Introduction
Dell is the leading manufacturer of computers and computer accessories in the world. It has experienced a market growth over the past one decade. Moreover, the firm currently trades globally. Besides its main specialization, the company produces various electronics, especially personal computers and accessories.
This growth has forced this firm to rethink some of the best ways through which it can carry out its activities to achieve the best in the market that is getting increasingly competitive. As Ryan and Lee (2009) argue, business automation is the best way that Dell could use to overcome the many challenges in the market.
Automated processes are very important to the firm. In other words, the firm could perhaps utilize automation technology to increase its competitive advantage. The emerging technologies are very important, as they have made it possible for firms to computerize most of their processes. This has enabled such firms to cut operational costs (Curcin, Ghanem, & Guo, 2010)). In this article, the main interest is to determine the best-automated processes for Dell’s marketing department.
Automated Process at Dells Marketing Department
The marketing unit of Dell has the toughest task in the organization. The task of ensuring that the firm remains competitive in the face of stiff market competition is not an easy task. This unit should therefore consider automating some of the marketing activities in the organization.
One of the most current and very popular automated processes in the marketing department is the online marketing. This involves selling products through the company’s website. Amazon has grown into a big firm with one of the strongest brands in the market, having perfected the art of online marketing. Dell should therefore move from brick and moter selling strategy to selling through the internet. Product promotion would be done online and the sales process would be completed online.
The chart below shows the stages that should be taken by marketing department in order to make the process successful. It is important to note that all the units identified in the chart below are units within the marketing department (Huser, Rasmussen, Oberg, & Starren, 2011). They are sections of the marketing department and their heads/managers report to the marketing manager. Nevertheless, the accounting and finance units also report to the marketing department. Logistics unit is answerable to the Logistics Department.
The above chart is a computerized process of Dell Company that would enable the customer to receive orders, deliver products, and receive payment electronically. The process given above assumes that customers have knowledge of the products they need. Customers might have acquired product information from various promotional points that the firm uses.
Others might have prior knowledge as regards to the existence of the product, having purchased the product earlier. Moreover, customers might be aware of the existence of the product through friends and relatives. As such, the process starts from the ordering stage.
Order Receipt
At this stage, the sales unit is expected to receive orders from customers. Customers would place their bids and the sales unit would receive the bids appropriately. Because the entire system is automated, orders would automatically be given order numbers to help in the identification process.
The order number would be sent to the customer at the processing stage, which would still be done by another section of the sales unit. This section would first confirm the availability of the product and the ability of the firm to deliver it to the customer within the desired time before sending the order number to the customer, which in essence, is a confirmation to the customer that the order will be delivered (Hacking, 2011).
The accounting unit will have the responsibility of authenticating the payment mode proposed by the customer. This would involve confirming the validity of the card. Furthermore, the accounting unit would as well confirm the validity of the payment mode. This unit would then inform the logistics unit that the customer is in a position to pay and therefore products could be delivered.
The logistics unit upon this communication would pack the product and transport it to the location indicated by the customer during the ordering process. When giving the logistics the green light to deliver the goods, the accounting department would simultaneously generate a bill that would be attached to the product being delivered. The logistics unit would have this as the main document to be presented to the customer during the delivery process.
Upon the receipt of the product, the finance unit is expected to effect the payment of the products automatically. The system would then generate a cash sale receipt to be electronically submitted to the customer via the email. The complete transactional information for the entire product should then be submitted to the Marketing Manager who should then compile the process to come up with comprehensive details of the sales process.
References
Curcin, V., Ghanem, M., & Guo, Y. (2010). The design and implementation of a workflow analysis tool. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, 368(1), 4193.
Hacking, I. (2011). An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Huser, V., Rasmussen, V., Oberg, R., & Starren, J. (2011). Implementation of workflow engine technology to deliver basic clinical decision support functionality. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(43).
Ryan, K., & Lee, E. (2009). Business Process Management (BPM) Standards: A Survey. Business Process Management Journal, 15(5).