Matching Dell Case (Case Study Sample)

Matching Dell
Name
Institution
Matching Dell
Overtime, many players have entered the PC market unlike on the in the pats when the market was occupied by fewer players. PC customers have been divide into four major categories namely; large and midsize businesses& government; small businesses and offices; individual consumers and lastly educational institutions. All these customers demand the almost the same product which are to some extend differentiated. The players in the supply chain then have adopted different distribution channels to satisfy the needs of their customers.
From the manufactures, PCs go through four channels to reach the customers. Firstly, there are retailers. These players in the supply chain deliver PCs directly from the manufactures and they display them in stores where sales people will help customers to make decisions on which PC to select out of the wide range of PCS available in the stores. These retailers operate in generally thin margins. Secondly, there are distributors who work closely with resellers. They supply hardware and software to resellers who design install and support computers networks. They pass the cost of this value-addition to the final consumer in prices of PCs.
Thirdly, there are integrated resellers. These resellers are big enough to deal directly with the PC manufacturers instead of buying from distributor who whose prices are definitely inflated. They operated distribution centers, field extensive sales and thy also run service organizations. These integrated resellers also manage PC networks of their client s on an ongoing basis. This is uniqueness has seen some of these integrated resellers like Vanstar realize huge profit margins (Rivkin & Porter, 1999). Lastly, there are direct distributors. Unlike the other players of the supply chain who sell their products mainly through distributors and retailers, direct distributors have taken a completely different approach in marketing its products. The company obtains orders directly from its customers and manufactures computers tailored to meet the customer’s needs .They obtain these orders through telephones, internet or through internal sales forces. This is not only done for domestic customers; it is also done for customers in overseas countries. Through all the above explain distribution channels products (PCs) flow from the manufactures to the customers.
However, PC assembly industry tends to have low profitability. This can be majorly attributed to the nature of the PC market where there exist many players. Currently, may firms have entered the PC assembly market and made the competition in ...