Dell Shops Its Made-To-Order Factories

Dell is looking to sell its factories in a bid to lower costs as it tries to become a more nimble purveyor of laptop computers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the plan is driven in part by Dell's inability to adjust quickly enough to from the corporate demand for desktops to the consumer thirst for portables. It believes using third party manufacturers would not only be better for the bottom line but allow them to be better react to market forces.

In recent months, according to people familiar with the matter, Dell has approached contract computer manufacturers with offers to sell the plants. One person briefed on the plan said he expects the company to sell most -- and possibly all -- of its factories "within the next 18
months." Other factories could close, this person said. Dell would enter into agreements with the contract manufacturers to produce its
PCs.

The company owns factories in Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina,
Florida, Ireland, India, China, Brazil, Malaysia and Lodz, Poland, where it opened a plant early last year. The WSJ says Dell's factories are generally considered to be efficient at making desktops but that, within the industry, "company-owned factories aren't considered the least expensive way to produce laptops, which have been the main driver of growth lately and are complex and labor-intensive to assemble."