Compaq Computer Corp has by no means finished wrongfooting its competitors just when they think they have finally got their own personal computer businesses back on an even keel. Its next trick is to take a leaf out of Dell Computer Corp’s book by building a proportion of its business computers to order rather than trying to second-guess the market and end up with a pile of unsold inventory (CI No 3,134). It says it will also re-balance its distribution by reducing its reliance on its dealer network and will ship some models to customers straight from the factory – but it will also take orders for specific or unusual configurations from its resellers. The moves are forecast to give it scope for price reductions of as much as 10%, thereby knocking competitors’ spreadsheets for six all over again.
