Whirlpool

Case Study

Whirlpool Collaborative Commerce

The world's largest manufacturer of major home appliances had a problem: channel conflict. Consumers were coming to the Whirlpool.com website with their wallets open, ready to buy an appliance. But as much as Whirlpool wanted to help them, their nationwide network of dealers wouldn't hear of it. And besides, a new dishwasher isn't exactly the kind of thing you can have drop-shipped to someone's house – you need to install the new one, haul away the old one, service the product in the future – the kind of thing that a local dealer is perfect for.

Client Profile

• Industry: Major Home Appliances
• Products: Washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, cooktops, ovens, dishwashers and other major appliances.

Challenges

• Let customers buy. If a brand-loyal customer shows up at your website with their wallet open, ready to make a purchase, there has to be a way to close that sale.
• Keep the dealer channel happy. If selling online cannibalizes sales from local dealers, that's a big channel management problem for Whirlpool.
• Give the customer a good experience. Buying an appliance is more than just giving a credit card number – local dealers provide the key to a satisfied customer.

JGSullivan's Approach

• Create a win-win through collaborative commerce. Collaborative commerce allows the site visitor to add a product to their shopping cart just like any other e-commerce site. When the customer goes to checkout, they are asked for their ZIP Code and given a list of local dealers who have the product they are interested in. The customer chooses a dealer from the list, and their order is seamlessly transferred to that local dealer's shopping cart, where the customer completes their checkout process.
• Leverage the strengths of the manufacturer. Customers instinctively go to manufacturer websites when they are looking to make a purchase. The manufacturer has the most up-to-date product information and should have the best listing of where they can buy the product. Using collaborative commerce lets the sale take place immediately.
• Leverage the strengths of the local dealer. Local dealers are a necessary part of the play for consumer durables such as home appliances – they have to be involved to deliver the new appliance, install it, service it and to haul away the old appliance. Letting the customer choose their preferred local partner puts sales in the registers of those local dealers while giving the customer freedom of choice.

Results

• Satisfied customers. Customers who went to the Whirlpool.com website looking to purchase a new appliance were rewarded with a system which understood the realities of buying an appliance and empowered the customer to select a local partner and complete the transaction online.
• Low-cost sales for dealers. Dealers started receiving sales without having to expend any energy or expense to land the new customers.