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170

Local Production and Distribution Centers

170 points posted to Advertising and Marketing, Dell by aikiwolfie 11/08/07

Dell could speed up the delivery of Dell systems to consumers by localizing production in places where there is high demand for Dell products.

For example I live near Glasgow in Scotland but all my Dell products seem to be shipped over from Ireland. Even though I can get to Ireland my self in a few hours it can take a month for Dell to build my system and ship it out.

Glasgow is a decent sized city with rail and road links to the rest of Scotland and a skilled workforce in need of jobs. Dell is a company with many customers in Scotland. It would seem to make sense to place manufacturing and distribution facilities where customers are.

As a plus point Glasgow's industrial areas are all fairly close to the city, major transport routes and retail parks. The distribution center could double as a factory outlet or a Dell store.

phubert
11/08/07		 Doesn't Dell already do this? Then there are the problems of:

* economies of scale (or loss thereof)
* differing regulations from locale to locale, changing the cost of doing business
* available labor force
cosh
11/08/07		 Shipped over from Ireland!? You mean that they sell the N-series in the UK but it comes from Ireland, but they won't sell it to people who are actually in Ireland? Well done Dell, well done. (sarcasm)
aikiwolfie
11/08/07		 They come from Belfast. I think, which is part of the UK.. But yeah I'm pretty sure that's where they come from. IF it's not Ireland then it's way down south.
sugarbear
11/08/07		 It is a major job to open a distrib. center anywhere. It takes a long time to get every thing lined out. Maybe Glasgow should extend an invitation.
premcv
11/09/07		 Yes sb. There are lots of logistics that needs to be worked out. Also they need to know what the government would also provide related to tax and stuff.
aikiwolfie
11/09/07		 I'm not by any stretch of the imagination saying it would be easy. I just think it's a bit ridiculous that it takes so long to get products out to customers. If the distribution isn't right then there's little advantage to doing business over the internet.

Perhaps Dells distribution centers are just in the wrong location. It's not just here in Scotland there are problems. Dell has a bad reputation on delivery in general.
premcv
11/09/07		 Yes, perhaps they are in the wrong location. But the selection of the place is based on a whole lot of things not just about how close it is to a specific region.
sugarbear
11/09/07		 The placement that a compnay might want will never happen if the government in charge, dosen`t want it. No matter how beneficial.
aikiwolfie
11/09/07		 Does the UK government or Scottish Executive ... sorry Government have a grudge to bear with Dell?
premcv
11/09/07		 That is so true, sb.

Case in point: Dell's Manufacturing plant in India, is situated in a city called Chennai. But before it was actually scheduled to be based in Chennai, Dell had almost settled for Bangalore. But due to the lack of interest from the state government, it was moved into Chennai.
sugarbear
11/09/07		 I didn`t mean to imply any particular country or government didn`t want a Dell plant. It all goes with logistics, supply and demand, and a lot of other things. It would be nice if plants could be where we all would like them.
premcv
11/09/07		 Hey, where are you going?
Oh, just to the Dell plant, to pick up my XPS gaming system.
Cool, can I come along?
Yea sure, why not!

It would be good, if this was possible, but...
aikiwolfie
11/09/07		 LOL!!! Such a geek ... but it would be good. With more plants Dell could also afford to operate smaller plants since those plants would primarily be serving the local catchment area. And not an entire country.
premcv
11/09/07		 Exactly! But then again, the logistics and supply & demand that sb mentioned also adds to it, and that's one of the reasons why we don't see many computer companies do it. But I sure do hope this changes. It would be for the benefit of the company, the consumer and also the country's economy.
aikiwolfie
11/09/07		 It would also give Dell access to the best form of advertising combo possible. They'd be providing jobs for locals and they'd have access to word of mouth advertising. Peoples perceptions of a company changes when they know someone that works for a big company like Dell. Even if that someone is the cleaner.

