strategicinsight GLOBAL LOGISTICS - EMEA
storage and delivery of service parts to customers.
Adopting the command-center concept for parts and
service delivery has helped Dell work more closely with its
service providers and be more proactive when it comes to
customer service, thereby strengthening customer loyalty. A
peek inside one of the command centers shows how they
work and why they’ve been successful.
What do Dell’s global
command centers do?
ALIGNING WITH CUSTOMERS’ PRIORITIES
Dell reported $61.5 billion in revenue from its operations
in 2011, one of the most successful years in the company’s
history. The bulk of that revenue derives from product
sales, but after-sale support plays an important role, as
service quality has become crucial for maintaining customer loyalty.
“In the last decade, the perception of [information tech-
nology] for many customers began to shift from being
viewed as just a cost center to being viewed as a key strate-
gic advantage,” explains Steve Sturr, executive director of
global services at Dell. “Customers expected faster response
and resolution times from their vendors in order to assure
the continuity of critical business processes and to manage
costs. It was imperative for Dell to acknowledge the chang-
ing customer needs and align our support model appropri-
ately. The global command centers were born from this
evolution in customer priorities.”
Dell’s service parts command centers are located in
Austin, Texas; Limerick, Ireland; Kawasaki, Japan; Xiamen,
China; and Penang, Malaysia. At each center, experts in var-
ious subject areas closely monitor service developments
and direct Dell’s service providers. The command center in
Austin, for example, resembles a “war room” staffed with
experts who sit at computer consoles arranged auditorium-
style, so they can see an array of huge wall-mounted screens
displaying service requests, maps, news, weather, and other
live information feeds. “It looks like a NASA command cen-
ter,” says Sturr.
The five command centers’ staffers monitor service
requests from customers. In addition to offering assistance
over the telephone, they route spare parts from more than
600 parts depots across the globe and dispatch technicians
to a customer’s site if needed. The centers, in turn, are supported by 30,000 technical experts worldwide, who provide
tech support to customers and the field engineers who perform on-site repairs.
Given businesses’ dependence on information technology, Dell’s customers often need help right away. If the
Austin troubleshooters, for instance, can’t resolve the customer’s problem over the phone, they can arrange the
delivery of parts and dispatch of a technician, often within
two hours.
Dell’s command centers are located in Austin, Texas;
Limerick, Ireland; Kawasaki, Japan; Xiamen, China;
and Penang, Malaysia. According to the technology
giant, these customer-focused command centers
provide:
▪ Critical situation procedures for analyzing and
recommending solutions during major crises
▪ Critical management teams that include Dell
experts and experts from partners such as Microsoft,
Oracle, and Veritas
▪ Mapping programs that may be used even during
a natural disaster, power outage, or virus attack to
efficiently mobilize and route emergency resources
▪ Real-time tracking for management of incidents,
technicians, and service parts
▪ Live news and weather feeds to proactively identify national problems that might cause customer
service delays
SOURCE: DELL INC., WWW.DELL.COM
A CLEAR VIEW IN REAL TIME
Real-time supply chain visibility plays a key role in ensur-
ing that Dell is able to respond quickly to customers’
requests. The display of the real-time information on the
computer monitors and screens is made possible by Dell’s
custom-designed technology platform, called Clear View
monitoring. That platform allows Dell to monitor service
dispatch activity as it occurs.
