Whirlpool Case Study

This process reduced not just customer’s satisfaction but also profit; there is a need for a financial information management to integrate all their business processes. SAP (System Applications Program) was introduced to the company to ensure efficient communication among the different modules of the business process.

The case shows the implementation of SAP ERP solution in NIBCO, a manufacturer of pipe and fittings, a mid-size manufacturer with about 3,000 employees and revenue over 460 million USD. The company

The IT staffs were certain that the existing SAP software will provide all necessary computer support. They believed that even if the SAP would not fit their business processes precisely, it may be an investment that provides greater long-term flexibility and better solutions to the company’s problem.

c. To manage sales and inventory, UA recently adopted a new SAP system which will make future product expansion easier.

WWT: World Wide Technology, a 1.8B company, is a value added reseller (VAR) of IT products and supply chain outsourcing solutions in the commercial, government and telecom sectors. It not only uses the sophisticated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and electronic procurement and logistics (e-PL) capabilities, but also WWT partners with other consulting firms, OEMs and business process outsourcing companies to generate business opportunities.

"Whirlpool Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of over

The spreadsheet for Whirlpool contains two worksheets. Worksheet 1 is a net present value analysis, and worksheet 2 applies an options pricing model to the decision.

Collaborating with highly trained professionals at “Mindtree Limited”, I have applied myself in Application Integration and Business Process Management (BPM) practices to optimize processes for effective human interaction with enterprise applications. Reshaping my technical skill-set with enhanced focus on business aspects, I was hand-picked by “International Business Machine” (IBM). As part of this firm, I implemented the nuances of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), BPM principles and modelled integration layer solutions to give hassle free access to the central storehouse of information. Additionally, our team designed inventive solutions to automate various manual operations, in-turn reducing significant overheads for a Canada based Telecom client.

H. C. Stark Inc. invested in the SAP R/3 Enterprise Resource Planning software for the company but, only the finance dept. uses the software while the production, scheduling, shop floor scheduling and raw material orders and are still processed manually. These departments still believe in using the paper method of processing the transmittal of the sales orders from customers to the operations department. This process is longer than incorporating the software to accomplish the same tasks. Starck doesn't make full use of the functions in SAP R/3. In fact, schedule misses were mostly due to equipment failure. Mike from the sales dept stated there was an "informational

Whirlpool thought they were ready to go live with SAP until September 18, 1999. Whirlpool seemed to be making all the right moves, like dispatcher assignment, having centralized pricing, and vendor interfacing. Even the best laid plans don’t always work. Everything seemed to be going smoothly at first because there were only 1000 system users, once 4,000 users were on the system, performance deteriorated which lead to 4-8 weeks delivery delays to which some customer cancelled their order and went with a competitor. Whirlpool should never have gone live until they realized what impact the red flags

Porter (1980) identified some competitive forces that shapes and fosters competition in a market and determines the inherent long run attractiveness of a market. He also said that, this analytical tool could be effectively used to understand the industry level situation. However, the findings based on the Porter's model clarify that, the company has strong competitive situation now in the UK as ASDA has strong rivals like; Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons etc.

Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE) embarked on a massive makeover of their information system in 2004 converting over to the SAP software. (http://www.beveragedaily.com/Formulation/CCE-SAP-join-forces-to-improve-supply-chain) This included a major overhaul of their legacy system and working with SAP to develop an app specifically for them. When this venture began in 1999 we must remember that the Spilt of Coca Cola Enterprises becoming an operation solely based in Europe had not occurred. Thus the implementation for SAP was not only in North America, but Europe also. Throughout the paper we will discuss how this conversion went and what exactly went and what effects

SAP Americas is a subsidiary of SAP AG, overseeing the company's business operations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. SAP has 115 companies with research and development facilities in Germany, Turkey, Canada, China, Hungary, India, Israel, Bulgaria and North America. In addition, SAP have laboratory centers in France, Sofia, Hungary, Sao Leopoldo, Brazil, Palo Alto, California, Bangalore and Gurgaon, India, Ra' Anana and Karmiel, Israel, Vancouver, Canada and Shanghai, China. SAP targets six industry sectors including consumer industries, discrete industry, financial services, process industries, public services, and service industries. SAP focuses on vertical industries, such as media, which helps provide growth as these industries expand. A potentially large area of growth could come in the relatively new services-oriented architecture (SOA), which enables the customers to link and connect its various applications. SAP expects its SOA, called NetWeaver, to be well received by its large installed customer base. Many of the industries SAP operates in are fragmented in terms of the software brands used. SAP offers more than two dozen industry solution portfolios and more than 550 resolutions for small and mid-size companies. SAP primary marketing areas are products, consultation and training. A significant part of SAP AG's success is making it easy for customers, partners, vendors, and the

Porter’s five forces are used to determine the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market. These are close forces that affect a company’s ability to make a profit and serve customers. If any of these forces change, a company must reassess its marketplace. The five forces include: the threat of substitute products, the threat of the entry of new competitors, the intensity of competitive rivalry, the bargaining power of customers and the bargaining power of suppliers.

In light of the above findings, since there are obvious problems found in Whirlpool¡¦s international business strategy, it is recommended that Whirlpool should refine its strategy as follow: