the.world.is.flat-第113章
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to discuss。 This book was largely written on a Dell Inspiron 600m notebook； service
tag number 9ZRJP41。 As part of the research for this book71 visited withthe management
team at Dell near Austin； Texas。 I shared with them the ideas in this book and in
return I asked for one favor： I asked them to trace for me the entire global supply
chain that produced my Dell notebook。 Here is their report： My computer was conceived
when I phoned Dell's 800 number on April 2； 2004； and was connected to sales
representative Mujteba Naqvi； who immediately entered my order into Dell's order
management system。 He typed in both the type of notebook I ordered as well as the
special features I wanted； along with my personal information； shipping address；
billing address； and credit card information。 My credit card was verified by Dell
through its work flow connection with Visa； and my order was then released to Dell's
production system。 Dell has six factories around the world…in Limerick； Ireland；
Xiamen； China； Eldorado do Sul； Brazil； Nashville； Tennesee； Austin； Texas； and
Penang； Malaysia。 My order went out by e…mail to the Dell notebook factory inMalaysia；
where the parts for the computer were immediately ordered from the supplier logistics
centers （SLCs） next to the Penang factory。 Surrounding every Dell factory in the world
are these supplier logistics centers； owned by the different suppliers of Dell parts。
These SLCs are like staging areas。 If you are a Dell supplier anywhere in the world；
your job is to keep your SLC full of your specific parts so they can constantly be
trucked over to the Dell factory for just…in…time manufacturing。
〃In an average day； we sell 140；000 to 150；000 computers；〃 explained Dick Hunter；
one of Dell's three global production managers。 〃Those orders come in over Dell。com
or over the telephone。 As soon these orders come in； our suppliers know about it。
They get a signal based on every component in the machine you ordered； so the supplier
knows just what he has to deliver。 If you are supplying power cords for desktops；
you can see minute by minute how many power cords you are going to have to deliver。〃
Every two hours； the Dell factory in Penang sends an e…mail to the various SLCs nearby；
telling each one what parts and what quantities of those parts it wants delivered
within the next ninety minutes…and not one minute later。 Within ninety minutes； trucks
from the various SLCs around Penang pull up to the Dell manufacturing plant and unload
the parts needed for all those notebooks ordered in the last two hours。 This goes
on all day； every two hours。 As soon as those parts arrive at the factory； it takes
thirty minutes for Dell employees to unload the parts； register their bar codes； and
put them into the bins for assembly。 〃We know where every part in every SLC is in
the Dell system at all times；〃 said Hunter。
So where did the parts for my notebook come from？ I asked Hunter。 To begin with； he
said； the notebook was codesigned in Austin； Texas； and in Taiwan by a team of Dell
engineers and a team of Taiwanese notebook designers。 〃The customer's needs； required
technologies； and Dell's design innovations were all determined by Dell through our
direct relationship with customers；〃 he explained。 〃The basic design of the
motherboard and case…the basic functionality of your machine…was designed to those
specifications by an ODM ＇original design manufacturer＇ in Taiwan。 We put our
engineers in their facilities and they come to Austin and we actually codesign these
systems。 This global teamwork
brings an added benefit…a globally distributed virtually twenty…four…hour…per…day
development cycle。 Our partners do the basic electronics and we help them design
customer and reliability features that we know our customers want。 We know the
customers better than our suppliers and our competition； because we are dealing
directly with them every day。〃 Dell notebooks are completely redesigned roughly every
twelve months； but new features are constantly added during the year…through the
supply chain…as the hardware and software components advance。
It happened that when my notebook order hit the Dell factory in Penang； one part was
not available…the wireless card…due to a quality control issue； so the assembly of
the notebook was delayed for a few days。 Then the truck full of good wireless cards
arrived。 On April 13； at 10：15 a。m。； a Dell Malaysia worker pulled the order slip
that automatically popped up once all my parts had arrived from the SLCs to the Penang
factory。 Another Dell Malaysia employee then took out a 〃traveler〃…a special carrying
tote designed to hold and protect parts…and started plucking all the parts that went
into my notebook。
Where did those parts come from？ Dell uses multiple suppliers for most of the thirty
key components that go into its notebooks。 That way if one supplier breaks down or
cannot meet a surge in demand； Dell is not left in the lurch。 So here are the key
suppliers for my Inspiron 600m notebook： The Intel microprocessor came from an Intel
factory either in the Philippines； Costa Rica； Malaysia； or China。 The memory came
from a Korean…owned factory in Korea （Samsung）； a Taiwanese…owned factory in Taiwan
（Nanya）； a German…owned factory in Germany （Infineon）； or a Japanese…owned factory
in Japan （Elpida）。 My graphics card was shipped from either a Taiwanese…owned factory
in China （MSI） or a Chinese…run factory in China （Foxconn）。 The cooling fan came from
a Taiwanese…owned factory in Taiwan （CCI or Auras）。 The motherboard came from either
a Korean…owned factory in Shanghai （Samsung）； a Taiwanese…owned factory in Shanghai
（Quanta）； or a Taiwanese…owned factory in Taiwan （Compal or Wistron）。 The keyboard
came from either a Japanese…owned company in Tianjin； China （Alps）； a Taiwanese…owned
factory in Shenzen； China （Sunrex）； or a Taiwanese417
owned factory in Suzhou； China （Darfon）。 The LCD display was made in either South
Korea （Samsung or LG。Philips LCD）； Japan （Toshiba or Sharp）； or Taiwan （Chi Mei
Optoelectronics； Hannstar Display； or AU Optronics）。 The wireless card came from
either an American…owned factory in China （Agere） or Malaysia （Arrow）； or a
Taiwanese…owned factory in Taiwan （Askey or Gemtek） or China （USI）。 The modem was
made by either a Taiwanese…owned company in China （Asustek or Liteon） or a Chinese…run
company in China （Foxconn）。 The battery came from an American…owned factory in
Malaysia （Motorola）； a Japanese…owned factory in Mexico or Malaysia or China （Sanyo）；
or a South Korean or Taiwanese factory in either of those two countries （SDI or Simplo）。
The hard disk drive was made by an American…owned factory in Singapore （Seagate）；
a Japanese…owned company in Thailand （Hitachi or Fujitsu）； or a Japanese…owned
factory in the Philippines （Toshiba）。 The CD/DVD drive came from a South Korean…owned
company with factories in Indonesia and the Philippines （Samsung）； a Japanese…owned
factory in China or Malaysia （NEC）； a Japanese…owned factory in Indonesia； China；
or Malaysia（Teac）； or a Japanese…owned factoryin China （Sony）。 The notebook carrying
bag was made by either an Irish…owned company in China （Tenba） or an American…owned
company in China （Targus； Samsonite； or Pacific Design）。 The power adapter was made
by either a Thai…owned factory in Thailand （Delta） or a Taiwanese； Korean； or
American…owned factory in China （Liteon； Samsung； or Mobility）。 The power cord was
made by a British…owned company with factories in China； Malaysia； and India （Volex）。
The removable memory stick was made by either an Israeli…owned company in Israel
（M…System） or an American…owned company with a factory in Malaysia （Smart Modular）。
This supply chain symphony…from my order over the phone to production to delivery
to my house…is one of the wonders of the flat world。
〃We have to do a lot of collaborating；〃 said Hunter。 〃Michael ＇Dell＇ personally knows
the CEOs of these companies； and we are constantly working with them on process
improvements and real…time demand/supply balancing。〃 Demand shaping goes on
constan
