DC Velocity - Tipsheet 2013

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, USA, makes and sells personal computers, servers, data-storage devices, network switches, and computer peripherals. The company outsources much of its on-site technical support for those products to outside field engineers; it also contracts with third-party logistics companies to handle the storage and delivery of service parts to customers.

Adopting the command-center concept for parts and service delivery has helped Dell to 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.

ALIGNING WITH CUSTOMERS’ PRIORITIES

Dell reported US $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
technology] for many customers began to shift from
being viewed as just a cost center to being viewed as a
key strategic advantage,” explains Steve Sturr, execu-
tive director of global services at Dell. “Customers
expected faster response and resolution times from
their vendors in order to assure the continuity of crit-
ical business processes and to manage costs. It was
imperative for Dell to acknowledge the changing cus-
tomer 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, USA; Limerick, Ireland; Kawasaki,
Japan; Xiamen, China; and Penang, Malaysia. At each
center, experts in various subject areas closely moni-
tor service developments and direct Dell’s service
providers. The command center in Austin, Texas, 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 center,” says Sturr, comparing
it to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration’s rocket-launch control room.

A CLEAR VIEW IN REAL TIME

Real-time supply chain visibility plays a key role in ensuring Dell’s ability to respond quickly to customers’ requests. The real-time information depicted on the computer monitors and displays are enabled by Dell’s custom-designed technology platform, called Clear View monitoring. That platform allows Dell to monitor service dispatch activity as it occurs.

Clear View monitoring is actually a combination of business-process management software and business-activity monitoring software. Together these applications take data feeds from Dell’s partners and the company’s own internal systems and then run that data through a rules engine, which has preset conditions to flag a command-center staffer about when to act on an issue. The rules engine software can detect simple exceptions in a single customer service request or recognize complex patterns emerging from multiple requests. “It establishes thresholds for when there’s a problem,” Sturr says.