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Case Study : Supply Chain Case Study

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Karim AbdelMalek
260 589 508
April 6th 2016
McGill School Of Continuing Education
Sourcing CTPT 201
Prof. Daniel Mejean
Word count: 2470

Dell Inc. Supply-Chain Case Study

I unfortunately had to do the project alone as every team I asked to join where already full with 4 members.

Executive Summary

Recognized as one of the leading computer manufacturers, Dell uses an astonishing supply chain through pull-to-order procurement and just-in-time inventory management. Their strategy is highly efficient and drives costs to a minimum while allowing for minimal lead times and production times of under 4 hours for each order as their suppliers maintain levels of inventory based on forecasts within Dell warehouses near Dell assembly …show more content…

Over the course of three years the company’s sales volume increased substantially requiring the opening of an international sales office in 1987. In 1988 they began selling to large customers including several government agencies and Dell became a publically traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1994, Dell made the bold decision to remove their products from retail stores and focused on direct to customer sales. In 1996 Dell began selling through their website which is to this day their most successful sales channel. By eliminating their retail store presence Dell was able to reduce costs on multiple fronts, reduce inventory, and maximize profits. Dell created an order system which allowed customers to specify and select options, components and features they wanted on their Dell device. Dell 's just in time inventory system lowered inventory holdings to just 3 days from 9 days and storage costs were thus minimized significantly. In 1995, Dell entered the Chinese market where a population of 1.3 billion was a great opportunity to create a significant market presence; IBM, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard had all penetrated the Chinese market prior to this date and had opened offices in China during the early 1990’s. It wasn’t long before Dell proved to be worthy competition with not only international companies but also with local companies like Toshiba, Samsung, NEC and Acer. With so

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