Dell's Successful Use of the Internet as a Selling Channel

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Dell's Successful Use of the Internet as a Selling Channel

Dell are currently the worlds number one PC supplier, a position in the market they took from Compaq in April 2001. In short, the company’s success story is mainly down to their innovative direct business model, which pays particular attention to the selling process where Dell completely bypasses all intermediaries and/or middlemen.
This is because Michael Dell believed they add little if no value to the end product, instead just gaining a considerable mark-up for selling the product. Hence, they became the first PC manufacturer to completely cut out retailers and instead sold customised computers directly to customers based on their exact specifications. This selling process began over the telephone and via catalogues but in
1996 Dell embarked on Internet based selling on their official website, Dell.com, providing customers the opportunity to buy desktops, notebooks and servers directly from them.

In order to power online commerce successfully for any business, the basic technology required is the installation of servers and data-storage systems. The website Dell.com runs on industry standard
Dell PowerEdge servers. These powerful servers are backed up by
Dell/EMC Fibre Channel storage. Dell is therefore equipped with backup strategies in case any problems with the servers or software occur and are experienced. This is crucial, as users may begin to view this distribution channel as unreliable if breakdowns are recurrent and could detract them from not only buying from Dell.com but from anything from the company. According to company internal metrics,
Dell.com is one of the most responsive web sites on the Internet, with an average download time of 1 second for a page. That briefly explains the technology used to power the website however customers can access it simply via an Internet browser, the most popular being
Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Explorer.

Dell’s direct business model (can be seen on the page three) may be simple in theory however it is very complicated executing it in reality. Building PC’s to order means that they must have the parts and components on hand to build a wide range of possible specifications over a short period of time (to ensure minimum time between order and manufacture). To complete these orders quickly,
Dell must have first-rate manufacturing and ...

... middle of paper ...

...ffective they are. As mentioned, customer service has also improved from an already high standard even further. Dell has created many services online that enables the customer to see the whole purchasing process clearly once they have made an order. It gives the customer the ability to track the progress of their order as it is produced and delivered, providing them with constant feedback of delivery dates and product information. This 24-hour customer service and fast response time helps Dell build a strong relationship with customers.

References
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The key references handed in earlier referred to the two links below:

- http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/home?c= uk&l=en&s=corp - http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/ en/2003/2003_10_20_rr_002?c=us&l=en&s=corp Further websites were found with useful detail on Dell’s direct selling model:

- http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=6717

- http://www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies/casestudy.asp?CaseStudy
ID=14674

- http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/policy/en/policy?
c=us&l=en&s=gen&~ck=lf&~section=006

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