Acer Inc of Taipei, Taiwan reports from its San Jose base that worldwide revenues for calendar 1993 were up 59% at $1,900m, and notes that in response to changing industry conditions, it began worldwide implementation of a distributed manufacturing strategy in 1993, which enables Acer Taiwan to supply global operating units with the key components necessary to meet fast changing local market requirements. Chief executive Stan Shih comments that this marked a transition from Acer’s previous role as a systems supplier to that of a key component provider. Through this technique, Acer was able to cut overhead and achieve economies of scale while providing fast, customised configurations to meet customer requirements around the world. And Acer America president Ronald Chwang reckons that the company is gaining market share in the North American market as it adds sales channels, broadens its product lines and expands local manufacturing. In the last year, Acer America firmly established itself as a full-line company with strong positions in portable, desktop and server markets, he reckons. The leading Taiwanese computer manufacturer in terms of size, Acer now has 56 offices in 20 countries, and a distribution network active in about 100. It also has a memory chip fabricating joint venture with Texas Instruments Inc in Taiwan.
