Michael S Dell is the chairman and CEO of Dell – a leading direct computer company. Michael Dell founded the company in 1984 with $ 1000 and an unprecedented idea in the personal computer industry : bypass the middleman who adds little value to the products, and sell custom-built PCs directly to end users. Today, Dell Computer Corp ranks 56 in Fortune 500 and 154 on the Fortune Global 500. Anubha Bhonsle chats up with 35-years old Michael Dell on India, his company and his personal computer. Q. Mr Dell you’ve been the pioneer of direct marketing for computers. It’s brought about tremendous growth in your business. I am sure it’s not just about selling PCs, but mastering this technology. Why is it that you are one of the only companies using this technology?
A. What happens is that when you have a direct relationship with customers, its really all about the relationship. So there’s a communication that comes from customers. We have a deep understanding of what it is that the customer wants and try to respond to that. Typically, in a manufacturing business you make a product and you push it out to the customer and you hope that’s what the customer wants to buy. Our business is totally different from that. It stems from the customer telling us what they want and then we essentially give it. Q. Does this technology link back to the time you peddled to distribute newspapers in high school?
A. I had an interesting first job. In my first job when I was 16 I was trying to sell newspapers, I discovered that a lot of people who wanted to buy newspapers were also the ones who were getting married. I figured that where I lived, you had to register to get married and you had to tell them where you wanted your marriage license to be sent. So I set up a direct mail campaign to find those people that had registered and to offer them newspapers. It was very successful. Q. So essences of this find way into the Dell business?
A.Well, I learnt very early on the value of direct marketing and of going right to the customer, so that you are targetting as opposed to just all customers. Find those customers who are much more likely to want to buy.
Q. What essentially brings you to India, specially on a market dominated by the unorganised sector where almost everybody is operating on wafer thin margins? A. We are here to build a direct business. We have a direct business in all big markets over the world and India is the next big market for Dell. It’s certainly a large market. Market that’s getting very exciting. The growth in the IT sector here is tremendous - with all the vast software development resources. We’ve had partnership with Indian companies for the last few years that have been expanding and we just see a reflection point in the growth and den of the market and a tremendous opportunity going forward.
Q. Wherever Dell has gone, it’s taken its own supplier base. Do we see that happening here in India? A. Suppliers are not always semi-conductors, parts and pieces. It’s also about intellectual property. We have significant relationships that I think will grow in software and services companies. I think Dell is also going to be a great partner to these companies providing the internet infrastructure as they build out their presence on the net.
Q. Dell’s also been associated with customising its products. Do we hope to see any specific customisation happening for Indian consumers? A. We have always been a customised company to the extent that if we see unique requirements here we will source to meet those. Our system is quite flexible so whether it is long requirements or software requirements on unique hardware requirements, we can meet those fairly easily.
Q. Another thing very specific about the Indian consumer is that he is not using the net to its potential. He is surfing. He is e-mailing. But what he is probably not doing is completing the cycle of buying on the net. Do we see that as a problem specifically when you are using the Internet to leverage your business? A. I think this is going to happen. I think it’s a question of enabling payments systems and getting people comfortable with issues of security and electronic signatures and verification of data. But we have seen this progression happen country after country. So we know quite about how to get from very little acceptance to very broad acceptance.
Q. You have sold PCs to the world. Tell us what does Michael Dell’s computer look like? A. Well when I am travelling I have got a Dell Latitude LS. It’s a three and a half pound computer. I have got about every form of wireless technology you can find because I always want to be connected - so whether its GSM or in the US CDPD or CDMA. I am experimenting with GPRS. You’ve got to stay connected all the time, so a notebook computer is essentially what you want. Thank You Mr Dell