Dell Analysis Case Study

Case Analysis: Dell Introduction Present CEO and chairman of the board Michael Dell founded Dell in 1984, as a leading technology provider that designs, develops, manufactures, and supports PCs, software and peripherals, storage and servers, and associated services.

With operations in four geographic areas and additional business centers and manufacturing sites in more than 20 locations around the world, Dell is able to reach more than 24,000 retail locations worldwide.

Dell’s ability to process in-depth customer knowledge and the tailoring of solutions to the specific customer, through a direct customer sales model, catapulted the company in 2008 to the top PC provider in the United States and second worldwide in terms of sales. Dell also commanded 15. 1 percent share of the worldwide computer systems market, and 11 percent growth rate, which exceeded industry worldwide computer systems growth of 9. 7 percent.

However Dell saw enormous success in 2008, in 2009, Hewlett Packard took over the top spot as the leading PC provider and revenue growth rate stalled with revenues falling from $61.

133 billion in 2008 to $61. 101 billion in 2009. The economic downturn forced Dell to scale back spending directly impacting Dell’s market share, with Dell shipping 16. 7% fewer computers worldwide in 2009 versus 2008. After suffering losses in 2008, Dell announced that it would start 2009 by reorganizing its business units from regional segments to four globally operated areas.

The new sectors would include the following: large enterprise, public sector, small and medium businesses, and a global consumer; so that they could better align themselves with the needs of customers in order to produce “faster innovation and globally standardized products and services”.

Key Issues As previously stated Dell’s key issues began with the little growth worldwide in the corporate market, which was Dell’s core source of revenue, and slow growth in the consumer market. Operating costs were too high; especially as the price competition was rising due to an increasingly competitive environment.

The economy’s downturn continued to weaken IT spending, as worldwide PC shipments continued to decline. This caused Dell to have to cut back spending which in turn affected their market share. This case study will reflect the decisions made by Dell in 2009, as they try to regain market share and better diversify their product lines in order to combat the key issues that have arisen during this time. General Environment: The general environment is composed of segments that are external to the firm.

These environment segments affect all industries and the firms competing in them.

The challenge for Dell is to scan, monitor, forecast, and assess the elements in each segment to determine their effects on the firm (Hitt). Also, it is important for Dell to understand the driving forces behind each of the six factors in the general environment: demographic, economic, political/legal, socio-cultural, technological and global. Demographic: The demographic segment has many opportunities for Dell. Dell servers four main customer segments – Home Users, Larger Enterprise, Small and Medium Businesses (SMB), and Public Sector.

The home users segment makes up 25 percent of all computers shipped worldwide.

Despite being a smaller market, the consumer segment “has the potential to expand faster than business with corporations and government agencies” (Hitt). Being the largest buyers in the IT industry, large enterprise customers can demand customized solutions for their specific needs. Analysts suggest that the small and medium business customer segment is expected to grow 4 to 7 percent in 2009 for a total available market opportunity of $68 billion. Dell is trying to meet the needs of low-cost Basic PC users with their product, the Vostro-A, in emerging markets.

Dell’s products are known to be affordable, reliable, scalable, and customizable to meet their clients’ needs, demands, and level of understanding in these markets (Hitt).

Dell is unpopular with college students; their sales in the educational segment accounted for only 5 percent of 2009 revenue. Economic: The economic segment is an important threat to Dell. Dell faces significant challenges in the midst of the current economic recession. Forrester Research analyst Andrew Bartels predicts “the brunt of the slowdown in IT spending will hit servers and PCs,” which is Dell’s primary market.

The worst-case scenario for IT spending in 2009 will be no growth in the United States, and IT expenditures are expected to shrink in Europe (Hitt). Dell’s first quarter Net Revenue fell by 23 percent.

In 2009, the Large Enterprise segment, the companies’ largest commercial revenue stream, dropped 31 percent to $3. 4 billion and operating margins of 5. 7 percent. Also, revenues for the public, SMB, and consumer segments all dropped an average of 19. 2 percent in 2009. Publicly traded on the NASDAQ, Dell has been a volatile stock over the past year with a high of $26.

04 and a low of $7. 84 per share. Dell’s 12-month stock performance is -48. 9 percent, which is due in large part to the global recession. Political/Legal: The Political/legal segment is a threat to Dell, but not as important as the economic and technological segments. Changes in U.

