Whirlpool Optimizes Visibility Inside and Outside its Warehouses

Whirlpool Corp., a manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, provides a good example of how the value of an optimized supply chain network is never more apparent than following a major acquisition and/or reorganization. After Whirlpool acquired Maytag in 2006, its supply chain encompassed more than 40 manufacturing facilities sourced from approximately 7,000 different suppliers in every region of the world. Those facilities not only import, but also export products to separate regions where they are then delivered to more than 30,000 retailers worldwide, while also delivering products to builders as well as consumers' homes within 48 to 72 hours. Whirlpool has, at any given time, 2.2 to 2.5 million units in inventory.

"Whirlpool's supply chain is complex primarily because we're not only a manufacturer, but we also service tens of thousands of different retailers, along with our other channels," says Brian Hancock, vice president, supply chain, Whirlpool. "So when you think about everybody from a Lowe's, Home Depot and Sears, to the new-home builder, to Mrs. Jones down the block, they all expect the same type of products and service. We have to make sure our supply chain helps protect the Whirlpool image-ensuring the brand is enhanced by the service we're providing."

The company determined that its supply chain required the flexibility, scalability and agility to address the different requirements across all of its channels while maintaining the customer service expected of the brand. Whirlpool implemented Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management, Slotting Management and Labor Management from the Manhattan SCOPE Distribution Management solution suite to optimize its vast distribution network, along with the Extended Enterprise Management solution to optimize inventory visibility with vendors and trading partners.

"The biggest obstacle for most companies is their inability to bridge supply chain silos. They separate order management, product development, procurement and manufacturing from the final delivery process," says Hancock. "For our supply chain to deliver on our corporate promises, we realized the way to attain the necessary efficiencies required was to build seamless visibility inside and outside our warehouses."

Whirlpool has received the following supply chain benefits since the solutions went live in 2008:

Eliminated 40 million travel miles between facilities, which reduced fuel costs and environmental impact;

Reduced pick process time by 50%, increasing productivity;

Cut damage to products by 50%;

Improved warehouse uptime to more than 90%;

Developed an accurate, real-time view of inventory inside the Whirlpool warehouses;

Gained warehouse efficiencies through integration of pick pack logic and process;

Improved order-to-delivery time, and enhanced yard-management capabilities.

Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management solution is designed for collaboration and communication with an extensive network of suppliers and partners. Slotting Optimization scientifically determines the best picking profile for a distribution center, enabling timely, intelligent decisions as ordering trends change. Manhattan Associates' Labor Management optimizes a company's distribution workforce to create more productivity while reducing overall labor costs. Extended Enterprise Management provides automatic inventory updates that the company can communicate to its vendor network.

The Manhattan SCOPE portfolio is developed on a Supply Chain Process Platform that facilitates the communication of cross-suite applications to address specific supply chain requirements for the goals of each Manhattan customer.

Source: http://logisticstoday.com/