Whirlpool 2003 Annual Report Download - page 13

11
Operating profit
($ in millions) Free cash flow ($ in millions) Net working capital (% of sales) Total debt ($ in billions)
2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003
$692
$830 $291 $302
11.2% 10.8%
$1.5
$1.4
■DiversityBusiness.com recognized Whirlpool in the organization’s annual
listing of the United States' top 50 organizations for multicultural business
opportunities. Fifteen thousand women- and minority-owned businesses
selected the winners.
■Whirlpool received two "Alexander Hamilton Awards" for excellence in
Financial Risk Management and Technology. Treasury & Risk Management
magazine sponsors the annual awards, which recognize excellence in
corporate management practices.
Connecting with customers through brands
Despite the global scope and scale of our organization, most
customers know Whirlpool through their unique and personal
experiences with one or more of the company’s leading brands. Our
major brands include Whirlpool, the world’s No. 1 selling appliance
brand; KitchenAid in North America; Bauknecht in Europe; and
Brastemp and Consul in the Latin American market. We remain the
major supplier in many product categories for Sears, Roebuck and
Co.’s Kenmore brand appliances.
Our brands are carefully and continually cultivating loyal customer
relationships by first listening closely to their respective customers and
then developing solutions that fit unique lifestyles. To this end, our
brands apply the resources of our global operating platform to create
differentiated experiences for customers and competitive advantages
within each regional market.
Thinking outside the box, inside the home
Innovation is central to Whirlpool’s loyalty efforts because it delivers
unique value to our customers that competitors cannot easily match.
Our rapid development and continuous introduction of Whirlpool
innovation differentiates the company in the marketplace, improves
our top-line revenue growth and drives higher levels of customer
loyalty to our brands.
Over the brief span of five years, we have built an innovation
competency founded on the creativity and diversity of our employees
across Whirlpool’s global enterprise. Today, Whirlpool is recognized as
a leading innovator in the global appliance industry. Increasingly, our
unique application of innovation is gaining prominence within
business management and professional design circles.
Transforming our approach
In 2003, our brands continued to transform and strengthen their
relationships with customers by assessing and integrating findings
from extensive customer loyalty research involving thousands of
consumers. We also expanded the level of employee involvement in
the customer loyalty transformation through special training and
awareness programs. Thousands participated in programs to help
employees better understand the customer and engage in new loyalty efforts.
The company also launched Whirlpool University, an on-line tool
that provides critical customer loyalty information to employees. In
2004, we expect to reach and train over 15,000 employees through
the use of this tool.
Transforming Whirlpool’s enterprise to achieve unmatched levels of
customer loyalty to our brands requires informed and passionate
leaders at all levels of the organization. In 2003, nearly 200 top officers
and directors participated in workshops designed to align leadership
behavior with our transformation effort. This year, the training
continues to cascade throughout Whirlpool’s organizations. These
efforts have not gone unnoticed. Whirlpool’s leadership development
program was ranked 11th among the "Top 20 Companies for Leaders"
recognized by Chief Executive Magazine in a survey of 300 U.S.
companies.