Kurt,
Everything I have read suggests that the industry-wide transition could take anywhere from 12-18 months. This article below describes some of the transitional issues perfectly.
...As Compaq Computer Corp., IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. all move to a supply chain model that calls for only two weeks of inventory and building PCs only upon receipt of order, a residue of inventory left over from the former build-to-forecast model remains. Channel executives said, in aggregate, about 30 days' worth of inventory needs to be sold through or written off at some point before the transition to build-to-order can take hold...
...Still, some distributors said the transition to channel assembly and build to order will be a long process that could take more than a year. In the interim, both distributors and vendors that transition too quickly to the new supply-chain model may give up market share....
techweb.com
For ease of reference, here's a summary of the manufacturing models of the top 4 PC vendors -- Compaq, Dell, IBM, and HWP.
How the manufacturing models compare techweb.com
Note again that despite their rapid growth, the top 4 only account for less than 40% of the total PC market. It's harder to get a fix on the other 60% of the PC market and that has got to make the disk drive makers' job that much harder.
Gus |
