Dell to strengthen direct selling concept in India

By K.Satyamurty

BANGALORE, SEPT. 3. Mr. Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer Corporation, the second largest worldwide, will be visiting India shortly and is expected to be in Bangalore on September 28. Mr. Dell is considered to be the computer industry's longest serving CEO. His concept was simple: By directly delivering PCs which were custom-built to specific customer orders, Dell could most efficiently respond to customer needs.

Dell was strengthening its direct selling concept in India, according to Mr. Charles "Chip" Saunders, President, Asia Pacific and Senior Vice-President of Dell Computer. Whether it was one computer or a 100, customisation was possible because Dell understood what the customer wanted and could offer individual solutions, he said. Tata Inoftech was Dell's services partner in India and talks were on with other leading Indian companies to extend the service network. The company's own call centres and staff for follow-up were being expanded.

Stating that Dell was "very bullish" about the Indian market, he said the company had recorded a 213 per cent growth here compared to the average market growth of around 40 per cent. India with its large emphasis on IT and software development and its interest in the Internet-enabled economy, was an important market for Dell. The Net was expected to drive the Indian market and Dell would be there with its "Web Stores."

Dell had 11 service centres in India, of which six stocked all necessary spare parts, Mr. Ron Goh, Vice President-Asia said. Almost 85 per cent of customer calls recieved could be resolved then and there while others took some hours or days. Logistics were being worked out to deal with customers' problems in the smaller towns too, he added.

Dell claimed to be no:1 in the U.S. where it was a leading supplier of PCs to businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and consumers. Dell designed, developed and manufactured besides marketing and servicing a full range of personal computer systems from notebooks to workstations.

Through its "direct business model," which was among the first in the industry, Dell had fostered direct relationships with large multinational corporations, small and medium businesses and individuals. It was also the first PC provider to offer customers direct toll-free technical support by phone and next-day on-site service programmes that are now an industry standard. Customers benefitted from direct one-to-one relationships with those who designed and built technology. The company could provide powerful, richly configured systems and introduce the latest relevant technologies at competitive prices.

The benefit of direct selling was mutual, according to Mr. Saunders. Through the numerous direct customer contacts the company had each day, it learnt at first hand what customers needed. Among an extensive range of value-added services, Dell provided installation support and system management and guided customers through technology transitions. Products and services were customised and extensive selection of peripherals and computing software were being sold through the DellWare programme.

Dell was again taking the lead in the industry, using the Internet to further evolve the direct business model. The company led commercial migration to the Internet, launching www.dell.com in 1994 itself and adding e-commerce capability in 1996. Today, Dell claimed that it was operating the highest volume Internet commerce site in the world. This website accounted for about 50 per cent of the company's overall revenue. Dell recieved 40 million visits per quarter at more than 78 country specific sites. Customers at these sites could evaluate multiple configurations, obtain instant price quotes, access technical support and place orders.

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