Dell Analysis Despite Dell's direct model strategy, the company had lost any pricing advantage over its competitors. Dell also had a problem with channel inventory availability, caused by competitors trying to replicate their strategy. This posed a major threat to the organization because it relied heavily on just-in-time delivery of components. Dell's competitors, however, faced many challenges with the direct distribution method. According to Case Exhibit 8 (“Ratings of PC Vendors by Business Executives with PC Purchasing Responsibilities”), channel-based support was rated the lowest on all scales, demonstrating that this was also the riskiest area for Dell. Internal Analysis Strengths and Weaknesses Dell's main strengths the strength lies in the perfection of the direct model, which boasts a production process that lasts only a day and a half, so the company is able to serve customers quickly and has the capacity to handle very large orders. Dell has built an inventory of finished products on hand, which helps reduce idle assets and risks. The company maintained excellent relationships and communications with suppliers who were able to adhere to Dell's just-in-time inventory management and allowed suppliers to send shipments directly to customers, reducing inefficiency. Dell has encouraged suppliers to locate their facilities near assembly operations. Additionally, Dell has experienced a very high level of customer service and support satisfaction and has maintained some of the best performance metrics in the industry. Finally, the main source of revenue came from corporations and large government institutions, and no single customer accounted for more than 2% of their sales, which reduces purchasing power risk. One of the... paper halves of the company. ....rosoft operating systems) so if relationships between a particular supplier and the company go bad, companies can look for other suppliers to do business with. There is also little difference in the supplier's products. Overall Analysis of Industry Attractiveness Overall, the computer industry is relatively attractive. The potential for future growth is high, but new entrants face the threat posed by established and well-known brands. There are relatively few substitutes for computers, and supplier and buyer power is low. The new companies would likely be able to successfully turn a profit. Companies have been quite successful in this industry throughout its history. However, it is important that all companies in the industry are able to keep up with the ever-changing cutting-edge technology. **The paper is based on a case study from the Harvard Business Review**