system to match a service dispatch with the optimal
parts location in Dell’s supply chain network. It can
also take into account current weather information to
determine whether an event like a storm might
impact a parts shipment. The command centers also
evaluate the potential impact on parts deliveries of
flight delays, traffic congestion, local events, and news
developments and help customers develop contingency plans.
Because the center is monitoring weather developments, Dell can, for example, forewarn a customer of
an impending storm and advise precautions. Sturr
cites the example of a tornado ripping through part of
the U.S. Midwest. Dell could contact a hospital in that
area about setting up a command center of its own to
track health information for patients who are injured
by the tornado. To assist the hospital during that
emergency, Dell could pull computers off its factory
floor and fly those machines and a team of engineers
to the hospital to set them up.
To coordinate emergency response, Dell would have
to work with its network of third-party service
providers. The command center plays a key role in
scenarios like this one and other, everyday events
because it enables data integration between Dell’s
information systems and those of its service partners.
That’s critical, Sturr says. “When you operate a heavi-
ly outsourced facility, you want visibility into what
happens inside your partners’ [operations].”
There also have to be flawless exchanges of infor-
mation when multiple parties are involved in provid-
ing service, often in extremely short order. “There has
to be real-time data feeds to make command centers
work,” says Sturr.
PROACTIVE SUPPORT
The global command centers have enhanced Dell’s
customer service in a number of ways. For one thing,
they enable a swifter response to customers’ service
needs. For another, they help to ensure that routine
service calls and emergencies alike are addressed
through the most effective processes. In fact, Sturr
says, Dell sees the command centers as centralizing “a
process-assurance capability that acts as a day-to-day
process-orchestration engine.” The centers’ expertise
also has allowed Dell to better prepare and mobilize
information technology resources to support large-scale customer events such as political summits and
sports competitions.
WHAT DO DELL’S GLOBAL
COMMAND CENTERS DO?
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
More importantly, perhaps, is that the command
centers make it possible for Dell to reach out and help
customers prepare for disruptions, delays, or other
problems that are outside the computer maker’s con-
trol. “When there’s a disruption in the supply chain,
we can notify customers proactively,” says Sturr. “For
example, if there’s bad weather in the U.S. Midwest,
parts won’t get delivered because planes aren’t flying.
Customers want to hear from us first and not the next
day. Customer communication is the single most
important thing we do.”
Along with enhanced customer service, the centers
have increased supply chain efficiency through better
coordination with outside vendors and reduced oper-
ational costs in Dell’s parts supply operation, thus
improving the company’s overall competitiveness and
profitability.
“We’ve realized significant improvements in our
overall on-time-performance metric, and the process
improvements driven from within the global command centers have saved Dell millions of dollars,”
Sturr says. “But the most unique advantage is the
[centers’] ability to work across all the functional segments of our supply chain and act as a mortar that
seamlessly unites each of those segments.” ●
