He quit last year as Compaq dealers rebelled at his plans to dramatically increase direct sales of PCs, the better to compete with Dell.
Soon after assembling his new gang of direct reports Dell decided it was time to hear from the public, knowing that he would get an earful.
In the 1990s, it was easy for Dell to use its direct-sales model to take share from companies like Compaq that were selling through higher cost retail stores.
Compaq's attempts to embrace Dell's direct-from-the-web model have appeared half-hearted.
These were good years, during which Dell became the world's largest and most profitable computer-maker, with a supply chain that was easily the most efficient in the industry, if not the world, and a direct-sales model that seemed to keep Dell one step ahead of rival companies selling computers through old-fashioned stores.
ECONOMIST: Michael Dell returns to the helm of the company he founded
So far Dell has scored with a direct sales formula that both cuts out dealer markups and enables Dell to turn its inventory four times faster than Compaq.
Critics said Dell's practice of selling direct to corporate customers, rather than through distributors, wouldn't work in China, where salesmanship is based on wining and dining, not pointing and clicking.
Dell innovated computer sales, eschewing expensive distribution for direct-to-customer marketing and order-taking.
Both should also benefit some from the recent problems that Dell is having with its direct sales model, once thought to be a bigger threat to retail store computer sales.
Dell has aggressively moved its renowned direct-sales, build-to-order business model to the Internet.
Michael Dell, the founder of Dell, which leads the personal-computer market by selling direct to the customer, has long thought many shops will turn into showrooms.
Turns out Pfeiffer wasn't up to the task of running the complex organization Compaq became -- or taking on direct-sellers like Dell.
For more than a decade, Dell rode its direct sales model and surging demand from businesses for bland, affordable personal computers to industry dominance.
And with Dell moving away from its direct-only sales model and pushing into Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, Dell can afford to take a chance on anything--except being bland.
Soon after assembling his new gang of direct reports--a mere 13, compared with 28 for Rollins--Dell decided it was time to hear from the public, knowing full well that he would get an earful.
Dell's biggest push, going forward, is an effort to move the company past the direct-sales model pioneered by its founder (see " The Second Coming").
Dell became a market leader in computers through early use of the internet to sell goods and services direct to consumers, and to buy components from suppliers.
应用推荐