1. ETM 5121 – Project Proposal by Kevin Leatherwood
Development of a New Project Management System For Kenmore Branded Products at Whirlpool Corporation
ETM 5121 – Project Proposal by
Kevin Leatherwood

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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
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

9. 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

10. Project Plan
Kevin Leatherwood

11. Integration of ETM Benchmarking Problem Solving and Decision Making
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