The Basic Whirlpool Story

Names as CEO in 1987, David Whitwam assessed multiple strategic options and decided that he wanted Whirlpool to become a global leader in the large appliance industry. This dictated a number of changes: new strategies, new capabilities and new people in several areas of the business.

Whitwam has assembled a global web of manufacturing facilities, R&D centers, and strong brands -- KitchenAid, Roper, Estate, Admiral, Ignis, Laden, Bauknecht and, of course, Whirlpool. Whirlpool has become the only global player in what had been perceived as the stodgy and traditional world of refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers. As a strategic innovator, it is driving change and pressing its competitors to simply keep up -- to react rather than to challenge.

Whirlpool and the Large Appliance Industry

• Whirlpool Web page
  
• Maytag Web page
  
• Electrolux Web page
  
• The Right Way to Go Global: An Interview with Whirlpool's David Whitwam, Harvard Business Review, April 1994, p. 137.
  
• The Right Way to Go Global (a summary of the above article)
• Oster, Patrick amd John Rossant, "Call it Worldpool," BusinessWeek, November 28, 1994.
• The World Class
  
• Southern Exposure
  
• Purchasing Strategies: How Bazaar
  
• Research & Development: Widget Racers
  
• Competitive Strategies: All for One
  
• Forging a Global Appliance
  
• Outsider Views Can Sting a Bit
  
• A Chat with Whirlpool CEO David Whitwam
  
• Whirlpool Found U.S. Methods Didn't Always Apply in Europe
  
• The Golden Carrot Super Efficient Refrigerator Program
  
• Appliance Manufacturer Magazine Online web page
  
• Appliance Magazine Web page
  
• Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers
  
• Around the Globe: Whirlpool Cuts Back
  
• Whirlpool Tumbles in Europe
  

Whirlpool and Information Systems Use

• Product Data Management: Beauty or Beast
  
• Whirlpool Jumps on the Net: E-Commerce Project Will Cut Papaerwork, Save On EDI Costs
  
• Taking Charge Of ERP -- New, Upgraded Management Tools Add More Control
  
• Whirlpool In Whirlwind Of Online Activity
  
• Whirlpool Jumps on the Net
  
• E-Business Leaders Turn Web Efforts Into Profits
  
• Whirlpool Wants to Clean Up on Net Sales
  
• Document Management Deals
  
• Transportation Logistics: Moving the Goods
  

Key People at Whirlpool

• David Whitwam, Chairman and CEO
• Jeff Fettig, President and Chief Operating Officer
  
• Ronald Kerber, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (not an IT job)
• R. David Butler, Chief Information Officer

Tips on Doing a Paper on Whirlpool

• Stress the global strategy that has been a high priority for Whitwam since he became the CEO in 1987.
• Recognize the fact that Whirlpool products do not travel well since they are large and bulky. The industry expression is that you can't ship so much air which is the case if one were to ship refrigerators. These products are made in the regions in which they are sold for this reason.
• The primary focus of information systems is to share information so that products are designed and manufactured with high levels of consistancy.

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