sure that the end userof the product receives the highest quality and satisfaction.When the products have successfully gone through the testing processthey are then boxed including any instruction manuals, these boxes arethen placed on conveyor belts destined to be loaded onto delivery trucks. Products, which are to be shipped out of the country, are prepared for delivery. The necessary paper work is filled out and the productssorted according to their individual destinations, delivery preparationnormally takes one day after production.The computers are then shipped to customers, they are expected toreach the customer within 2-5 days of the shipped date.Dell has been able to improve the efficiency of the above processes by using the Internet.Dells use of Technology to make the logistics function more efficient and effective.“The internet is shrinking time and distance it is reducing cost and adding velocity to business. What we see with the Internet is a mode of business that we refer to as Virtual Integration, where suppliers and customers are linked together using information”. (Michael Dell Speech Archive, The PC industry A Robust outlook). (1) The Dell philosophy is that to truly realise the economies and speed that the Internet provides the organisation needs a fundamentally different perspective on the nature of business relationships and on value created for customers. Therefore the aim of Virtual integration is to bridge the traditional gap between the firm and its stakeholders.The process of Virtual integration is a hybrid of information technology and Vertical integration. Virtual integration is essentially an information sharing process, which could be in relation to design databases or methodologies. The Internet has made it possible for Dell to work in real-time with suppliers and customers engaged in “collaborative research or product development”. For example, Dell was able to introduce a ...
