IT’S A SEA CHANGE, Dell Inc getting out of building PCs. The report on www.itexaminer.com, following one on the Wall Street Journal, speculates that Dell will flog off its factories to third party contractors.
It makes sense, but only if you understand how PC assembly works. For Dell. We visited Dell’s places in Ireland quite a few years ago, and they have it to a tee. It’s a just in time build model, so the resistors and everything else are in place just as they’re needed, and according to orders received.
No one who buys a Dell cares where it is built, whether it’s in Chennai or Limerick. Buyers want a bog standard desktop, server or notebook, and it’s got to arrive on time, at a given price, and the rest.
The bigger question is when Dell sells off its assembly units to Whoever Inc, what will happen on the support front? In Bangalore there’s a massive Dell call centre. Will Dell sell that off too? Does anyone need PC support these days? Or is everything so simple and straightforward that it’s like plugging in a microwave? [No, Ed.]
Next time you buy a Dell, if Dell goes through with its plans, you probably won’t have a clue where it’s been built or what’s in it. But never mind, you never did have much of a clue anyway when you bought a Dell, where it came from, did you? And you really didn’t care. Chip manufacturers, take note. ♥
