Development of a New Project Management System For Kenmore Branded Products at Whirlpool Corporation

ETM 5121 – Project Proposal by Kevin Leatherwood

Project Introduction

• Whirlpool Corporation – Main Appliance Brands • Whirlpool • Kitchenaid • Kenmore – Kenmore Brand Organization • Market share dependence • Sears Marketing involvement • Whirlpool project management • C2C Project Management Structure – Stage-gate process • Minor, Major, Mega Project usages – Cross-brand alignment Kevin Leatherwood

What is the Problem?

• Dependency on Sears business causes friction within C2C process – Sears buyer responsible for final decisions regarding feature content and styling – Added step not accounted for in C2C structure • Project delays • Capital overspend • Quality regression – Change is needed to gain control Kevin Leatherwood

Project Objectives

• Align Kenmore brand decision-making with other brands • Reduce delays due to Kenmore marketing • Improve scorecard measures • Retain original intent of C2C process Kevin Leatherwood

How to Measure?

• Project Scorecard Measures – Early warning results • CUFT (Customer Usage Field Test) – Schedule • Production Date • Market Launch • Flooring Models – Product Quality • 1 MOL and 12 MOL Service Rates – Availability • Warehouse inventory vs demand Kevin Leatherwood

Project Deliverables

• Findings report from a benchmarking study of other main appliance categories – Dishwasher, Laundry, Cooking • C2C tollgate deliverables for Kenmore marketing function • Baseline of current project results for future comparisons • Final C2C structure revision for possible implementation Kevin Leatherwood

Alternatives

• Proposed Alternatives – Implement best practices from other main categories – Distinguish Kenmore brand timelines and deliverables from other project activity – Drive Kenmore brand projects through separate technology function Kevin Leatherwood

Project Approach

• Baseline existing process and knowledge – Chart existing C2C system – Map Kenmore brand organization for Refrigeration – Collect existing scorecard data • Compare Refrigeration to other categories – Benchmark Cooking, Dishwasher, Laundry – Collect existing scorecard data • Evaluate – List and prioritize best practices – Determine possible changes in Kenmore organization – Evaluate changes in C2C system – Apply measures to alternatives for best possible solution Kevin Leatherwood

Evaluation Criteria

• Minimized impact to existing C2C structure • Improved time to market • Improve decision-making flow • Minimized impact to ‘house’ brands • Minimized damage to Sears relationship • Time to implement • Cost to implement Kevin Leatherwood

Kevin Leatherwood

Project Plan

Integration of ETM

• Benchmarking – Robert Camp methodology • Problem Solving and Decision Making – Decision matrix • Marketing Management – Customer relationship management – Marketing concepts • Managing the Engineering and Technical Function – Management interaction/involvement – Identifying and solving problems Kevin Leatherwood