Whirlpool and Lowe's: Every week, Whirlpool and Lowe's have an online conference call to discuss what appliances are selling in the stores and what capacity Whirlpool has to make product. Often, the discussion revolves around a particular model that is selling at a higher than expected rate in Lowe's.
This often results in Whirlpool quickly flexing its supply chain to make more of the highselling product and delivering it to Lowe's customers. However, sometimes the answer is that Whirlpool and/or its suppliers do not have the capacity to make more of the product in question. It then becomes a question of demand shaping for Lowe's. What promotions, instore displays, and sales incentives can Lowe's implement to shift demand from the capacityconstrained model to one that the supply chain has more capacity to deliver? In this way, Lowe's, Whirlpool, and their suppliers manage supply and also demand.
- Refer to Whirlpool and Lowe's. A tremendous amount of ___ exists between Lowe's and Whirlpool, which is evident by the longlasting, valueadded offerings Whirlpool provides to Lowe's.
a. channel manipulation
b. customer integration
c. resources integration
d. yield management
e. corporate socialization
ANSWER: b
- Refer to Whirlpool and Lowe's. Which business process is Whirlpool and Lowe's using when they work together to align supply and demand throughout the supply chain?
a. Dependent materials handling
b. Outsourcing
c. Warehousing
d. Demand management
e. Channel rotation
ANSWER: d
- Refer to Whirlpool and Lowe's. Whirlpool contracts with another firm to manage its order fulfillment process with Lowe's. This contracted firm is referred to as a(n):
a. third-party logistics firm (3PL)
b. drop shipper
c. mediator
d. independent agent
e. interloper
ANSWER: a
- Refer to Whirlpool and Lowe's. Given that accessibility and reliability are keys to Lowe's marketing strategy, what mode of transportation is most likely used in this relationship?
a. Air
b. Water
c. Truck
d. Pipeline
e. Rail
ANSWER: c