GMM Assignment No.

ISSUES WITH WIRLPOOL CORPORATION

1. A merger with Maytag As there is quicker demand in US, for this Whirlpool decided that A merger with Maytag further complicated Whirlpool's efforts to manage the supply chain to meet this quicker demand, it would pare back the bulky inventories it formerly delivered to retail partners; consolidate its own warehouses into fewer, larger regional distribution centers; and optimize its technology for faster and more reliable shipment tracking. This last, crucial component "schedule actualization" knowing the whereabouts of products "literally to the day, to make sure [retail partners] know exactly what's coming off that line." This just-in-time approach to inventory became critical because people buy appliances with the expectation that the store will be able to deliver them in just a couple of days. And being able to meet consumer expectations is critical for the retailers. Maytag Corporation was an American home and commercial appliance company headquartered in Newton, Iowa, was founded in 1893 by businessman Frederick Maytag. 2. Whirlpool Corporations implementation of an SAP ERP system The timing of the IT implementation decision is one of the critical factors that affects the success or failure of a project. Sometimes, just pushing back the implementation by a week might have had very different consequences. Case in point: Whirlpool Corporations implementation of an SAP ERP system. According to SAP AG ofcials, Whirlpool should have delayed the go-live date by a week knowing that certain red ags had been raised. The red ags involved two batchprocessing transactions that were taking a long time to feed into the decision support database and the customer service system. The lesson learned is that it is much more important to have a complete product than to be on schedule, especially in light of red ags observed. This is pertinent advice because we see many projects go live with red ags.

3. Whirlpool Oven In 1977, Whirlpool Corporation reenters the microwave oven market by introducing four Whirlpool brand models. The company had marketed a microwave oven for a brief period in the late 1950s, but withdrew when it became apparent that the marketplace was not ready for this new concept in cooking.

4. Whirlpool made a big push into Asia During the mid-1990s Whirlpool made a big push into Asia, forming several joint ventures in China and India. Late in 1997, as part of a global restructuring effort, Whirlpool announced that it was pulling out of two money-losing joint ventures in China. The company's European push had also been less than fully successful. It had proved very difficult to establish the Whirlpool brand on that continent, where there was stiff competition from entrenched players and where appliance manufacturers had to cater to specific demands of customers from a wide variety of cultures--a key contrast to the largely homogenous U.S. market.

5. Whirlpool Corporation Announces Changes in its China Manufacturing Operations (BENTON HARBOR, Mich., April 7, 2009) Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) today announced manufacturing production changes to its China operations, which include the closure of its washing machine manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. The closure of the Shanghai factory will result in the elimination of about 600 positions. Whirlpool has established several measures in accordance with Chinese Labor laws to provide support to all affected employees during this change.

Submitted By: Yatendra Kumar MBA 3rd SEM Finance & Marketing