Dell Strategic Formulation Case Study

The arrival of Dell Computer Corporation (DCC) in 1984 brought another milestone into already existing computer technological arena.

Since its inception, DCC has used innovative marketing strategies to move the computer market to a different level and today DCC ranks among the World's largest computer systems companies.

Dell pioneered the culture of selling personal computers directly to the customers without the involvement of the middleman. This concept has set Dell Computer Corporation apart from other computer giants.

Dell designs, builds and customizes products and services to satisfy the end-user requirements and offers an extensive selection of peripherals and software directly to its customers.

Looking at the already existing framework of DCC, we will analyze the strategic management process of DCC focusing on its mission, vision, values, situation analysis, formulation and implementation.

The mission statement addresses that Dell shall be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets they serve. DCC emphasizes on;

* Highest quality

* Leading technology

* Competitive pricing

* Individual and company accountability

* Best-in-class service and support

* Flexible customization capability

* Superior corporate citizenship

* Financial stability.

DCC pledges in its vision statement to effectively and strategically partner with communities to provide basic technological access needs in the digital world (dell.com, 2004).

The vision statement also asserts that, with the power of direct and Dell's team of talented people, the company is able to provide customers with superb value, high-quality, relevant technology, customized systems, superior service and support, and products and services that are easy to buy and use.

Mission Statement is a promise that companies make to the customers while vision statement paints a picture of what an organization would like to look like in a period of time (Mitchell, 2003). DCC focus on its customers and the involvement in the communities validates the implementation of its vision and mission statements.

In its organizational setup, Dell prefers to fragment along geographical lines into the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Japan, and Europe but its corporate headquarters is in Round Rock, Texas, near Austin.

The company believes in centralization of its decision-making instead of trying to control everything from the United States.

Each of its regions has its own regional headquarters, manufacturing facilities and Information Technology (IT) infrastructures. The Japanese regional stores of Dell Company have a separate headquarters (Dell.com, 2006).

The strategic formulation of centralization is good for Dell because DCC operates on assemble-to-order system relying on inventories of components (monitors, processors, hard drives and chips) from the suppliers.

Dell would use the SWOT analysis in its strategic management process to review its long-term goals in order to make the company to be more effective.

SWOT analysis is a process that can help companies to identify strengths,