Overseas Export Markets for Dell Corporation - Case Study Example

DELL COMPANY (FINAL REPORT) By Student’s name Coursecode+name Professor’sname Universityname City, State Date of submission Executive summary Dell Corporation is one of the leading companies that offer and distribute computers in the world today. One major strength that it uses to compete with its competitors is to deliver its model directly without following the chanin of a midleman. Therefore one can order for a laptop directly from the company. In trying to reach out for the overseas maarket, Dell has identified East Africa as a good trading zone after South Africa. In this region, Kenya has stood out to be a good place to root itself because of it well esatblished and liberal trading terms that encourage foreign investments. Kenya also has a good trade infarstructure and its position in relations to other landlocked countries like Uganda gives it more advantages. An opportunity that presents itself to Dell is that most of its customers are becoming more literate and aware of the kind of products it offers. It is also worth considering that Kenya has to meet a a level of being a computerized society and therefore this offersa chance for a big market. It is with such profound opportunities that Dell needs to observe entry strategies in this market to enable it to stay long in it. An indepth market analysis that puts Kenya first as well as its continued search for international market in the saturated market zones will bear fruits if Dell looks into its entry strategies in the East African marlet. Table of contents Executive Summary................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents........................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 4 Overseas Export Markets For Dell Company.......................................................................... 5 An Analysis of the International Market for Dell Corporation........................................... 7 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. .8 Recommendation...................................................................................................................... 8 List of References.................................................................................................................. ….9 ntroduction The introduction of new technology in the world today has brought about changes in the world of business as well. Dell Company is an example of a company which has been influenced by the invention of computers. The company has been influenced to the extent that it is currently one of the top companies offering computers and computer services in the whole world. It has always operated under the export regulations set up by the United States Bureau of Industry and Security. With this approach it mainly specializes on its Direct Model which provides a very fast, cost effective and customer friendly way of distribution and which has contributed mostly to the success of the company. Dell as well has rivals in this field. The competitors have bent ring to counteract its dominance by offering unique products but Dell Company has tried to counter attack this by working on the growth and development of PCs in order to maintain success (Dell & Fredman 2000). The company has done this by enabling reliable and serviceable advertisements through the use of a variety of brand names (Pealson & Yeh 1999). The brands emphasize more on qualities like value, performance and expandability. For example, a time came when the market was profitable, and in order to break through it, Dell had to introduce a model called Dell XPS. One challenge has been that the components of Dell’s products are similar to what other competitors offer too. In order to respond to the growing needs for PCs, Dell Company observes the market trends in the computer industry (Kotler & Lee 2004). The trends help the company to improve its products or even produce new ones. One trend that Dell Company has identified as a major challenge is the fact that the customers for laptops are becoming more and more educated in relation to the decisions they make on purchases (Mackenzie 2012). Such market trend presents the strengths and weaknesses that Dell Company operates with. The strengths of a company or its weaknesses depend on how it offers its products and services, the nature of its products, customer relations and how it analyses after sales reports. Dell Company has the Direct Model as its greatest power of operation; this is because it has made Dell to be what it is today as it enables the consumers to customize their PCs maximally. Dell achieved this strength by doing away with middlemen to enable its customers to order for PCs directly from the company. The greatest strength of this company is that the customers prefer Dell’s services because of the quick delivery that Direct Model brings when order is placed. This has even enabled it to have links with big companies that give large orders to them. Unfortunately, Dell is yet to have strategies of targeting college students as a market for their products. The relationship Dell has with learning institutions is still very poor because most students prefer buying laptops through school programs and Dell is yet to enter into such deals (Kraemer, Dedrick, & Yamashiro 2000). The issues of direct delivery to the customer doe not augur well with the company because the customers do not get an opportunity to assess the variety they offer. It thus leaves the customer so anxious. With such scale of operation, market trends, strengths and weaknesses several opportunities and threats present themselves to the Dell Company. One opportunity that presents itself in this case is the fact that the laptop market is growing at a very high rate than the desktops. This is a good opportunity as Dell can exploit it to enhance its sales on laptops from all areas. Another opportunity that presents itself well is the fact that most customers who buy computers from them do recur and every time they buy again, they always have a recommendation of the type of computers they need. This is much influenced by their level of awareness. The company can therefore supply to the regular customers exactly what they need. This can well be achieved if the company allows the customers to have personalized