Dell revitalization may take it into stores
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Dell Inc.  said on  Thursday it is experimenting with new ways to sell computers, a  first step that analysts say is needed if Dell wants to better  compete with Hewlett-Packard Co.  and Apple Inc.  .
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Dell CEO Michael Dell hinted Monday that his company could be shopping for more acquisition targets, and that they could be larger than the companies it has acquired to date.
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SAN FRANCISCO/ BOSTON  - Dell Inc.  said on Thursday it plans to start selling personal computers through Wal-Mart Stores Inc.  in North America next month, breaking from a 23-year model of direct sales as it tries to rekindle business.
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Dell Inc.  plans to open its  own retail stores on a city-by-city basis and does not expect  to sell its personal computers through shops like Best Buy Co.  , a senior executive said on Tuesday.
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For manufacturing fanatics, a tour of Dell's facility is sort of like visiting Stonehenge. Here's where direct fulfillment took flight.
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OCTOBER 15, 2004 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - Dell Inc. took the wraps off its holiday lineup on Thursday, showing new printers, plasma televisions and music players that will soon be available through its Web site.
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Dell will sell PCs through stores in Asia and Australia, talking to retail partners now.
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Don't look on the Dell Web site for home AMD-based PCs. The company is selling them only in brick and mortar stores or via phone orders now.
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Dell Inc. will sell a notebook computer model at Sam's Club warehouse stores beginning next week, a company spokesman said Friday.
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Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) today introduced two new ways for customers to share  ideas and experiences directly with their peers and the company.
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Dell on Tuesday said it was ditching its predefined support model and introducing a more customizable program that can be tailored depending on products and services support that a customer needs.The ProSupport portfolio will enable enterprises and small and medium businesses to buy specific support modules to set up and fix hardware and critical applications. The model is not for the consumer market, said Steve Meyer, vice president of global services at Dell.Dell used to offer the &quot;medal&quot; model for services -- platinum, gold, silver, and bronze -- that bought customers a predefined set of support services. Under the new plan -- now available to SMBs and not just large enterprises -- customers will be able to buy specific services and a timetable within which issues are addressed, Meyer said.For example, small businesses with remote offices can buy into services that enable quicker response times and support for point-of-sale software like Microsoft&#39;s Small Business Server, Meyer said.&quot;We&#39;re in the process of enhancing capabilities and adding experts and agents in specific areas,&quot; like operating systems and storage, said Cary Gumbert, lead product manager for Dell ProSupport.Dell will also provide advice on software applications including Norton AntiVirus, Microsoft Office, Intuit QuickBooks, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat. In addition to training its own staff, Dell is partnering with vendors including Microsoft, Oracle, and EMC to provide support.The support services offered will be standard worldwide, Meyer said.Dell found that customers want a personalized support experience based on who they are, Meyer said. IT professionals at large enterprises may need fewer services compared to small businesses that don&#39;t have IT departments, and which may need more hand-holding and rapid response to enable server uptime.Analysts weren&#39;t sure if the new offering is a radical difference from the support model already being offered by Dell. The new support model from Dell is just old wine in a new bottle, said Ron Silliman, principal analyst at Gartner.&quot;It&#39;s not so terribly different from the original model they had. It&#39;s a return to that, as the model had gotten away from its strengths,&quot; Silliman said.Wading through a complicated support process, Dell customers didn&#39;t always get the support they were seeking, Silliman said. The reorganized decision tree is neater and the modular approach will make it easier to solve problems, he said. The earlier model was a neat package that was incrementally mashed up with messy ideas over time, Silliman said.&quot;The best way to describe it -- When you get a brand-new sweater and see it at the back of the closet three years later, you can see it&#39;s fuzzy. Time does those things,&quot; Silliman said.The support model has more global consistency than the earlier model, which is good for global organizations, Silliman said. It also provides an educated approach to support by better understanding the customer, not the hardware, Silliman said.Understanding customers&#39; needs will ultimately help Dell deliver better services to consumers too, said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates. However, while Dell has been criticized for a weak consumer support function, the new support model is targeted only at enterprise customers for now. It is possible that this support model will be delivered to customers in the future, Dell said.Pricing for support varies based on system and options selected, a Dell spokesman said. For example, in the U.S., Dell ProSupport for a PowerEdge server starts around $399 per system for three years of service, and can range up to a few thousand dollars for critical support. Dell ProSupport for Optiplex desktops starts around $79 per system for three years of service.
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Dell&#39;s efforts to reinvent itself this year through a dramatic break from its direct-sales model, expanded services, and new enterprise offerings have shown positive early results, but some users have lingering concerns about supply chain management and support -- long-time issues for the company.
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Dell Inc. plans to sell personal computers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, in a departure from Dell's approach of selling machines only directly to customers.
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Dell Inc. , the world's  second-largest computer maker, said on Thursday it will soon  start selling its laptops and desktops at Asian retail chains  and stores.
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NEW YORK -- In a departure from the direct-to-consumer business model it was founded on, Dell Inc. plans to sell computers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world's largest retailer.
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(InfoWorld) - Dell Inc. is working on plans to sell PCs through retail stores in Asia and Australia, as part of a wider shift within the company away from using only direct sales. Dell will add retail channels for PC sales in India, China, Australia and Japan, said T.R. Reid, a company spokesman. Dell will continue selling PCs directly to customers in these countries, which are the company's most important markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Reid did not say when retail PC sales would start in Asia, but indicated the company is talking to retail partners in the region. "There's really strong interest on the part of potential partners," he said. The addition of retail sales representsÂ a major strategy shift for Dell. The company pioneered the direct sales model during the 1990s, eschewing traditional PC sales channels for the Internet and telephone hotlines to become the world's biggest PC vendor. Until recently, Dell executives repeatedly dismissed the idea that retail sales would help reach customers in countries like China, saying direct sales would suffice. Dell's long-standing aversion to retail sales ended this year with the return of Michael Dell as company CEO in January. In the face of a U.S. Securities and Exchange investigation into the company's finances and sliding sales that toppled the company from its number-one spot, Dell has looked to reverse the company's fortunes. Part of his strategy includes embracing the retail channel, which has proved instrumental in the recent strong performance of rivals such as Acer Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. On June 10,Â the first Dell PCs went on sale with Wal-Mart StoresÂ in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The company is now selling two desktop PC models through Wal-Mart, both of which are priced under US$700, based on plans announced last month. Â ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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By Crayton Harrison, The Dallas Morning News  Sep. 12--To troubleshoot their glitchy computer company, Dell Inc. executives are installing an upgrade.