S. monetary policy as well as economic policies around the world may lead to volatile exchange rates, exposing Dell to currency risks despite its foreign currency hedging program. Sales outside the U. S. accounted for 48 percent of Net Revenue.

Also, government and environmental groups have called for corporations to become more “green” and energy efficient. There is always a cost to “going green”, and the returns are hard to quantify.

Technological: The technological segment is an important threat to Dell. Dell is constantly facing the threat of new entry into their market. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dell watched new entrants from Taiwan and Japan such as Acer, Asus, Toshiba, and Fujitsu successfully enter the market and perform very well.

Bigger brands such as Samsung, which is famous for its cell phones, LCD monitors, and TVs, also entered the Home User market with its lines of laptops. It is expected that more electronics makers will try to leverage their brand name and enter the home computing market.

In regard to mobile computing, the entire computer market is undergoing a transition to more mobility-based computing products. In 2008, laptops outsold traditional desktop computers for the first time. Global: The global segment has many opportunities for Dell.

Dell is targeting emerging markets with price-sensitive consumers. In emerging markets, Dell’s strategy is to focus on providing region specific products to meet the needs of emerging markets, particularly in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC countries). This marketing and product development strategy argeting BRIC customers has led to 20 percent sales growth within the BRIC market. The BRIC market makes up 50 percent of the global economy (Hitt). As stated earlier, sales outside the U.

S. accounted for 48 percent of Net Revenue, and that percentage is expected to increase sharply in the next couple years. The globalization of the market is introducing opportunities to move manufacturing and operations to offset costs and open new potential customer markets. Industry Environment: As of 2008, the personal computer and hardware industry is composed of a range of competitors, each offering differentiated services to customers.

There is an intense rivalry among the competitors due to the high technology and fast-cycle market. Firms are competing to attract and retain customers.

The top five companies in the industry are: Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, and Apple. In the industry environment we “examine the competitive forces that influence the profitability potential” within the industry or segment of the industry (Hitt et. al, 2007). We used the Porter’s five forces model to determine the impact on production.

It is important for Dell to use Porter’s model so that they can be competitive in their market.

Porters Five Forces and Analysis Potential Entrants Threat of new entrants is determined to be Moderate. * There is low product differentiation, example brand name and loyalty are a barrier to entry. * There are 5 major companies but none are overly dominant, this shows there are low economies of scale. * No legal or governmental barriers * Cost leadership has lead to lower profitability thus allowing more of a threat of new entrants.

Rivalry Threat of rivalry is determined to be High. * The industry is highly concentrated * Price war has resulted in low profit margin * Decreasing profitability Low product differentiation * Dell has shown that it can gain market share previously held by competitors, proving that Dell has a successful business strategy. Threat of Substitutes Threat of substitutes is determined to be Low. * Personal computers have a strong presence throughout society. * Only substitute for PC is Apple Computer systems.

High price and lack of adequate software support are barriers to switching to Apple Systems. * Threat of substitute is low because the customers are searching for a quality product, there is no demand for a generic brand with low quality.

Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining power of buyer is determined to be High. * The customer is highly price sensitive. * Consumers put a lot of weight on reliability and customer service, both are important factors at decision time.

* This works in the benefit of Dell because Dell is known for its products reliability and has a reputation of superior customer service. Those two factors help to create brand loyalty. However, those competencies only hold while Dell maintains its price leadership, if prices raise too high customers will care less about customer service and reliability.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers is determined to be High. * There are a large quantity of suppliers for many of the hardware components and complementary products such as hardware, monitors, speakers, etc. * Most importantly, there are two major inputs that are monopolized.

Microsoft is standard for all PC’s and Intel is standard for most PC’s. * A high switching cost works to the benefit of the suppliers. Competitor Analysis: Dell has 5 key competitors.

They are HP, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Apple.

HP is the largest competitor in the personal computer hardware industry with a 19. 2 % market share worldwide and 24. 9% in the United States. Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard competes with Dell in almost every category.

HP holds the top position globally in the PC segment and with 19% market share and recently overtook the top spot in the United States. HP’s breakdown of revenue is as follows: PC and handheld devices 35%, Imaging and Printing 25%, Services 19%, Enterprise Storage and Solutions 16%, HP software 2%, HP financial services 2%, corporate investments 1%.

