It is suggested that Dell should integrate its Supply Chain Management (SCM) system to include third parties in the collection of raw materials, conversion into consumer products, transport and distribution to the markets, and provision of end user services. The company should identify and integrate suitable third party logistics (3Pl) into its supply chain to enhance the Direct-to-Logistics and It-integrated SCM models. The ensuing discussion aims at determining the process that Dell should use to integrate 3PL companies into its SCM and achieve global excellence in supply chain management.
Step 1: Identify the Need
To begin with, Dell needs to identify the challenges that require it to develop an integrated SCM. As identified before, many challenges have been found in its SCM and they have called corrective measures. For example, global competition in the IT industry has seen the company lose a large portion of its market share owing to lateness of delivery and large inventories. The company has also experienced increased costs of running warehouses as deliveries and customer orders are delayed. These problems have been caused by lack of an elaborate transportation and distribution system which has seen its rate of processing and completing customers go down (In Wang, 2014). As such, the decision to integrate 3PL partners is to address these systems and ensure that the company regains its market share from companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Step 2: Identify the Affected Regions
The second step is to identify the highly affected regions and mark them as high priority targets. It is undeniable that emerging brands such as HP have taken large portions of its market share in North America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Therefore, the company needs to mark these areas and target potential 3PL partners located in the regions. Identifying these regions will ensure that the company takes effective measures to reverse its problems and solve the problem of inefficient SCM markets.
Step 3: Identify and Partner with 3PL Companies
The final and most critical stage of the improvement plan is to identify and partner with 3Pl companies located in the identified regions. To achieve, Dell needs to match the problems identified in its supply chain management system with the services delivered by the 3PL companies. For example, if the problem of large inventories and overstocking of warehouses is common in North America, the company will need to identify transportation and distribution companies located in the region and outsource some of its procurement functions to them (Coyle et al, 2016). To identify such organizations, the company requires conducting in-depth market research, determining the resources in their possession, and determining their rate of effectiveness. Transportation of fragile and poisonous products, for example, will require 3PL partners with equipment that can ensure the safety of its products while in transit. Dell will also need to determine the financial health of such organizations to ensure that they do not interfere with its operations.
To achieve success in this integration, Dell must create a meticulous plan which will incorporate all the chosen 3PL companies into its SCM system. Suggestively, the plan should start with the creation of a virtual integration with rapid, smooth communication which will help to develop direct relationships between the company, its suppliers, and the end-users. A virtual integration captures the framework that the company will use to develop seamless communication networks between all the players. Such a condition implies that it must develop an extranet network that will allow the third-parties in direct communication to communicate and share information regarding the functions in question (Christopher, 2016). By using this model, Dell will create a virtual corporation consisting of its partners. Additionally, it will take the mandate of managing and overseeing the operations of this network remotely.
References
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management . Pearson UK.
Coyle, J. J., Novack, R. A., & Gibson, B. J. (2016). Transportation: A global supply chain perspective .
In Wang, J. (2014). Management science, logistics, and operations research .
