From DELL without intermediaries. Strategies that revolutionized the computer industry. Michael Dell

Thanks.
First of all, I am grateful to my friends, whose encouragement and support I felt in both successful and difficult periods of my life. Without them, the rise of Dell as described in this book would not have been possible.
Our customers were a constant source of inspiration and knowledge for us, they gave us ideas, thanks to them we had constant feedback, which became the basis of our company's success.
My parents raised in me curiosity and perseverance, to which I am faithful to this day. Thank you for the understanding shown to your son, who has chosen an unusual path for himself.
Dell Computer Corporation employees and employees continue to exemplify how innovation and employee dedication can turn a good company into an outstanding one. My special thanks go to my colleagues on the administrative team, who make the day-to-day running of the company an enticing adventure and whose influence often guides my thinking.
Three women have been of great help to me in carrying out this project: Katherine Fredman, my co-author, whose research and insightful questions sparked the idea and helped turn disparate ideas into understandable text; my editor Lauryn Rowland (“You must write this book!”), who provided invaluable support and mobilized all the resources of Harper Collins; and Michelle Moore of Dell, who played an important role in this project, as well as in many others in the company.
Finally, but not least, I would like to thank my wonderful wife Susan for her unwavering support, encouragement, love and kindness. I am very lucky with my life partner!
Michael Dell
Round Rock, Texas
February 1999

Chronology
1980

Первый намек на то, что ждет в будущем: Michael Dell покупает свой первый компьютер Apple II и тут же разбирает его на составные части, чтобы понять, как он устроен.
1983

Declaring the ultimate goal of beating IBM, the young Dell organizes a successful business selling refurbished computers and peripherals that he assembles in his dorm room at the University of Texas.
1984

After contributing $1,000 in share capital, Michael registers his company as Dell Computer Corporation, entering into transactions under the brand name PC's Limited, and left the university in May of the same year. The company becomes the first in the industry to ship custom-built computers directly to the end user, bypassing the industry's dominant system of dealers to distribute standard models.

1986

Dell is unveiling the world's fastest system, a 12MHz 286-based processor, at Comdex National Spring Fair. The system receives the most enthusiastic responses from technical publications.

First in the industry to offer a 30-day full refund on a defective product, laying the cornerstone of Dell's commitment to continuous service enhancement and customer satisfaction, and offering the industry's first after-sales service program "in places".

1987

In a bold move for a start-up, Dell opens its first overseas branch in the UK. Another 11 such branches will be opened over the next four years.

1988

Dell's first public offering brings in $30 million and brings the company's once $1,000 market capitalization to $85 million.

1989

The fast-growing company faces its first major setbacks: it builds up surplus memory components, causing them to be scrapped, and has to shut down an ambitious new product development project called Olympic.

1990

Dell becomes the first company to sell computers through retailers such as CompUSA and Best Buy. Later, it would also become the first company to exit the market after determining that selling through retail outlets was not in line with its financial strategy.

1991

By transitioning its entire product line to the fastest Intel 486 microprocessors, Dell is demonstrating its determination to bring the latest technology to its customers as quickly as possible.

1992

Dell's sales for the fiscal year ending January 1993 are over $2 billion and the company's growth rate is 127%.

1993

Suffering from As a result of rapid growth, Dell is phasing out non-essential products and posting a loss for the first and last quarter as the company temporarily exited the notebook market, stopped selling products through its retail network, and restructured its European subsidiaries.

The company's motto is "Liquidity, profitability and growth", which marks a change in its strategy from focusing primarily on production growth to more balanced priorities. Upside Magazine honors Dell with the dubious title of "Running Out Executive of the Year."

1994

After a brief exit from the laptop market, Dell is launching a new line of Latitude computers with record-breaking battery life.

Dell expands into the Asia-Pacific region with the opening of Dell Japan in Japan, which becomes the fastest growing foreign subsidiary in the company's history.

1996

Dell is challenging the current market for high-value servers built with proprietary technologies. She introduces her PowerEdge line to customers. In less than two years, PowerEdge moves Dell from #10 to #3 in server sales globally.