In their largest segment, the PC, they are trying to kick-start slowing sales by introducing new sleek touch screen computers. HP is currently going through a four-year restructuring project to improve its efficiency, and has released plans to cut just under 25,000 employees from its global workforce. HP is looking to exploit the aging inefficient IT infrastructures; there is a big opportunity for profit in this market. Because of its comprehensive portfolio of hardware, software, and services, HP is well positioned to help customers manage and transform their IT environments.

Internal Analysis: Intangible Assets Human Resources Founder, CEO, and chairman of Dell, Inc. , Michael Dell was the youngest CEO to ever earn a ranking on the Fortune 500. Under his leadership, Dell, Inc. has developed a knowledgeable team of executives and more than 100,000 team members who serve the IT needs of global corporations, small and medium businesses, governments, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and home computing users. With over 28 years experience as CEO, Michael Dell is one of Dell, Inc.

‘s most valuable resources.

Innovation Resources Dell’s historical direct sales model has enabled the company to gather consumer sentiment information directly from the customers rather than third party retailers. This allows them to detect shifts in customer preferences earlier than competitors and reduce new product development time. Dell’s ideas and innovations come directly from customer requests and specifications. As far as business practice innovations go, one computer industry analyst commented, “Everyone is piggybacking Michael Dell’s distribution concept.

He forged the trail and everyone else is just following.

” Reputational Resources Dell’s reputation for providing technologically advanced differentiated products at a low cost has made it a top PC provider, worldwide. Dell has a portfolio of award-winning products. In 2009 in the UK, Dell won Best Gaming Laptop for the Alienware M17x, Best Laptop for Power and Features with the Dell Studio xPS 16, Best UltraPortable Laptop with the Adamo, and the 2009 “What Laptop” Editor’s Choice Award for the Studio 15. Dell attributes its consistent success to customer service.

Tangible Assets Physical Dell, Inc. is headquartered in Round Rock, TX.

It also has business centers and manufacturing sites in more than 20 locations around the world. In FY09, Dell began distributing its products through retail, value-added resellers, and distributors that allow it to reach more than 24,000 retail locations worldwide. Organizational Dell is in the process of reorganizing its business units from regional segments to four globally operate areas: large enterprise, public sector, small and medium businesses, and global consumers.

Dell is restructuring in order to better align with customer needs for faster innovation and globally standardized products and services. Technological As of Jan.

30, 2009, Dell held a worldwide portfolio of 2,253 patents and had an additional 2,514 patent applications pending. The inventions claimed in these patents and applications cover aspects of current and possible future computer system products, manufacturing processes, and related technologies which they hoped would establish barriers to entry in many product lines. (www. wikinvest. com >Dell>Topics) Financial

Over the last decade, Dell has increased revenues by 142 percent and currently has $9 billion in cash. However, revenue growth has slowed with FY09 revenues of $61.

101 billion compared to FY08 of $61. 133 billion. Desktop PC’s, their largest product revenue stream, experienced a 12 percent decline, and in the first quarter of FY10, revenue in all of their key product lines decreased. Dell increased spending in research and development to $693 million in 2008 in their five keys areas. Capabilities and Core Competencies: Diverse Product Portfolio Due to the rapid technological innovations in computer electronics and the high level of dependency of many businesses and home users, there are no clear, direct substitute products for Dell’s product portfolio. ” Dell’s diverse product portfolio assures their ability to satisfy the computing needs of large enterprises down to home computer users.

Their computers range in price from $250 to $5,500. Their built-to-order method allows the consumer to pick the options they want or need in a computer, so they know exactly what they are paying for and are not forced into buying unnecessary, price-inflating add-ons.

Marketing Dell is now a globally recognized brand. In late 2005, a formal study was conducted on Fortune 1000 companies to rank consumer brand recognition. Dell was ranked #15. The study went on to confirm that consumers are more likely to purchase products or services from a company with a highly recognizable name.

In the mind of the typical consumer, brand name recognition equates to trust in the quality of that product. By Jan. 30, 2009, Dell had obtained U. S. federal trademark registration for the Dell word mark and logo and had applied for registration in approximately 184 other countries.

Dell’s marketing department has done an excellent job of spreading their name worldwide.