computer Worland 2001). With such opportunities, threats must avail themselves, the first being an unpredictable market for PCs. Most computer companies are meeting a big challenge in which the nature of computer market is ever-changing. Most customers want low-priced but high quality computers. With the value difference among brands which are getting smaller, Dell Company sees a problem. Another problem and major threat is the rate at which there is technological advancement. With this, low-cost-leadership is becoming unpopular among corporations and the fastest, latest and proficient technology is more marketable. Overseas Export Markets for Dell Company Dell has so far targeted the East african market andespecially Kenya because of its prospects in the market. The move to join the East african market isto help have a variety (Dell & Fredman 2000). with the help of a new distributor in the region, that is, Inspiron Technology, Dell Company is sure that the customers will be able to access their new line of products. Dell thus targets to distribute products ranging from entry-level notebooks and desktops to wholy configured Data centre servers and storage. Africa as a major export zone for Dell will thus receive equal opportunities, that is adanced technology at competative values just like the rest of the world (Schmid, Behrend, Kelber, & Krasel 2006). in the past five years, the company has shown greater progress in Africa especially South Africa where it has offered feature-laden notebooks for wireless computing solutions, desktops, precision workstations, networking power connect switches, power Edge servers, printers and a mass of software solutions (Holzner 2005).This has reached this level because it gets feedback on sales services from customers through buyer panels and events. The need to target East Africa is due to the fact that PCs and PC-related services and products are on high demand because of the computerization process in the region. Therefore, Dell has targeted Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania with Kenya being a major distribution and sales centre because of its high level of economic, political and social indicators. An Analysis of the International Market for Dell Corporation The need for Dell to have a wide international market is to help it focus on growth and competition as well as exploit new opportunities in the saturated market. This has been done by exporting to developing nations like the East African Countries. A survey shows that Kenya seems to be the best and more profitable market for Dell corporation because of many strengths that it offers. The removal of export and import licensing, exchnge control, remittances of dividends and profits is one step that Kenya uses to stand this better chance; foreign investment has grown due to this. Its position as the entry point to the landlocked counties also gives it an advantage. Kenya also stands a good market for Dell Company because it has a well developed trade infrastructure in the region (Levin, 2008). with Nairobi as a major transport hub in East Africa and Mombasa as a major distribution centre, it beomes the leading terminus for trade processes for Dell Corporation. Lastly, with most of its population educated and able-English speakers, Kenya manages a well established foreign and local-private sector with its free market determining the prices, resource allocation, and other marketing decisions (Levin, 2008). Conclusion Dell as a computer distribution company has great chances in East Africa despite the threats that it faces. The opportunities as well as its strength stil offer it a chance in the global market to continue leading as one of the best companies offering computer-related services. This is because it has an increased chances for revenue and access to information that potentially translates to new service and product offering . As it embraces the ICT market in East Africa, the company will be better placed to offer avariety of choices. One problem is that it lacks a grown-up relationship with the learning institutions. With most of its regular customers growing in computer awareness, Dell Company stands a chance of providing better servies and therefore should Keenly observe its entry strategies into the East African market. Recommendations With the potential East African market in place, Dell needs to observe certain market entr strategies. For example, in terms of distribution, Dell needs to build partnerships with major computer retailers, including Dubbed, Inspiron Technology to help it get access to distribution channels (Gannon, 1993). Also Dell will have to price its products in Kenyan shilings in order to reach the market fully. This would work well if it also takes a step to diversify its trade by targeting private consumers, such as households and students that need to purchase computers (Kotler, 2000). this would be followed by a good knowledge of their cutomers to ensure a good service value by developing the capacity to examine and evaluate individual corporate social responsibility actions. References: Dell, M., & Fredman, C. (2006). Direct from Dell: Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry. HarperCollins Dell, M., & Fredman, C. (2000). Directo De Dell. Ediciones Granica S.A. Gannon, M. (1993). Towards a Composite Theory of Entry Mode Choice: the Role of MarketingStrategy Variables. Journal of Strategic Marketing , 41-54 Holzner, S. (2005). How Dell Does It. McGraw-Hill Prof Med/Tech Kraemer, K., Dedrick, J., & Yamashiro, S. (2000). Refining and Extending the Business Model With Information Technology: Dell Computer Corporation. The Information Society: An I nternational Journal , 5-21. Kotler, P. (2000). Marketing Management. New York: Pearson Publishing Kotler, P., & Lee, N. (2004). Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Levin, G. (2008). Country Profile: Kenya. The Economis Magazine , 65 .Mackenzie. (2012, July 13). Dell's Strategy to Claim East Afica Market. Balancing Act , pp. 13- 15. Pealson, K., & Yeh, R. (1999). Dell Computer Corporation: A Zero-Time Organization. Texas: University of Texas. Schmid, N., Behrend, S., Kelber, S., & Krasel, M. (2006). The Dell Company - A Strategic Analysis. GRIN Verlag. .Worland, J. (2001). Dell Inc., Michael S. Dell, Kevin B. Rollins, James M. Schneider, Leslie L. Read More