At least one computer manufacturer in Taiwan is turning his sights to Internet supply chain management systems in order to keep ahead of the pace of falling PC prices.
"I met with some managers last week to discuss how to fight deflation, which is here," said Matthew Miao (
Miao, whose company earned US$9 billion last year manufacturing computers and distributing them worldwide, said computer prices are dropping fast because of over-production throughout Asia. Too many manufacturers are making too many computers, flooding a market already weakened by the global economic downturn.
"Even though [market researcher] IDC predicts sales growth of 6 percent in the PC industry, dollar volume will be flat," he said.
For companies in the computer industry, the problem hits their bottom line. Market researcher International Data Corp estimates the industry will sell 138.9 million computers this year, around 7.6 million more than last year.
If Miao is correct, that "dollar volume will be flat," then the computer industry will work harder this year for less money.
To keep ahead of the curve, Miao has charted a course to find new ways to cut operating costs -- such as implementing Internet supply chain management initiatives.
He believes that while such business tools will become a future industry standard, for now, the plan offers Mitac the advantage of making smarter business decisions based on highly focused logistics information.
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