Relationship Management Dell exemplifies industrial leadership in managing supplier relationships by recognizing and rewarding its top suppliers. Dell is in so good with some of its largest suppliers that those supplying companies have set up their own facilities within a 20 mile radius of Dell’s manufacturing plants. Aside from superior supplier relationship management, Dell has great customer relations, too. In 2008, every Fortune 100 company did business with Dell.

As large companies make up close to 30% of Dell’s business globally, it is important for them to maintain good relationships with these big spenders.

Part of their strategy for relationship management with these companies comes from a strategy they implemented in 1986. They decided that if a large enterprise had a problem with one of their products, instead of trying to tell them how to fix it themselves, they would respond with “I’ll be right there” and they would fix the problem on site. Value Chain Analysis: Primary Activities Inbound Logistics

Dell’s direct customer sales business model enables the company to keep inventory low. The computer industry median inventory turnover in 2009 was 11. 5 while Dell’s was 46.

2. Operations Average days in inventory for the typical 2009 computer industry company was 31. 7. Dells’ was 7. 9.

(www. aaii. com/computerized-investing) Dell operates very efficiently to ensure speedy, quality production of its products Outbound Logistics Dell’s direct customer sales business model also enables they to cut out warehousing costs for finished goods almost completely.

Dell computers are built to order in a manufacturing facility strategically chosen to allow fast delivery from the time the computer order is placed. On average, it takes only seven to ten days from the time Dell receives a customized order to the time the computer is delivered. Marketing and Sales As covered in the core competencies section, Dell has done an incredible job of making its name known.

Once again, by practicing this direct customer sales business model, Dell is able to learn about sales trends and unmet customer demands from the customer. Service Dell continues to excel in customer service.

They were the first to offer 24 hour service support, and they also implemented the “I’ll be right there” approach with some of their biggest customers. They actually went to the site of the problem and fixed it themselves. Support Activities Procurement Dell does not make any of its component parts.

Dell relies heavily on its suppliers to keep the company moving forward. Dell has done an excellent job in building relationships with the suppliers, some of whom were willing to set up their own facilities near Dell’s manufacturers to ensure speedy delivery of its parts to Dell.

Technological Development Dell holds thousands of patents on its technological advancements. Dell is always moving forward in technology. Its direct sales business model enables the company to hear directly from the customer about things they wish they could do with their computers. Dell moves on those wishes and works to gain the technology needed to provide those products first.

Human Resource Management Dell has over 100,000 employees worldwide. In 2008, Dell received 347,448 applications for entry-level positions. Nearly 3 out of 4 entry-level hires are minorities and over 50 percent are women.

Dell is a very diverse company. (www.

businessweek. com/careers/first_jobs/2009) Dell also prefers to promote its current employees rather than hire from outside. This encourages current employees to continue working hard to grow within the company. Firm Infrastructure Dell completely revolutionized the typical computer industry value chain with its direct to customer model. Dell focuses on return on invested capital as a key managerial evaluation tool. Dell often achieves ROIC of more than 50 percent while HP is consistently around 15 percent.

(www. dailyfinance. om/does-apple-pass-buffetts-test) Dell strives to eliminate inventory pile-up. This system has allowed them to do that. Strength One of Dell’s most clear strengths is its direct business model. The model has allowed Dell to create strong relationship with customers.

The “customize” to order business model used by Dell provides in-depth customer knowledge, helping Dell to gather valuable information about their target markets. With such a closes relationships Dell has been able to build an award winning service center with special support for businesses and has made customer support a cornerstone of the business.

Brand recognition is strength for Dell. With 24,000 retail locations worldwide and employing 103,300, and shipping 43 million units in 2009, Dell is one of the world’s largest technological corporations. Dell is considered a first mover in the direct order business model for personal PC’s.

This allowed Dell to focus on its cost leadership but keeping the cost inventory down. Dell also exemplifies industrial leadership in managing supplier relationship by recognizing and rewarding its top suppliers at its annual Worldwide Procurement Supplier Award. Weakness

Few suppliers of critical computer components is a weakness, the nature of the high-tech industry, Dell was forced to contract with a few supplier who have control over key capabilities in the value chain. The direct customer sales business model was once a great asset but in the dynamic of high-tech fast paced industry of computers, but Dell found itself not connecting with all of its target market and realized that it needed a change in its distribution channels. Dell realized that some shopper wanted to go and see product line of different manufactures side but side and talk to technicians about features.

