SCM323 Case study 2 - SEM202 Inventory management and demand planning at Dell The computer company Dell has long been seen as one of the most agile businesses in the industry. The success of Dell is in large part due to its highly responsive supply chain, which is capable of building and delivering customized products in a matter of days with minimal inventory. Dell's ability to operate a build-to-order strategy is based partly on the modular design of many of their products but more particularly on a very high level of synchronization with their suppliers. There is a high level of visibility across the Dell supply chain with suppliers receiving information on Dell's order book every two hours. Ahead of this information, suppliers are provided with capacity forecasts from Dell to enable them to produce at a rate that is planned to match actual demand. Each of Dell's factories is served from a 'vendor hub', operated by third- party logistics service providers, the purpose of which is to keep a buffer of inventory from which Dell can draw as required. Suppliers are required to keep a defined level of inventory at these hubs and Dell only takes ownership of the inventory when it reaches their factories. Dell adopts a very proactive approach to demand management by using the price mechanism to regulate demand for specific products or features. If a product is in short supply the price will rise and/or the price of an alternative substitute product will fall. This facility to actively manage demand enables a very close matching of supply and demand. 1. What are the features of Dell's Inventory management plan? List down few important points. 2. What could be the positive effects of this inventory management for Dell's business