Supply Chain Management: Dell's Critical Issues and Solutions

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of supply chain management, focusing on the case of Dell. It begins with an introduction to supply chain management, defining its core principles and practices, and then explores the framework of logistics and supply chain, including inbound, outbound, third-party, and fourth-party logistics. The report examines the impact of supply chain management on businesses, highlighting its role in boosting customer service, reducing costs, and increasing profitability, specifically in the context of Dell's operations. It then delves into key aspects such as inventory management, including customer service, transportation, and economic order quantity. The report also covers capacity management, particularly warehousing challenges, and concludes with a discussion of competitive advantages and critical issues faced by Dell, along with proposed management responses. The report uses the VRIO framework to analyze Dell's competitive advantages.

Supply Chain
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
1. Supply chain management..................................................................................................2
2. Logistics and Supply chain framework..............................................................................2
3. Impact of Supply chain management in business...............................................................4
4. Inventory Management.......................................................................................................5
5. Capacity management........................................................................................................5
6. Competitive Advantages:...................................................................................................6
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
7. Critical issues with Dell company......................................................................................7
8. Manager responded on critical situation on Dell company................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
.........................................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Supply Chain Management is a management of flow of goods and services and involves
all procedure which transform raw material into final products. It include the practises of supply
chain activities in business related for maximise towards customer values and high gain
competitive advantages within marketplace(Xu and et.al, 2020). Supply chain management
mainly demonstrate about an effort by effective supplier to develop and implement supply chain
in economic and environment basis.
In this report, the Dell organisation is an American multinational computer technology
which develops, sells, repairs and supports computers along with product and services. This
company is one of largest technology corporation within world. The employing where more than
1,65,000 people are working in United States as well as around the world. The topics are covers
about customer services, transportation warehousing and competitive advantages (Ketchen Jr and
Craighead, 2020). In second phase, it demonstrate about critical issues for organisation
perspective and suggest findings to improve supply chain.
1
Illustration 1: Supply chain management, 2021.
Source:
https://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/supply-
chain-management-SCM

MAIN BODY.
1. Supply chain management.
The term supply chain management is a type of cross functional approach that involves
managing and activity of raw material within an organisation, certain aspects for internal
processing towards material change into finished goods. The gesture of finished goods out of
organisation within to end to end consumers. As the main activity is enhance in Supply chain
management are ongoing machinery work, work in process inventory along with fulfilment from
point of origin consumption (Gölgeci and Kuivalainen, 2020). Supply chain management having
further involvement industrial engineering, operation management, logistics, procurement
technology and marketing. In context of Dell company is a remarkable supply chain management
which is direct relates within sales model and having meaning about to order for direct selling
from customer without any seller involved.
Dell mainly applies theory of manufacturing overseas where it is essential to measure and
assume about the capacity of supply chain. Thus, the optimum measure can be undertakes as per
situation accordingly. To operate and monitor this supply chain management is relies on this
within effective manner. There is more significance at the time of operational level where all
supply chain activities in dell are presumes through cluster. For Dell venture, their supply chain
management team is also operate logistic and measure competitors that relates towards the facts
(Mosteanu and et.al, 2020). As dell is not consider to be computer manufacture, but it produced
assemble part of it through other companies. In other hand the high customisation level of
product is adapt which it commence about competitive advantages.
2. Logistics and Supply chain framework.
Logistic management is part of supply chain about management that plan to implements
and controls that efficient about process of manufacturing of good and services, implies qualities
of good and services. It is related information between the point of origin and point of
consumption to meet customer expectation and requirements. The role of logistics in supply
chain management is more essential components about supply chain management as it enhanced
for complex pattern about traffics of transportation, shipping and assembling, import, exporting,
operation, warehousing, inventory management, purchasing, production customer service.
2

There are different logistical planning about procedure that business which utilise that
facilitates towards supply chain activities.
 Inbound logistics: It depicts about internal logistic commence practise about
organisation which need to finish task as per situation according. The inbound logistic
ordinarily that refers about to having strategic task of organisation that works
upstream.
 Outbound Logistic: This allows about exercise which engaged towards moving about
item towards client. These strategies is having obligation that apply to players on work
moderately downstream basis.
 Third party Logistics: It is refer about mistaking for an entrepreneur where it
incorporates overall pieces of supply chain plan. To actualise and control with flow of
merchandise and services to meet client expectations. These parties are mainly deals
from task warehousing, transportation, production and others.
 Fourth party logistics: This party of logistic within supplier and it is having basically
makes third party for effective logistics through mapping overseeing of resources,
better innovation technologies, infrastructure etc.
Evaluation:
In above aspect of logistics is derived about Dell company is mainly follows Third party
logistics as they mainly deals to manufacture parts of computer related product in effective
manner.
Supply chain framework:
The Supply chain framework is majorly work on managing the overall production in
where process of goods and services to improve quality, delivery, customer experience and
having cost factor efficiency. In following there is framework of Supply chain management for
Dell company are: Strategies Planning: The whole path about to company is having established to using of
this technique as per management development (Khan and et.al, 2020). It is having
management development where transportation about inventory where objectives are
established towards matched better technologies and customer services. Tactical planning: This plan is encompasses about to execute within one or two years as
it involve personal and including staff and supporter towards longer term strategy. In
3

