Strategic Thinking Of Lenovo For "the Post-PC Era"

This thesis is an examination and analysis of Lenovo's viability as an international participant in the personal computer business. This requires an assessment of Lenovo's competitive advantages and those of its competitors, it resources and strategy to compete in the future and an understanding of the business models of other major participants and the future of the personal computer market itself. It is certainly clear the personal computer market is mature commodity market with high volumes and a low margins, that many PC brands which only a few years ago, such as Compaq, DEC, Packard Bell, and AST, are gone: once Personal computing leaders, unable to adjust their strategies to the cutthroat competition of the personal computer market. The manufacture and assembly of PCs is now primarily in China, only 4 percent in 2001, and that many key components come from elsewhere and assembly is largely performed by contract manufacturers for the computer brand sellers. Success requires lean, efficient supply chain management, an ability to respond effectively to rapidly changing markets, a relevant marketing and advertising message and success ultimately dependent on the sales, distribution network and customer relationships rather than technology: manufacturing or product innovation.IBM, the consolidator of the PC and creator of the PC industry, has left this business with the sale of its PC division to Lenovo. What was Lenovo's rational for this purchase? What made it conclude it could succeed when IBM could not? Why is Lenovo's business model so different from the competition? This is a business with ever increasing clock speed, mass customization and outsourcing, the use of electronic commerce, the importance of logistics, rapid depreciation and complicated decisions regarding location of production. A comparison of the relative strengths and weaknesses to the competitiveness of Lenovo products to its competition.This paper is divided into three major divisions:Fragmentation and specialization of the computer industry;Focused on Acer and Dell organizational structuresA brief description of Lenovo's past and future recommendations. The following dissertation begins with an edited scholarly paper discussing International Production Networks: the evolving, specializing nature of the PC industry from an edited paper by Computer Industry Specialists Kenneth L. Kraemer, PhD and Jason Dedrick, PhD from the CRITO institute at University of California Irvine.The next Section focuses on Dell and Acer organization since its product and service offering are the most similar to Lenovo's. Though there are some observations on my own behalf with respect to the Dell model. I utilize a paper6 from the CRITO Institute at UC Irvine to fill in the details of Dell's operations. On Acer I use a study7 by Bart Slob of SOMO for the Acer organization details.Finally, with the use of a brief history of Lenovo/Legend Computers published July, 2006 by the Harvard Business School to discuss my prescriptions for Lenovo's near future.