In Dell's case, we like to say that the direct model is easy to understand but hard to replicate. Our competitors don't understand that it's not the parts that make the model successful-it's the activity. Let me explain what I mean. One of the underpinnings of the Dell direct model is supply-chain management. Speed kills your competition.
More volume is brought to market at better price points faster.
That's the value on the supply-chain side. Many of our competitors in the indirect channel have focused on the velocity part of our model, but they have ignored an equally important part of the model, which is that touch is as important as velocity. The Internet allows us not only to continue our drive to maintain relationships directly with customers, but to be even more intimate. We can personalize products for them based on their individual home pages or on over 19,000 corporate Premier Pages. The Internet lets customers configure the product online, order online, check the status of their order online, and get support and upgrade service online.