Dell 2006 Annual Report Download - page 5

Table of Contents
Round Rock, Texas, and we conduct operations worldwide through subsidiaries. When we refer to our company and its
business in this report, we are referring to the business and activities of our consolidated subsidiaries. We operate principally
in one industry, and we manage our business in three geographic regions: the Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa
("EMEA"); and Asia Pacific-Japan ("APJ"). See "Part I — Item 1 — Business — Geographic Areas of Operations."
We are committed to managing and operating our business in a responsible and sustainable manner around the globe. This
includes our commitment to environmental responsibility in all areas of our business. We recently set an ambitious long-term
goal to be the "greenest technology company on the planet," and have a number of efforts that take the environment into
account at every stage of the product lifecycle. See "Part I — Item 1— Business — Sustainability."
This also includes our renewed focus on achieving and maintaining a strong control environment, high ethical standards, and
financial reporting integrity. See "Part II — Item 9A — Controls and Procedures."
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is evolving as we combine our direct customer model with relevant technologies and solutions, highly
efficient manufacturing and logistics, and new distribution channels to reach commercial customers and individual
consumers around the world. Using this strategy, we strive to provide the best possible customer experience by offering
superior value; high-quality, relevant technology; customized systems; superior service and support; and differentiated
products and services that are easy to buy and use. Historically, our growth has been driven organically from our core
businesses. Recently, we have begun to pursue a targeted acquisition strategy designed to augment areas of our business
to gain more access to products, services, and technology that our customers value.
Our core values include the following:
• We simplify information technology for customers. Making quality personal computers, servers, storage, and services
affordable is Dell's legacy. We are focused on making information technology affordable for millions of customers around
the world. As a result of our direct relationships with customers, or "customer intimacy," we are best positioned to simplify
how customers implement and maintain information technology and deliver hardware, services, and software solutions
tailored for their businesses and homes.
• We offer customers choice. Customers can purchase systems and services from Dell via telephone, kiosks, and our
website, www.dell.com, where they may review, configure, and price systems within our entire product line; order systems
online; and track orders from manufacturing through shipping. Customers may offer suggestions for current and future Dell
products and services through an interactive portion of our website called Dell IdeaStorm. Commercial customers also can
interact with dedicated account teams. We have recently launched a retail initiative and plan to expand that initiative by
adding new distribution channels to reach additional consumers and small businesses through retail partners and value-
added resellers globally.
• Customers can purchase custom-built products and custom-tailored services. Historically our flexible, build-to-order
manufacturing process enabled us to turn over inventory every five days on average, thereby reducing inventory levels, and
rapidly bring the latest technology to our customers. The market and our competition has evolved, and we are now
exploring the utilization of original design manufacturers and new distribution strategies to better meet customer needs and
reduce product cycle times. Our goal is to introduce the latest relevant technology more quickly and to rapidly pass on
component cost savings to a broader set of our customers worldwide.
• We are committed to being environmentally responsible in all areas of our business. We have built environmental
consideration into every stage of the Dell product life cycle — from developing and designing energy-efficient products, to
reducing the footprint of our manufacturing and operations, to customer use and product recovery.
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