Dell 2011 Annual Report Download - page 10

Table of Contents
Organization for Standardization) 9001: 2008 Quality management systems standard. This certification includes most of our global sites that design,
manufacture, and service our products.
We purchase materials, supplies, product components, and products from a large number of vendors. In some cases, where multiple sources of supply are not
available, we rely on single-source vendors. In other cases, we may establish a working relationship with a single source or a limited number of sources of
supply if we believe it is advantageous to do so due to performance, quality, support, delivery, capacity, or price considerations. We believe that any
disruption that may occur because of our dependency on single- or limited-source vendors would not disproportionately disadvantage us relative to our
competitors. See “Part I - Item 1A - Risk Factors” for information about the risks associated with single- or limited-source suppliers.
Geographic Operations
Our global corporate headquarters is located in Round Rock, Texas. We have operations and conduct business in many countries located in the Americas,
Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other geographic regions. We continue to expand and invest in Growth Countries, which we define as non-U.S. markets
excluding Western Europe, Canada, and Japan. In particular, we are focused on the BRIC region, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Our
continued expansion outside of the U.S. creates additional complexity in coordinating the design, development, procurement, manufacturing, distribution, and
support of our increasingly complex product and service offerings. For additional information on our product and service offerings, see “Products and
Services - Manufacturing and Materials” and “Part I - Item 2 - Properties.” For information about percentages of revenue we generated from our operations
outside of the U.S. and other financial information for each of the last three fiscal years, see “Part II - Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Results of Operations” and Note 15 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in “Part II -
Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
Competition
We operate in an industry in which there are rapid technological advances in hardware, software, and service offerings and we face ongoing product and price
competition in all areas of our business including both branded and generic competitors. We compete based on our ability to offer to our customers
competitive, scalable, and integrated solutions that provide the most current and desired product and services features. We believe that our strong relationships
with our customers and our distribution channels, such as retail, system integrators, value-added resellers, distributors, and other channel partners, allow us to
respond to changing customer needs faster than many of our competitors.
Sales and Marketing
We sell our products and services directly to customers and through various other sales distribution channels, such as retailers, third-party solution providers,
system integrators, and third-party resellers. Our customers include large global and national corporate businesses, public institutions that include government,
education, and healthcare organizations, law enforcement agencies, small and medium business, and consumers. No single customer accounted for more than
10% of our consolidated net revenue during any of the last three fiscal years.
Our sales efforts are organized around the evolving needs of our customers, and our marketing initiatives reflect this focus. Our direct business model
emphasizes direct communication with our customers, thereby allowing us to refine our products and marketing programs for specific customer groups. We
market our products and services to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers through various advertising media. Customers may offer suggestions
for current and future Dell products, services, and operations on an interactive portion of our Internet website called Dell IdeaStorm. In order to react quickly
to our customers' needs, we track our Net Promoter Score, a customer loyalty metric that is widely used across various industries. Increasingly, we also
engage with customers through our social media communities on www.dell.com and in external social media channels. In Fiscal 2012, in an effort to create a
more responsive and efficient sales organization, we announced the unification of our global sales and marketing teams. We believe that this change will
create a sales organization that is more customer-focused, collaborative, and innovative.
For large business and institutional customers, we maintain a field sales force throughout the world. Dedicated account teams, which include field-based
enterprise solution specialists, form long-term relationships to provide our largest customers with a single source of assistance, develop tailored solutions for
these customers, and provide us with customer feedback. For these customers, we offer several programs designed to provide single points of contact and
accountability with global account specialists, special global pricing, and consistent global service and support programs. We also maintain specific sales and
marketing programs targeted at federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as healthcare and educational customers.
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