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2022 Shipper of Choice profile: Whirlpool Corp.

Company takes decisive measures to offset higher costs, soft demand

An unidentified employee shows off the dials on a Whirlpool top load washing machine at the Sears Grand store in Solon, Ohio, in this this 2009 file photo. (Photo: Amy Sancetta/Associated Press)

The Shipper of Choice award, presented by FreightWaves in partnership with TriumphPay, recognizes the manufacturers, distributors and retailers that do the best job of keeping the American economy moving by fighting driver detention, providing accessible facilities and understanding what it takes to remove inefficiencies from the supply chain.

Among the top 25 Shippers of Choice for 2022 is … Whirlpool Corp.

About Whirlpool

U.S. headquartersBenton Harbor, Michigan
2021 revenue$21.99 billion
Shipper of Choice historySecond appearance 

 Why Whirlpool made the cut 

Home appliance manufacturing giant Whirlpool Corp. has faced the twin challenges of weak global demand and significantly elevated cost inflation. It experienced double-digit demand declines in key global markets in the third quarter. 

Over the past two years, Whirlpool has absorbed $2.7 billion in total inflationary costs, which raised its cost of goods sold by more than 10%.

In response, Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) had embarked on an aggressive cost-reduction program. In Q3, Whirlpool, which operates in 33 locations in 10 countries, most of them in the U.S., reduced its inventory levels by $300 million over the second quarter. That was in line with a 35% reduction in the company’s global production. 

Whirlpool has launched a 2023 cost reduction plan it said will remove more than $500 million in costs next year.

Despite the headwinds, Whirlpool said it was on track for 2022 to be the second-best year in its 111-year existence.

“Beyond the current recessionary challenges, we strongly believe in the favorable mid- and long-term demand tailwinds, in particular in North America,” Whirlpool CEO Marc Bitzer told analysts in late October. “And our business is very well positioned to win in this attractive post-recession setup.” 

About Shipper of Choice partner TriumphPay

TriumphPay is the transportation industry’s premier payment network trusted by leading shippers, brokers, factors and carriers. Its innovative and highly automated fintech payment solution brings cost savings and efficiencies to antiquated transportation payment processes for network participants. Integrated financing options leverage the strength of TriumphPay’s parent bank and can provide liquidity and cash flow visibility.

TriumphPay is a division of TBK Bank, SSB, Member FDIC, and a member of the Triumph Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: TBK) group.

 

Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.