Maintaining good control of your order logistics is an important component of your business. Your customers are counting on receiving their product in a timely manner, so a kink in the process can cause big problems.
Dells’ Order Logistics Problem – And How They Fixed It
Dell provides their customers with built-to-order computers quickly and efficiently, so any supply chain delays can greatly influence their revenue. Several year’s ago, Dell’s database relied on a UNIX system to keep their supply chain running smoothly. The system began having problems that didn’t show any sign of stopping. Demand was growing and production began being interrupted by supply chain management. Every time this happened, it was a critical issue. They began experiencing an order logistics problem. And as demand was forecasted to keep increasing, there was no sign of the problem stopping. The IT department had only one solution: increase capacity.
This lack of capacity is a common problem. Many IT professionals have had to deal with a server running out of headspace. Usually, the solution is adding another big server. But in this case, Dell did something different. After extensive testing to find the best solution, Dell’s IT department moved the database away from the UNIX environment and chose a new operating system.
Now, Dell’s database is on a platform of Dell PowerEdge servers with Oracle Database 10g, which uses Linux instead of UNIX as its operating system. This new supply system operates from six different servers, plus additional disaster recovery systems. This means that if there is a problem, one server can be shut down to be fixed without disrupting the entire network. Plus, this system is more efficient and can process much more data. That means the new system is more cost effective than the system it replaced.
So what does this mean for your business and the way you look at order logistics? Dell spent the extra time to research and test better and more efficient ways to host their database and keep their supply chain running smoothly. Because of this extra effort, Dell is now enjoying a system that performs better, is less expensive to use, and saves time. The next time you have a problem with order processing in logistics or a supply chain, maybe it is an opportunity to make your business stronger.