Eyeing 'hypergrowth,' Dell reorganizes RP operations

A new team of leaders takes the helm of Dell’s representative office in the Philippines with the appointment of two new country managers to head two new business divisions.

Newly appointed top executives Ricky Lopez, Dell country manager for large enterprise and public sector, and Christopher Papa, Dell country manager for small and medium business (SMB), follows the assumption into office a few months back of Karen Lindy Gonzales, Dell country manager for consumer sales and marketing.

Varinderjit Singh, managing director for South Asia developing markets, said the move strongly supports Dell’s drive for “hypergrowth” and gives more focus to its growing customer base, especially in the Philippines which is its largest market in the South Asia region.

The needs of big business are very different from the needs of SMEs and the retail consumers, said Singh. “By focusing on the needs of specific markets, we focus on customers, we focus on people.”

Each segment has different expectations, said Papa. In the SMB space alone, there is further segmentation - the home office which has one to 100 employees; the small business which has 100 to 300 employees; and the medium enterprise with 300 to 500 employees.

The needs of these segments could range from one of product availability and reliability to cost efficiencies and scalability.

Large enterprises and the public sector, on the other hand, have very clear focus on what they need, said Lopez. His division is responsible for growing and servicing large accounts, especially in delivering high-value solutions.

The consumer and retail space is another area where Dell would concentrate more, with the growing local demand for computers and IT products. Gonzales said though that Dell will continue to work with local partners and resellers and its current scheme of dealership and distribution.

“More than selling a lot of products,” said Singh, “we make sure that we have the total solution for each market that we serve. Dell is focused on delivering tech solutions that enable people to grow and thrive.”

Dell announced the move to reorganize the company globally around the three major customer segments in December 2008 and was first implemented in the United States, China, India, Japan and Australia.

The Philippines is the first to undergo the restructuring in the South Asia region, according to Singh, because of its market maturity and readiness to adopt efficient and highly scalable IT solutions.