The company's low-profile announcement of selling custom-built computers over the Internet turns into a revolution in the public mind when the company announces that sales through dell.com exceeded $1 million a day. In the same year, Dell offers the first Premier Pages Internet Services. These personal pages allow consumers to connect directly to the company's database and support services.

1998

Dell consolidates its position as a leader in e-commerce by breaking the 12 million daily milestone, expanding Premier Pages to over 9,000 users, and networking with its suppliers to quickly share information on the quantity and quality of parts needed.

Dell opens one-stop center for the sale, manufacture and service of computer equipment in China.

1999

Dell becomes the number one company in the United States, the world's largest computer trading center. To ensure increased sales, the company opens new production facilities in Nashville, Tennessee and Eldorado do Sul in Brazil.

Sales through dell.com reach 35 million dollars a day.

2003

Dell opens an official representative office in Moscow headed by Alexander Chub. For a more successful business in Russia, Dell chooses an indirect sales strategy and creates a partner network, which included leading players in the Russian IT market during the year. By early 2004, Dell's sales in Russia had quadrupled.

Foreword

Our corporation entered the market in the 1990s, ranking 25th among the computer companies whose trademarks you have probably forgotten or even never heard of. These are Mitac, Tandon and Commodore. We had only a few branches abroad. And since computers were then distributed exclusively through dealers, Dell's direct-to-consumer business model looked like an alternative but limited way of doing business.

Today, 17 of the 25 top-rated computer companies in 1990 no longer exist. And Dell has become the number one company in the US and the second largest in the world. We operate in 170 countries around the world. And working directly with the consumer is widely recognized as the preferred way of doing business. Moreover, recognition of direct deliveries as the best business model is not limited to the computer industry. Business leaders from industries as diverse as banking, automotive, and pharmaceutical supplies have told me that their most important strategic challenge is to go directly to the consumer for their companies. Why? The benefits are clear: consumers order and receive goods or services directly from the manufacturer to their precise specifications, and businesses operate at maximum efficiency by producing only those products that are already on order.

Of course, our fame is largely due to the constant focus on direct contact with the consumer and with the principles of management, which are described in this book. But at the same time, our success (and the fall of many once-promising computer companies) reflects the incredibly rapid changes taking place in the high-tech industry. technologies, and the danger that awaits those who cannot recognize new competitive opportunities quickly enough and adequately respond to them.

With the advent of the Internet, the rapid changes characteristic of high-tech manufacturing have spread to other industries, and the intensity of their influence is increasing. Here's a simple example: five years ago, if you asked a group of 100 students if they had ever bought a book or CD over the Internet, you probably wouldn't have gotten a single positive response. Ask a similar question today and the number of those who answer “yes” will be almost 100%. Now ask that same group if they've ever considered buying a car online. Approximately 50% will answer positively. How many will there be in five years? I would venture to suggest that their number will approach 95%.

The fact is that the development of the Internet is just beginning. Its use is rapidly expanding, and in the new, networked environment, the continued success of my (or your) company cannot be considered programmed.

The Internet is changing the very nature of competition. As new ways of delivering goods and services online emerge, you'll have to compete not only with established, established companies, but also with companies you've never even heard of before. And this is in addition to constantly emerging technical innovations, as well as ideas and ways to improve existing products.

For businesses, this is not uncommon. The meteoric rise of Wal-Mart in the late 1980s took the established retail system by surprise, and early in the decade, the arrival of Nucor and other similar small-scale steel mills shook the steel industry. These companies have succeeded in creating their own business model that goes beyond traditional competition and thus opens up new sources of value for customers and for the enterprise.

The main difference in the current situation is that, thanks to the Internet, the speed of new companies appearing and gaining a strong position in the market has increased many times over.

One reason is the changing boundaries and principles of capital raising in the Internet age. Initial offer, that is, the first sale of shares companies to the general public, is now more like an invitation to participate in a venture fund than