the effectiveness of the standardized process followed by HP to the innovative process of Dell, The Direct Model.
DESCRIPTIVE ABSTRACT
A comparative case study was done between two electronics giants Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Dell.inc, on their supply chain management. HP was taken first as a base for their effectiveness in supply chain management as can be seen by their success throughout the years. They have continuously refined the process repeatedly until they could finely tune the entire process to suit the needs of the customer as well as to not pose a hindrance to product demand forecasting, which enabled them to grow from a simple 500$ investment to a multi-billion dollar MNC we see today.
Then, Dell’s innovative addition to the management process, namely the “Direct Model” was taken into study and its effectiveness in the field was analysed, both positive and negative. The Direct model aimed at personalizing the entire placing-order process so as to cut off the extra processes required in between the supply chain. This helps in maximizing the profits for the company. Virtual Integration is the side-by evolution of the Direct model, which allows more power and options to the customer. The customer can now personalize the configurations for his order of PCs, starting from the screen type and make to the specific details required for graphics processing and motherboard chipsets. This flexibility of choice has allowed Dell to become much more preferred in the computer industry by customers as compared to already existing electronics companies, which prefer selling
Bibliography: Reference books and magazines: G Raghuram, N. Rangaraj. (2000). Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Macmillan Publishers India. Websites: HP Timeline, HP Website: Dell < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell> HP < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP> Supply Chain Management