each phase of time provide specific skills as well as many specification about resources
that storage in new storage areas. Operational planning: This section comprise about to approach work strategies where
plan and programme where in order to increase strategies effectiveness. The strategy is
allocate about better performance indicators. Operational planing and depending about
company where task schedule for track about business on constant basis.
 Contingency Planning: It involves about business worst scenario that is adverse about
climatic condition, grievances, challenges arises in workplace or lack of major suppliers.
All these factors is essential to having create these planning for enhance contingency
planning to reduce uncertainty.
3. Impact of Supply chain management in business.
Business is having several revenues which increase profitability. It can boosting
marketing for contribute efforts to improves sales for better increase selling price, introduce
about product towards new market (Tönnissen and Teuteberg, 2020). In following impact of
Supply chain management elaborates about Dell company perspective: Boost customer service: The customer expect to make correct in product assortment as
per quantity to be delivered. It creates heavy demand product while available at right
location that refers about customer satisfaction that diminishes. Similarly if Dell would
not manufacture proper technology product their customer not proper satisfy. Decrease purchasing Cost: The retailer are relies on supply chain to quickly deliver
towards expensive products are to avoid holding costly through inventories where it stay
for long time. Decrease production cost: It depends upon manufacture that depends upon better supply
chain as to deliver right amount of raw material to avoid material shortage can shut down
production activities. Decreases Total Supply chain costs: The manufacturers and retailer that depends upon
on supply chain manager where to design network that meet customer service goal at
least total costs. To efficient supply chain managers to design networking for meet
customer service goals.
 Increase Profit Leverage: The firm supply chain managers because they helps to
monitor, control as well as reduce cost of supply chain. This can result in dramatic
4

increases in firm profit. For instance, United States eat 2.7 billions packages of cereal
annually. It decreasing United States on cereal supply chain costs in $13 million.
Recommendation
In above impact of supply chain management factor is summarised about different factors
such as decrease in production cost and purchasing cost and others. For recommend one of the
factor to Dell company is they need to determine more to production cost as technology is
developing more wider segment but it implies high cost incurred.
4. Inventory Management.
It is a system which is combination about technology and enhance process and procedure
that overseas for monitoring and having high maintenance to finished product. These product
counted as a specific company's assets, raw material and suppliers or finished product which are
ready to be sent vendors or end consumer (Micheli and et.al, 2020). For Dell company, their
inventory management is consider for customer services and transportation perspective.
Customer Service
This service is key satisfy for company's feedback which gathered to improve product. It
is involves providing assistance to those potential customer. As they buy product and services for
fulfils their demand. In order to having better experience and good brand image for essential to
people. In context of Dell company, the customer service is enhance to generate while company
provide demanding technologies product to their customer. Dell mainly deal with high tech
computers and Laptops configuration.
Transportation:
It is refers about mode of delivery which is every company uses to having shifting within
their good manufacture in factory to market about purpose of sale. It is only source through
which organisation that delivers their items to having potential buyers which turn helps company
for generating profits (Mardani and et.al, 2020). There is cost involved transportation which
involved final price of goods which are paid of customer. Dell is opted mode of transportation
through airlines services. As they transfer their product in other sources like factory where they
deliver final product to the buyers in market. Dell tries to manufactured innovative technologies
which creates benchmark towards economic and environment.
Economic order Quantity: It is ideal order quantity a company should purchase to reduce
inventory costs for example holding cost, shortage cost and order costs. In perspective of Dell
5

their operation team have to analyse order quantity on that basis they need to reduce their
inventory for measure profit margin.
Safety Stock: This stock is having extra quantity of an particular items in inventory that reduce
the risk where the item would out of the costs. For Dell company safety stock utilise by them
when extra product and they sell in less cost because the value of extra product would depreciate.
5. Capacity management.
In capacity management Warehousing refers place where company involves raw material
or finished goods and services to kept as storage with having immense safety after the
production. Some of the companies are having their own warehouses where they use to keep
extra inventory goods. The multinational venture are entitled to own warehouse in which they
have large scale of operation and production. As per this companies is to manages their
remaining stock at the time of high demand in competitive supply of goods.
The Dell company uses their Warehouses for kept technologies based product and
services, as Dell is occupy for high flow warehouse that stands for facility that stores in product
within automatic storage as cost per touch. There are some challenges which Dell company can
faces at the time of acquiring warehouses are:
 Inventory Inaccuracy: It is an efficient handling inventory about warehousing as it
causes problem about maintaining high level of stock. It is leads to picking leads for
rely inaccurate information (Núñez-Merino and et.al, 2020).
 Redundant process: In this issue, employees are used to handle for product several
times due to nature of warehousing process. For example: Due to Covid-19
warehousing faces high challenge for bearing rents by company which they become
health risk and needs of rapid reassessment.
As above challenges are highlighted on the basis of Warehouse aspect in which Dell faces
challenges to bear high rent or having own warehouse it requires expenses to invests for long
term aspect.
6. Competitive Advantages:
This term encompasses about the probability for getting more than one firms
operating at similar level product in same market. This bring high better revenue, strong
brand image as well as high market share or goodwill. These all are creates high impact on
6

which it leads to individual company to compete within competitors. For that particular
aspect analysis of VIRO helps to provide optimum information Valuable, Rare, Imitable
and organisation for Dell perspective. In following there VIRO analysis below:
Resources Valuable Rare Imitable Organisation Competitive
Advantage
Leadership √ √ X √ High
Competitive
advantage
Brand
Awareness in
competitive
market
√ √ X √ High
Competitive
advantage
Customer
Review
√ √ X √ High
Competitive
advantage
Human
Resource
√ X √ √ Sustainable
Competitive
advantage
Innovation √ X √ √ Sustainable
Competitive
advantage
For Valuable: It demonstrate that overall factors Brand awareness, Human resource, leadership,
Innovation and customer are plays an important role within Dell company.
For Rare: In perspective of Rare factor it is enhance about leadership, brand awareness and
customer review are comes under rare segment. But Human resource and innovation not consider
in rare because similar work policies and concept of technologies adopted by Dell from other
companies.
For Imitable: It is easy acquire human resource and innovation system but Leadership, brand
awareness and customer review not copied.
7

For Organised: This is also plays an important role which describe about organised overall
factor for leadership, brand awareness, customer review, human resource and innovation in
competitive advantages attained.
a) What inventory method used?
The inventory method which used by Dell company is Retail inventory balance in
concerned store that measure the cost which is having relative costs. The reason to follow
Retail inventory costs for measure expenses.
b) Five step in managing capacity.
The resource capacity management is essentially is strategy that accounts towards
required to meet the concerned project. It is practise to optimal utilise where the existing
capacity to adding before utilising new resources. It is have major five step are:
 Capacity v/s demand: It is critical metric which emphasis about shortage to access of
resources. The resource manager can create bridge that gap proactively makes to ensure
about capacity wasted in project vacancies.
 Resource utilisation: It is the way to measure for effectively the resources making
utilised against available capacity. It helps to inform utilisation about workforce which
makes to keep resources check effective manner.
 Forecast vs actual time: It helps to measure about booking hours between spending
hours to protect for project effective costs.
 People on bench: Through effective bench management is the cornerstone of capacity
planning strategy. Forecasting people on bench where it therefore creates crucial aspect
to allocate project in workforce advance.
 Project vacancy: It is tend to important that allows mobilise about resource from
billable project.
c) Suggest the way to improve competitive advantages.
There are some of factor that improve competitive advantages:
 To become online influence in which dell company need to engage with customer
through social media and official website. As many customer are actively participate in
online way to compete with others.
8

 For better and effective communicate within business parties such as manager and
stakeholders. In perspective of Dell company, they need to scrutinise information as
well as clear out quires of stakeholder.
 Create own data will enhance more knowledge and having authority along with
credibility which easily conduct through google consumer survey. This survey helps to
Dell to make proper data management.
d) Suggest the way to improve current competitive advantages.
There are some aspect which reflect about to improve competitive advantages are:
 To create and enhance more technology related product such as electronic base like
Laptops and computer by Dell manufacture to compete in competitive market place.
There are many other competitors like HP, Asus, Apple, VAIO, Lenevo etc.
 Retain and attract more customer on social media platform where it provide help to
sustain for long term period of time as better competitive advantages.
 Make survey through online about to mapped customer preference and other
competitors performance.
Task 2.
7. Critical issues with Dell company.
Critical issues are refers about Dell where it lack of coordination and having
collaboration which represents as it is having effectiveness for suppliers on better product supply
in effective manner (Babagolzadeh and et.al, 2020). The main reason about behind within the
absence about proper coordination and collaborate. The problem along with suppliers can creates
impact in customer relationship within Dell that leads less demand on company's product in
market.
Supply chain coordination refers about structure for developing effective performance
towards supply chain of company perspective. Dell company adopt strategy for manufacturing in
effective manner where it is helps to optimise technologies and sell in economic price. This will
arises on high customer retention which deals towards international market.
9