It's a move the could help Dell banish the Dell h e l l phrase.
premcv
11/09/07		 You bet, wolife, word of mouth and the jobs for locals, imagine what it would do for the economy of that country in return!
aikiwolfie
11/09/07		 Oh and I almost forgot. Oil is set to top the US$100 per barrel mark. Road haulage is becoming very expensive.
premcv
11/09/07		 Yikes!!! $100 :o A bicycle for me, please!
aikiwolfie
11/09/07		 It's currently sitting around US$85..
phubert
11/13/07		 We can thank India and China for their rapid development and drastic increase in DEMAND!

We can also thank U.S. 'tree huggers' for restricted drilling in the U.S. and far too few nuclear plants!!!

(no new REFINERIES in HOW long?, no new nuclear plants in HOW long? 70% of the power in France comes from nuclear! It IS perfectly doable!)
premcv
11/13/07		 Yes, phubert! It is perfectly doable, but with the present situation in India, and other asian countries, any plans to start on something like that would definitely get the spy agencies busy for a while, don't you think? There have been talks between the government and the US about the Friendly use of Nuclear plants, but don't know whether that would materialise. There are a lot of people here who feel that the nuclear plants would help with current electricity supply situation here, but ...
phubert
11/13/07		 Well, not in the U.S. premcv... I'm not suggesting India or China should do so (though BOTH nations area already 'nuclear', so I don't see how that could be a political issue). I'm not concerned with the policies in India and China (or elsewhere outside the U.S.). Unlike SOME in the U.S. I don't believe we should be butting into the business of other nations unless INVITED and THEN only on the basis of FIRST -LISTENING- to see what can actually be done based on local needs. I.E. it should be locals who decide what and how...
phubert
11/13/07		 It would seem to me that relations between nations should be similar to relationships between -individuals-. How does any one of us handle an individual who is hostile to us? mmmmmm... might take a bit of thought, huh? It DOES get tangled and we DO, at times, need the police. Who are the 'police' internationally (certainly, by proven record, NOT the U.N.! ... tho, I suppose it has worked, more or less, at times (Korea?)). A crude tool, like too many of our 'tools', I fear.
premcv
11/13/07		 I agree! **edited**
sugarbear
11/13/07		 Let`s not forget the American oil companies. They don`t reallly want to improve things. They are getting the money they want.
premcv
11/13/07		 And loads of them, we can add!
sugarbear
11/13/07		 Central Ar. $3.10 a gallon.
phubert
11/13/07		 Supposedly, higher prices mean more wildcatters can enter the fray... but we still have the fixed refinery capacity issue, which seems to be the cause for our supply/demand high price issues. Yes, ISN'T it just a TAD interesting, @sugerbear, that the oil companies are making $$$ hand over fist (SUCH an appropriate image!) throughout all this! No, I certainly don't discount that issue... too little competition, perhaps? But, government regulation doesn't help, either. And, all this nonsense about 'alternate fuels' when no one bothers to disclose the COSTS (environmental and otherwise) OF those alternatives. "Grow your own! (Oh, and reduce the food supply worldwide and increase the cost of feed grains... oh, and just how much 'carbon' does it cost TO produce such fuels????) Ugh. We need a COMPLETELY new slate of politicians... preferably neither Democrat OR Republican... How about the 'no party' slate, comprised of no one with influence or wealth?
premcv
11/13/07		 No party state/slate, would not be possible. Imagine what would've happened if there wasn't Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and other leaders.
phubert
11/13/07		 Well, ANY movement has its leaders... but I think we need more at the grass-roots level... people not now involved... for many good reasons. But, iconic leaders are also problematic... they're rare, too.
premcv
11/13/07		 True!
sugarbear
11/13/07		 Money, politics, lobbyists and oil. Their own brand of demon.
premcv
11/13/07		 They are not brands of demon, they are the demon!
phubert
11/13/07		 I'd contend that all manifestations of greed are the most noxious, most dangerous demons... founded in one particular form of self-PRIDE which is a destructive version of the pride that encourages us to simply 'do better' and which poisons the benign (or helpful) version of competitiveness.
premcv
11/13/07		 Apart from greed, phubert, you forget another, Hate. Imagine what this could do.
phubert
11/13/07		 Well, hate may be an outgrowth of pride... don't you think? Yes, I haven't forgotten hate... it's risen very high on my list lately when I contrast it with RESPECT and love. Now, we do see people(s) who may have a form of RESPECT for one another who nevertheless go on and KILL each other. Of course there are some very different ways of viewing _respect_.

