ASSIGNMENT-2

Management Information System

SUBMITTED SUBMITTED
BY: - Mohd Asim TO: -DR. UZMI MAM
COURSE: - MBA
GROUP: - A
SEM: -4TH SEM
YEAR: -2019-2021
ENROLL NO: -1600100606
Choose a company from the list
given below:-
(a) Wallmart
(b) dell computers
(c)fedex
(d) Amazon.com
Diagnose the following aspects:
step 1- identify the type of business and
its major competitors
step 2- examine and state the use of
Information system as a tool for
competitive advantage in the selected
organization
step 3- give a brief layout of the supply
chain
 Dell computers

STEP1: - Dell is an American multinational computer technology

company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers
and related products and services, and is owned by its parent
company of Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data storage
devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals,
HDTVs, cameras, printers, and electronics built by other
manufacturers. The company is well known for its innovations in
supply chain management and electronic commerce, particularly
its direct-sales model and its "build-to-order" or "configure to
order" approach to manufacturing—delivering individual PCs
configured to customer specifications. Dell was a pure hardware
vendor for much of its existence, but with the acquisition in 2009
of Perot Systems, Dell entered the market for IT services. The
company has since made additional acquisitions in storage and
networking systems, with the aim of expanding their portfolio from
offering computers only to delivering complete
solutions[buzzword] for enterprise customers. Dell was listed at
number 51 in the Fortune 500 list, until 2014.It’s rank is 34th on
the Fortune 500 currently[10]. It is the world's 3rd largest personal
computer vendor by unit sales as of January 2021, following
Lenovo and HP Inc.Dell is the largest shipper of PC monitors
worldwide. Dell is the sixth-largest company in Texas by total
revenue, according to Fortune magazine. It is the second-largest
non-oil company in Texas (behind AT&T) and the largest
company in the Greater Austin area. After going private in 2013,
the newly confidential nature of its financial information prevents
the company from being ranked by Fortune. It was a publicly
traded company (Nasdaq: DELL), as well as a component of the
NASDAQ-100 and S&P 500, until it was taken private in a
leveraged buyout which closed on October 30, 2013.
In 2015, Dell acquired the enterprise technology firm EMC
Corporation; following the completion of the purchase, Dell and
EMC became divisions of Dell Technologies. Dell EMC as a part
of Dell Technologies focus on data storage, information security,
virtualization, analytics, cloud computing and other related
products and services.
Dell is able to sustain a competitive advantage over competitors
in the computer industry because of an extremely efficient supply
chain/distribution system. The direct Model strategy compels the
company to use a JIT inventory system, as the customers are
only allowed to order directly from Dell.
The company's consumer business already is a global operation,
but now three other groups will follow suit: those for big business
customers, government customers, and small- and medium-size
business customers. Dell's success can be attributed in large part
to its “direct model.” While competitors like Compaq and IBM sold
PCs through retailers, distributors, and resellers, Dell sold directly
to its customers, offering highly customized PCs at a time when
the cost of computers was high enough to still require
significant .As one of the world's biggest providers of computers,
network servers, and related products and services, Dell
Technologies Inc. competes with a range of giant technology
companies, including HP Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Group,
Lenovo Group Ltd., IBM Corp., and Apple Inc.

STEP2: - The effective use of information systems to

collaborate with suppliers gives Dell several important
advantages: Dell's information systems enable their strategy of
exchanging inventory for information, which means Dell keeps
information about customer orders and demands instead of
storing inventory. Information systems aid companies in
competing with other competitors by maintaining low costs,
differentiating products or services, focusing on market niche,
strengthening ties with customers and suppliers, and increasing
market entry high competition. Even the simplest use of
technology can dramatically improve your business' productivity
and efficiency. Arguably, the greatest benefit of information
systems is their ability to give users the information they need to
carry out tasks efficiently. Dell achieves its competitive advantage
over other firms in the industry by having superior supply chain
management. Dell utilizes technology to interpret information. By
being involved in the customer buying process they are able to
determine their customers' needs. Advantages. Organized Data
collection – MIS can help the managers to organize loads of data
collected from the market, thus results in an increment in the
productivity. A broad perspective – With a proper MkIS in place,
the organization can be tracked which can be used to analyze
independent processes.
The six factors of competitive advantage are quality, price,
location, selection, service and speed/turnaround
Information systems can reduce the number of levels in an
organization by providing managers with information to supervise
larger numbers of workers and by giving lower-level employees
more decision-making authority
9 Strategies to Gain a Competitive Edge
1.Charge More. While many businesses think of slashing their
prices to stand out, there's value in going the other direction. ...
2.Become an Online Influencer.
3.Speak at Events in Your Industry.
4.Create Your Own Data.
5.Niche Down.
6.Leverage New Technology.
7.delight Your Customers.
8.invest in Deeper Customer Relationships.
9.optimum utilization of available resources & technology.

STEP 3: - The most remarkable feature of Dell's supply chain

management is its direct sales model, meaning that it accepts
orders directly from the customers, without any resellers involved.
Based on this data, the brand implemented additional products
and services according to customers' preferences
In recent times logistics and supply chain management have
become the most vital issue for Organizations. Dell has realized
this from initial and so by putting more emphasis on its logistics,
supply chain management and direct sales strategies it has
become one of the most successful PC companies in the world.
Dell was founded on November 4, 1984 in Austin Texas, by Mr.
Michael Dell when he was a student at university of Texas in
Austin. In the beginning only Dell adopted its key supply chain
strategy of direct sales, initially they use to take orders on phone
according to customer s condition. Then later they do tried to use
retail channel from 1990 to 1994,but after that it returned to its
direct model and grew quickly and in 1999 it became the number
one PC company in United States and two among all pc
companies in the world. Michael Dell this unique supply chain
strategies and his successful way of putting them in to practice
played considerable role in Dell' s success.
Dell s inbound logistics for materials needed to fabricate PCs are
handed by the supplier s logistics companies and according to the
code of conduct of corporation; the supplier should use a capable
logistics company who can deliver components safely and at the
exact time given.

In case of outbound logistics, it got number of best transportation

and logistics companies like DHL, CEVA, FEDEX, ODFL, SAIA,
UPS and SCHNEIDER which ships the exact order to exact
customer at right delivery time or day given by Dell which on the
whole helps to increase customer satisfaction. Dell entered the
market in 1985, and evolved from a small, dorm-room based
company in Texas to one of the world’s leading computer
hardware manufacturers, with over 96,000 employees. Among
other things, the brand owes a lot of its success to its
revolutionary supply chain strategy. Let’s take a look inside Dell’s
supply chain and see how it helped the company grow at a rapid
pace from the start, and reinvent itself later on. The most
remarkable feature of Dell’s supply chain management is its direct
sales model, meaning that it accepts orders directly from the
customers, without any resellers involved. This model helped the
company access its customers and study their needs directly.
Based on this data, the brand implemented additional products
and services according to customers’ preferences. This made it
stand out among other computer hardware manufacturers early
on. Customer place orders on Dell’s website. In this order, the
customer specifies their requirements, like the computer
configuration and specifications.
The customer’s requirements are forwarded to the manufacturing
department.
The assembly of the custom PC begins.
The computer is ready and shipped to the customer.
To restructure its supply chain, the company implemented the
following solutions:
Global structure instead of regional structure, with three business
units – enterprise, public, and consumer/small business.
Standardized offers including the most frequently purchased
configurations.
Segmented model instead of a one-size-fits-all model.
Infrastructure that corresponds to the changing needs of the
business.
Standard yet flexible processes that leverage global partnerships.
Customer priorities aligned according to speed, choice and cost.
Ready-made, in-stock systems for quick delivery.
Optimization of global IT infrastructure.
Dell’s renovated supply chain model groups the customers and
products chosen by them into the following key segments:
Customers with specific needs – configurable products
Customers that choose the company as a trusted advisor –
preconfigured products
Customers that value speed – finished goods purchased either
directly or through the website
Accordingly, the brand implemented different supply chains
targeting these groups of customers. However, all of the chains
were using the same tools, processes and suppliers.
The Bottom Line on Dell’s Supply Chain
To summarize, Dell has been a successful player in the computer
hardware market since the very beginning because of its
innovative supply chain strategies.

Despite the hard times in the early 2000s, its customer-centric

model helped Dell remain afloat. In 2010, the retailer reinvented
its supply chain according to the changing needs of its target
audience. That just goes to show that renewing and improving
your supply chain strategy continuously can go a long way.

If you want to use the lessons that Dell learned and lead your
business to success, it is important that you efficiently manage
your inventory. For that, Dynamic Inventory is ready to help by
offering multifunctional but easy-to-use inventory management
software.
THANK YOU
AMSHA QAMAR