Introduction

To start off with, The Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational company that
manufactures and markets home appliances. The headquarter is situated in Benton Charter
Township, Michigan, United States. This company has an annual revenue of approximately
$20 billion, has across 100,000 employees and more than 70 manufacturing and technology
research centers across the world. Whirlpool is one of the leading household appliance
manufacturers. The CEO, Mr. David Whitman, had a vital role to play since Whirlpool has
seen market growth and opportunities which helped in shaping the nature of the organization.
Their vision is “Be the best kitchen and laundry company, in constant pursuit of improving
life at home” ("Our Vision. Our Mission. | Whirlpool 2019 Annual Report", 2020). Their
mission is “Earn trust and create demand for our brands in a digital world” ("Our Vision. Our
Mission. | Whirlpool 2019 Annual Report", 2020).

Global Strategies Implemented by Whirlpool:

 Entry Strategies: They had an acquisition of Dutch consumer goods namely Philips
Electronics. Also, they had joint ventures with five Asian manufacturers of
refrigerators, washers, AC and microwaves.
 Branding: Their main aim was to become a Global brand. For example, they spent
$135 in Europe for their branding.
 Centralised Purchasing: This was a big help as it controlled the price of the raw
materials and the number of suppliers were reduced.
 Product Standardisation: Whirlpool had basic functionalities and technology which
are similar across the globe.

Benefits for Whirlpool after going Global

 They had witnessed a reduction in cost in terms of R&D, manufacturing, and
service.
 The globalisation played a vital role in the benefits of Whirlpool’s profits.
 The globalisation helped in minimizing expenses and developing the value chain.
 Whirlpool used the most advanced technology, that helped in production,
distribution and management of the company worldwide.
1. Whirlpool’s marketing goal is to leverage resources across borders. How is this
evident in its marketing approach?
As shown in the website of Whirlpool’s, they have always promoted “look and feel”
of high quality which is maintained. Satisfaction is also advertised at every step.
However, the products are designed to meet the demands and cultures of the countries
in specific. The high standard of each demand of each country is met through the
concept of “look and feel.” The basic resources used it production will be the same
across the world even though the functions might be different but the overall structure
will also be similar.

2. The challenge facing Whirlpool is not only external in catering to local

customer’s needs worldwide, but also internal – all the regional and local units
have to “buy in “to the global vision. What types of particular issues (such as
product or technology transfer) may arise, and how should they be dealt with?
Whirlpool’s difficulties with its global strategy is not only due to internal but also
external factors.
As per the case, Whirlpool’s president had stated “shifting demands driven by all
aspects of our society are an opportunity for us to deliver value to customers,” this
shows that it is vital to understand the new market opportunities but also to recognize
the changes in needs of the consumers.
Innovation can be really challenging since it requires a huge level of investment
which results to increase in costs.
Despite all the challenges that exists in today’s landscape, whether on a global scale
or at the local retail level, Mr Whitman concluded that it all depends on the level of
innovation and differentiation.
Whirlpool has always tried their best in terms of commitment towards their
customers, ability to adapt to diverse culture and economic situation around the world.
There will always be more competition which may also act as a challenge.
All in all, Whirlpool has to make sure that they are continuously working on their
innovation skills and dealing with competitors really well, keeping in mind the
customer satisfaction level as well. This will help them overcome the challenges they
might be facing internally and externally.
3. Suggest some of the global trends among the major manufacturers of household
appliances.
Whirlpool can come up with different sort of trends. For example, consumers prefer
appliances that are easy to use, saves time, can be easy to clean, that are stylish, have
multiple purposes, maintain environmental friendly ambience and affordable items.
Therefore, they can produce small appliances which meets their customers’ demands.
Example, bread makers, rice cookers, sandwich makers and etc.
They can also utilise the trend in personal care category, which includes the
introduction of variety of goods like massaging chairs, plaque fighting electronic
toothbrushes and etc. Personal care is very popular since everyone is more focusing
on themselves and how to look and feel better.
Whirlpool may come up with techniques that suggest food waste disposing. In United
States millions of tons of food is being wasted and thrown in landfills. Disposers may
provide convenient and environmentally friendly alternative, and even recycle the
food scraps into energy and fertilizer. This will excite the green conscious consumers
and as a result it will benefit Whirlpool in various ways.

Conclusion:
The Whirlpool Corporation has strong strategies that are being implemented. Since
there is a rapid growth of globalisation, Whirlpool has to look into each and every
market individually with different needs and identity. In order to continue with the
rapid growth, Whirlpool has and should continue to expand globally. While they
expand, they need to take into account all the performances and direction and evaluate
accordingly to get beneficial results. They can also focus more on the Chinese and
Asian markets since they had seen immense growth. Whirlpool has always chosen the
“think global and act local” concept and it was a success. They had designed their
mission and vision according to the customers’ needs and wants. Innovation was very
much taken into account as a result they increased their product lines and not product
depth. They focused more on long term brand leadership strategies and this helped
them to align the whole organization.
References:
 Mazumdar. (2020). Case Analysis on Whirlpool and the Global Appliance Industry.
Retrieved 21 May 2020, from https://www.slideshare.net/samratm/case-analysis-on-
whirlpool-and-the-global-appliance-industry
 Our Vision. Our Mission. | Whirlpool 2019 Annual Report. (2020). Retrieved 21 May
2020, from https://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/2019Annual/about/our-vision-our-
mission.php