We come to the subject of _how we come to_ view another as an enemy, for example. Some of that, perhaps, is entirely unavoidable (as with Hitler's Germany and its aggression toward nations and individuals (Jews, homosexuals, non-"Aryans", the disabled, etc.) ...I wonder, did Nazis count Indians as Aryans? By my understanding, they ARE! More interesting that some count skin color as a determining factor (I'm beginning to make myself sick, I'd better stop!)

As I have posed elsewhere: Hate is fundamentally irrational. It is a thing that can ONLY destroy hence, ultimately, it MUST also be self-destructive! Hence, it is irrational. Love, on the other hand, can heal, unite and build. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
phubert
11/13/07		 oh... not to suggest I place any particular value on being Aryan!!!! I'm afraid I've considered Asians to be superior to Caucasians for most of my life... and many Asians in the U.S. would not quite comprehend that *I* may have come to that watching Charlie Chan and Mister Moto when I was a kid! I respected them BOTH (knowing full well the ACTORS were not Asian) for the positive cultural values they portrayed (in spite of the obvious stereotypes). Hey, I really wasn't DUMB as a kid! :-)
premcv
11/13/07		 Nice thoughts, phubert. Yes, Love is for me!
aikiwolfie
11/13/07		 Um ... so ... oil strikes a nerve then? Oops.
sugarbear
11/13/07		 it`s more the price of oil.
premcv
11/13/07		 Price of it, wolfie!
aikiwolfie
11/13/07		 So buy a bicycle and get fit and healthy!
sugarbear
11/13/07		 It`s not quite that simple. The oil for gas is only one part of it. Many homes use butane and propane for hot water heaters, cooking and heating. Necessary in my opinion. 100 gallons of butane in my area is $450.00. In the winter that will run a modest three bedrooom home five weeks. Of course the electric is being made by nuclear or fossil fuels, which incur transportation charges. It`s a never ending cycle. How long do you think it will be before the plastics goes up in price to build pc`s? it is a dominoe effect.
premcv
11/14/07		 And just now, only the first few of the dominoes in the line have fallen, wait till the actual effect starts. That's when the real effect will be seen across the world. That's why the Going Green is such a huge movement.
phubert
11/14/07		 Pity it takes that for people to behave rationally. Unfortunately, even THEN that isn't the real result, is it?
premcv
11/14/07		 Nope it isn't, sadly!
aikiwolfie
11/14/07		 Oh well. We better all start learning how widdle stuff from scraps of wood. Well assuming we still have some trees left.
sugarbear
11/14/07		 Timber is a major industry here. I`m surrounded by pine plantations for IP, GP, Anthony, and every one else. It`s the hardwoods that aren`t being replaced. The really interesting thing is Canada is exporting yellow pine to the USA and selling it cheaper than we can cut . The US saw mills are selling out to the Canadians.
premcv
11/14/07		 Wow. How can that happen?
aikiwolfie
11/14/07		 Too much timber. They plant the trees close together to make them grow really fast.
sugarbear
11/14/07		 Correct, except these yellow pine`s are a quick grow variety. Chemically enhanced growth formulas. Enginered DNA. The US trade agreements with Canada allow for the cheap stuff, The gov`t in action, cutting our throats.
premcv
11/15/07		 Sheesh, sad!
aikiwolfie
11/15/07		 So ...local distribution it is then. :o)
premcv
11/15/07		 Yep, it is!
aikiwolfie
11/30/07		 I was wrong. The Dell depot in Ireland isn't in Dublin or Belfast. It's in Raheen Industrial Estate, Dooradoyle, Limerick, Co. Limerick, Ireland. That's nearly 300 miles from Glasgow. They also have offices in Bracknell, Berkshire, England.
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