January 31, 2000

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Whirlpool: The Evolution Of An E-Business Unit

By Clinton Wilder

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t many large companies, the evolution of E-business into standard business practice is reflected in the evolution of a small management group, often formed on an ad hoc basis to explore E-business possibilities, into an integral business unit.

At Whirlpool Corp. in Benton Harbor, Mich., the E-Whirlpool group has transformed from an ad hoc "skunkworks" operation to a dedicated unit, formalized in 1997, that reports to the senior VP of North American sales, marketing, and consumer loyalty. "'Sales' is a little misleading," says Greg Rodgers, the group's national director. "We're not focused on selling as much as integrating our sales processes with the digital world."

The E-Whirlpool group is still only 15 people, who work closely with IT and business managers, in a $10 billion company. "Our job is to communicate to internal and external customers what the E-business opportunities are," says Rodgers.

The centerpiece of that strategy is Whirlpool WebWorld.com, a combination employee information portal and trading-partner extranet launched a year ago. The company's adoption targets are staggering: from 3,500 North American users today to 50,000 in six months to 200,000, around the world, by the end of next year.

"Order management for dealers will no longer be the primary application," says Rodgers. "The portal will be used for product development collaboration, employee procurement linked to our SAP purchasing application, and personalized pages for all our trading partners, with different security levels set by our directory."

Another important feature links third-party information providers such as CompareNet.com and Brandwise Inc. to ensure that consumers have accurate and timely information about Whirlpool products on those sites.

"The company is moving from the analog to the digital and there's no turning back," says Rodgers. "My goal is that all of Whirlpool turns into E-Whirlpool--and the need for a dedicated E-business organization disappears as it becomes part of the business. The Information Age is really the Consumer Age. In our business, consumers really are in control of the value chain now."

Return to main story, "Putting The "E" Back In E-Business."

Photo by David Joel

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