Dell Inc. in 2008: Can it overtake Hewlett-Packard as the Worldwide Leader in Personal Computers?
Dell is a global company that delivers products and services in more than 190 countries and over 40000 employees who live and work on six continents. The company deals in enterprise computing products, desktops, monitors, printers, notebooks, handhelds, software and peripherals with a focus on fully integrated improved environmental performance into business. The company had gone through many ups and down from its inception in 1984 and has to face many challenges and competitions to stay ahead in the market (Kolter and Lee, 2008). This paper strategically discusses the fall and rise of Dell Inc from 2007 to 2008 and to compare Dells strategy with that of Hewlett Packard with due reference from the case study “Dell Inc in 2008: Can it overtake Hewlett Packard as the worldwide leader in personal computers.”
A) Dell’s Strategy to overcome HP in Personal Computers
Michael Dell founded the company with simple vision and business concept that the personal computers could be built and sold directly to the consumers which would eliminate the additional costs of intermediaries between the company and consumer and thus reducing the overall cost of the PCs making it cheaper than other PCs in the market. The other advantage was that it reduces the costs and risks associated with carrying large stocks of parts, components and finished goods (Thompson and Gamble, 2006). The company later became a public limited company and raised $34.2 million in its first offering of common stock and achieved sales of $388 million in 1990. During 1986 to 1993, Dell refined strategy, build an adequate infrastructure and established market credibility against better known rivals like IBM and Hewlett Packard. Dells computer strategy clicked into full gear in the late 1990s and the sell direct