Dell sales in the educational segment accounted for only 5% of 2009 revenue; Dell is un-popular with college students.

Opportunities Acquisitions are another major strength of Dell’s, with 42% of revenue in 2009 earned from something other than PC sales. In 2008 Dell acquired EqualLogic to gain a foothold in the iSCSI storage market. In 2009 Dell purchased Perot System in a 3. 9 Billion dollar deal as part of there corporate level strategy of related constrained acquisition. Perot is in the application development, system integration and strategic Consulting services, adding to wide product line of Dells services and PC’s.

In 2009 Dell made over 2. 52 billion with storage, service, server networks and software and peripherals. In the emerging nations of the BRIC countries Dell is providing a region specific product the “Vostro-A” to meet the need of the customers in these Countries, the customers are concerned with basic PC functions such as access to the internet and email. The BRIC National make up over 50% of the global economy. The personal PC market has grown 20% in just the last year.

In 2009 the market was worth $677 billion that is just 9% of the world’s $7. trillion ITC spending. Threats In the late 1990’s and the early 2000’s the industry saw a wave of successful new computer manufacture enter the market such as Acer, Asus, Toshiba, and Fujitsu making the Threat of new entries high. U. S.

monetary policy as well as economic policies around the world may lead to volatile exchange rates, exposing Dell to currency risks despite its foreign currency hedging programs. In the 1st quarter of 2009, Net Revenue fell by 23%, Large Enterprise(largest revenue stream) dropped 31%.

Going “Green” it’s great to say and great to think about but the fact is that when government and political agencies start calling for greener things, it almost always has a cost related to it and although good, “money spent on converting facilities and processes to a greener,” the return is hard the quantify. With more entries in the market, the thinner slices to be had, competitive rivalry is very high and the average price of computer creeping more towards the mean, and the product are more difficult to distinguish from one another and cost differentiation is more difficult to achieve.

Current Strategies: In the following sections, we will uncover the current business, corporate and international strategies for Dell. As mentioned previously, Dell’s management team has established one of the most efficient business models in the technology industry.

The company is built around a number of core tangible and intangible elements that have pushed Dell to the fore-front of PC industry; and has ultimately lead to them becoming the “go-to” company for all Fortune 100 companies in 2008.

Business Strategy: Dell’s notable business strategy was built around a number of core competencies:build-to-order manufacturing, partnerships with suppliers, just-in-time components inventories, direct sales to customers, award-winning customer service and technical support, and pioneering use of the Internet and e-commerce technology. Using the fore-mentioned elements, Dell’s strategy of offering “premium products at non-premium prices” deploys an integrated cost-leadership/differentiation strategy.

Through innovative Internet and e-commerce technology, their historical build-to-order manufacturing has lead to their ability to measure consumer sentiments. Through their ability to skip the retailing mark-up cost, Dell has built a reputation for providing customers with a technologically advanced differentiated product at a low cost to them. With this reputation, Dell became committed to continually delivering those products; and in turn sought to partner with their suppliers.

Corporate ;amp; International Strategies:

Through their business strategies and supplier partnerships, Dell was able to focus on other value-added activities. They began looking at their corporate strategies and decided to diversify their corporate model from a 2-tier focus to a 4-prong segmentation. Initially, the Dell corporations focused on two main segments: (1) corporate and governmental buyer who purchased large amounts (2) small buyers (individuals and small businesses); and their PC sales brought in over 80 percent of their revenue.

After a reassessment of their global strategies, Dell began to reorganize from its old regional prospective to its new four global segments: small and medium businesses, large enterprises, public sectors, and global consumers. Since the global segmentation, large enterprises have brought in most of Dell’s revenues totaling 30 percent in FY09; and non-PC sales have brought in 42 percent of their revenues in the same year.

Dell’s corporation began acquisitions in 2009 to increase their diversity to a related constrained strategy, after they noticed the change from PC sale to non-PC selling items.

Initially Dell sought diversification by acquiring EqualLogic, a iSCSI storage company, and then they acquired Perot, an application market company. 6. ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT ISSUES IDENTIFIED AT THE END OF THE CASE Dell’s current issues consist of globalization, change in consumer preferences and rising costs due to increasing competition. Due to many technological innovations in computer electronics and high levels of dependency of many businesses and home users, there are no clear substitutes for Dell’s product portfolio.

