Les12-28-2007, 08:11 AM
Here ya go...
Hewlett-Packard and many other notebook makers leave just about all of the laptop manufacturing process up to partners like Quanta, Compal, Wistron or Asustek. HP designs its own systems and supervises the production, but a partner builds its notebooks from start to finish for about 97 percent of all units, Bhalla said.
That's not the case at Dell. The company does all the final assembly of its laptops at its own facilities in Malaysia and Ireland, said Glenn Neland, senior vice president for procurement at the PC maker. It takes partially assembled systems from its manufacturing partners--the "carcass," as Neland puts it--and sends them to its own facilities to add the finishing touches, such as the installation of the processor, hard drive, memory and other system components.
This approach allows Dell to keep its customized, build-to-order strategy in place for the notebook market, Neland said. The company is unique in its reluctance to use indirect channels, such as retail stores, to reach customers.
If Dell was to leave the final assembly in the hands of its manufacturing partners, it would have to predict what types of configurations its customers are likely to order, and therefore carry more inventory than it would prefer, he said.
So in order to deliver a notebook to a buyer, Dell has to ship the partially assembled notebooks to its assembly facilities, coordinate the delivery of the key components from suppliers' warehouses, assemble the notebook and then ship it off to its destination. In a twist for a historically low-cost manufacturer like Dell, this actually increases its manufacturing costs to a certain degree, Neland said.
Now, if you read into this and follow it directly in the routing of say...the M1330, the 'partially assembled systems' or 'carcasses' are coming from Compal, to their plant in Malaysia and then to Roundrock, Texas for OS Imaging, software, final boxing and then shipment.
outkastland12-28-2007, 08:48 AM
Laptop Manufacturers (Who really makes Laptops?)
Basically none of the "Name Brand" manufacture their own laptops. The few notable exceptions are Sony, Acer and Apple. Yet, they even do not manufacture all of their own laptops. All of the so called manufacturers buy their laptops from what is called an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM).
ODM - Original Design Manufacturers
ODMs are the true manufacturers who actually design, cast, and assemble the main unit which includes the motherboard, outside casing, and display. A few examples of ODMs are Quanta, Compal, Clevo, Mitac, Asus, Acer, Arima, Uniwill (now ECS/Uniwill) -- perhaps you have never heard of these companies before. But you have definitely seen their systems under other well known brand names. ODMs are usually located somewhere in Asia, and may have distribution centers in the US. ODMs distribute their product to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Each ODM sells its computers to many different OEMs.
OEM's - Original Equipment Manufacturers
OEMs add the Memory, Processor, Hard Drive, Optical Drives and software to the systems. The OEMs perform final assembly and stick their label (Brand) to it, and call themselves manufacturers. Their products are then sold directly to dealers/resellers or directly to the public (i.e. DELL). However most companies such as Dell and HP etc. have their laptops assembled in Asia. Our OEMs are in the USA, assembled in the USA and our 24 hour 7 days a week Toll Free Tech Support is 100% USA. Once these companies add in these components, they have a complete laptop. They then put their label on it and market it.
Clevo makes the Sager NP9262, the Alienware Area 51, the Voodoo Envy, the Hypersonic Aero ...they are all the same computer.
An ODM named Compal makes some of the the DELL, Hewlett Packard and Compa
Quanta makes many of the Dell Latitude, Lenovo (IBM), and Sony Vaio laptops.
Clevo is usually first and on the cutting edge when it comes to gaming laptops.
So, what does this mean to you? It means don't get hung up on the brand name when looking to buy, because the company who owns that name probably didn't build your dream-machine laptop. Instead, focus on these three things:
The Warranty: Compare warranties among different vendors. Definitely get a 3 year warranty if your budget allows it. Also be wary of those that offer too much. For example most of the OEM builders offer free shipping to and from on all repairs during the initial warranty.
Features: Does it do all you need? Don't go overboard, but don't sacrifice.
Price: Are you paying for a name, or for features and warranty? Remember, the name does not differentiate the machine from any other.