RUNNING HEAD: Supply Chain ManagementThe challenge could be written one sentence. How does the world's No.1 computer systems company use supply chain management software to reduce inventories, improve material management and enhance relationships with suppliers?Dell builds customized systems as ordered by businesses and home customers globally, and delivers them in a few days - to their doors, across the globe, and in the way hey wanted it.The world's No. 1 computer systems company, Dell, delivers desktops, notebooks, workstations, server and storage products for virtually any computing need. Dell's competitive advantage is its direct customer focus. Interacting with customers by teleph ...view middle of the document...
These suppliers receive orders from Dell worth in excess of $26 billion dollars a year. Thanks to Dell's use of Valuechain.dell.com, Dell's suppliers are able to predict upcoming demand and use supply chain data to work with their own suppliers. The materials needed are in close proximity to Dell factories and procurement of inventories from these suppliers is done over the web in real time and materials are pulled into the factories every two hours based on orders. The overall process is comprised of two steps:Planning - This involves getting the needed materials positioned at supplier hubs near the appropriate factories.Execution - This involves having the right materials on hand at the factories to build each customer's order.The changes that Dell might consider would be a greater use of overseas suppliers and outsourcing more of their customer services functions. Dell might also consider a greater use of small, disadvantaged and minority owned suppliers.The ethical issues surrounding the use of these suppliers would probably focus on giving favored status to specific groups of suppliers. This "favored status:" based on something other than the actual "bottom line" strategy most often employed in choosing suppliers could bring about negative consequenc...