However, there is increased competition from new entrants in the Home Users market segment.

Success of new entrants from Japan and Taiwan such as competitors Acer, Asus, Toshiba and Fujitsu indicates that Dell will have more pressure to drive prices down due to globalization. What is majorly threatening to Dell regarding international market entrance is that sales outside the US accounted for approximately 48% of Dell’s consolidated net revenue in FY 09′.

With these major firms particularly appearing in Asia, Dell needs to consider researching more about the needs in international regions to ensure that consumer desires can be fulfilled and that Dell won’t be edged out of the market by newer, more innovative products. Another issue Dell is facing is a change in consumer preferences. Although their initial strategy of solely selling over the internet was successful for those seeking a specialized outlet for creating your own computer, Dell needs to adapt to the current consumer ideals.

Consumers are increasingly showing preference for shopping for computers at retailers where they can directly compare models.

In addition, due to the economic downturn, the demand in the Home User market has changed; households are reducing their discretionary spending and opting for low-cost PCs with fewer features. This is threatening to Dell because they already face the challenge of low costs from international competitors; adding the consumer preference of low-cost PCs suggests that Dell must now directly compete with other PC-makers who are cost-competitive.

Lastly, according to analysts at IDC, there is a major trend toward mobile computing, “Laptops will overtake desktop PCs as the dominant form of computer in 2011. ” One last current issue Dell faces is rising costs. Changes in US Monetary Policy as well as economic policies around the globe may lead to volatile exchange rates, potentially hindering world-wide sales. Especially with the competition globally and Dell’s reliance on out-of-the-country sales, a more expensive dollar could be extremely detrimental to Dell’s success.

7. ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIC OPTIONS AND THE RECOMMENDATION

Aware of the current issues, Dell is taking strategic action to alleviate and possibly internalize its negative externalities. Dell is trying to provide technologically advanced differentiated products that can support price premiums to increase profit margins. What is a somewhat innovation meets price strategy, it is aware of the current economic situation while still satiating the consumer with the trends and desire to innovative. In an attempt to attract tech-savvy customers who want the newest and best innovations, Dell has increased R;amp;D spending 39.

% in 2008 to facilitate the development of differentiated products. Increasing research spending is smart for Dell because it allows them to innovate PCs and laptops to please the consumer. Dell is also diversifying its distribution channels. From 2007-2009, Dell had expanded its retail operations to include 24,000 outlets worldwide. This is fulfilling the need that consumers have communicated as their new preference for PC shopping and has led to an 11% revenue growth within this segment from 2007-2008, proving the efforts directed at the consumer market are successful.

To cut down costs, Dell has been focusing on COGS (cost of goods sold) and OPEX (operating expenses). They’re taking a “Design to Value” approach and have undertaken a massive cost-cutting campaign to drive down excessive costs, seeking to cut $4 B in costs by the end of FY 11′. Through Design to Value, Dell can design products that optimize their manufacturing and logistics supply chain. This has also redesigned 33% of the business client and 5% of consumer platforms which now equates to more than 50% of Dell’s product value. It has also led to a 10% reduction in average cost per unit.

We recommend that Dell continue with its current responses to the issues they face in the PC market today. 8. JUSTIFICATION OF THE RECOMMENDATION The intelligent measures Dell has taken thus far are attributed to their increase in research and development. Their current strategies have employed admirable resistance to the current economic situation, low costs due to globalization, and rising costs. Summarizing Questions: Based on this assessment of the threats in Dell’s external environment, what actions are required of the company? Due to the drop in revenue stream in the Large enterprise customer segment, Dell looks to the home users and

Small and Medium business segments to increase revenue.

In what ways is Dell’s segment growth strategy likely to succeed or fail? Dell’s segment growth strategy depends on Dell’s ability to detect customer shifts in preferences earlier than its competitors, remaining innovative, and providing value to the customer by simplifying their IT environment and providing customized solutions for their specific needs while keeping costs low How will competitor’s strategies and actions impact Dell’s ability to achieve its growth objectives?

Dell has an extensive product portfolio and strong brand name, and while the threat of substitutes is low, there is increasing competition from new entrants especially in the Home Users market segment How should Dell change its business- and corporate-level strategies to enable growth and meet these challenges? As technology is constantly changing, Dell needs to continue to be innovative, and to look for opportunities created by globalization including possible acquisitions