Dell Incorporated (formerly known as Dell Computer Corporation) is the biggest direct-sale computer merchandiser in the globe. It manufactures and markets technological products such as person computers, network servers, notebook computers, storage products, workstations, etc.
The company was founded by Michael Dell. When he was a freshman at the University of Texas in Austin, he bought computer parts wholesale and assembled them into IBM computer clones, which he promptly began to sell in his dorm. Later, when he was acquiring about 80 thousand dollars a month, he dropped out of school and founded Dell Computer Corporation in 1984.
As a strategy, Dell sold products relatively cheaper compared to better known computers being sold at such high-overhead dealer networks. They placed ads in computer magazines, marketing his products to people who were smart and sophisticated enough to distinguish high-quality computers sold at low prices. They also had customers place orders by dialing a toll-free number. Their strategy proved to be effective as, in its first year in business, Dell achieved sales of 6 million dollars, reached close to 40 million dollars by their second year in business, and caused Dell computers to become the best name in direct mail markets.
Having been successful in their first few years, Dell decided to broaden their horizons and proceeded to go global with the launching of their London office in 1988. It was thriving, selling more than 4 million dollars worth of computers in a month’s time. The opening of their London office was subsequently followed by the establishing of Dell’s Canadian subsidiary.
The firm was confronted with several challenges during the late 80s, starting off with the embarrassing delay of their IMB PS/2 clones. Different Japanese manufacturers, all of which were also selling IBM clones at low prices, added to the pressure. Dell’s answer to the increasing competition? Well, the company increased the level of technical sophistication in its computers. It started to produce file servers using the Unix operating system. Plus, Dell managed to pirate Glenn Henry away from IBM and had him work on product development.
The company continued to grow, but, like every other company, it had its share of ups and downs. In the early 90s, a recession affected computer sales. Unlike competitors IBM, Apple, and Compaq, however, Dell managed to benefit from the recession, regardless of the successful lawsuit filed against the company by Compaq – who claimed that Dell made defamatory statements against Compaq in their advertisements. Customers may have had little money, but they still needed computers, and most ended up buying Dell’s cheaper, yet top-notch quality products. Sales skyrocketed to a billion dollars. After this, Dell canceled a new series of notebook computers before it was even introduced due to quality problems. This caused it a setback of 20 million dollars.
Then, Dell aimed for markets outside the United States. In 1992, Xerox started selling Dell computers in Latin America. In 1993, Dell opened subsidiaries in Japan and Australia.
Their setbacks in 1994 were proven to be minor troubles to the innovative and imaginative company. In 1995, Dell’s sales jumped, earning the company 149 million dollars in profits. That same year, Dell ranked one of the top five computer merchandisers in the world. In 1996, the company continued to expand, opening a manufacturing factory in Malaysia. In three years, the company was earning about 30 million dollars per day over Internet sales. Their website also featured convenient technical support. By 1998, Dell reached profits of over 944 million dollars.
- by 1998, reached profits of over 944 million dollars and was the second top computer merchandiser that year. (nix)
It clearly values their customers and their number one priority was providing great customer service. The company also capitalized the Internet’s efficiency. This was proven in 1999, when Dell launched Dellnet, an Internet access service for Dell customers.
Since then, the company has continued to create innovative products and continued to seek new ways to grow. With over 103,300 employees worldwide, Dell Inc. today is considered one of the biggest and most influential technological companies in the globe. With its hands-on approach to running the company and their priority set to cherished customers, it is likely that the company would continue meeting customer expectations in regards to high-quality products, reasonable pricing, and superior service and customer support. Dell Inc, will achieve its objectives of becoming the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience.
References:
· Dell – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2011. Dell – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell. [Accessed 18 May 2011]
· Dell Inc. — Company History. 2011. Dell Inc. — Company History. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Dell-Inc-Company-History.html. [Accessed 18 May 2011].
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