Dell builds intellectual supply chain via new program
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 11/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
Dell Computer Corp. rewrote the supply chain management book in the 1990s with the Dell direct model, and now is looking to shake things up again. Part of the strategy for the computing giant is to attract the next generation of supply chain executives to its campus in Austin, Texas.
To put it in industry parlance, Dell is tightening its relationships with Tier 1 suppliers of intellectual capital—America's elite universities. Most recently, Dell announced a $150,000 donation to Howard University, Washington.
"This donation to [Howard's] MBA program isn't totally altruistic," notes Dick Hunter, VP of Dell Americas Operations. "We're looking for access to the best and brightest. As part of this program, we [select] students to participate in three-month internships where we train them on our approach to supply chain management and put them on live projects. After we try them out, we hire the best."
In the 1990s, Dell executives developed such rule-breaking concepts as the hub-and-spoke supply chain, factory scheduling in two-hour increments, and demand shaping. Through this new program, Dell expects to identify aggressive up-and-comers who will add to that legacy as supply chain innovators.
"One thing that impresses me about Howard University is its passion and drive," Hunter says. "This isn't just another program [for the school]. It intends to be the premier player in supply chain—producing top-quality people."
That's got a lot of appeal to a company like Dell, where second place isn't acceptable.
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