efficient regional distribution centers in North America to
replace older facilities. It will also have cut the total number
of buildings in half. In fact, when the Maytag network integration is completed, Whirlpool will end up with 17 percent
fewer factory distribution centers, 33 percent fewer regional DCs, and 32 percent fewer local DCs.
tion, noise, and traffic congestion.
Moving products in full truckloads may be cost effective
and eco-friendly, but it’s not always easy to do. That’s especially true now that more retailers are turning over the
responsibility for customer deliveries to Whirlpool. And
because of the bulky nature of large appliances, Whirlpool
often finds that shipments “cube out” (fill up
the trailer) before they “weigh out” (reach
the maximum weight capacity allowed for
road travel). Even so, the company is currently moving more than 63 percent of its
consumer products via full truckloads.
At the same time, the company has begun
stepping up its use of rail transportation,
which is both cheaper and more fuel-efficient (and therefore greener) than highway
transport. For example, the appliance
maker is now using rail to haul refrigerators
from Mexican plants to U.S. regional distribution centers. As it does with trucking,
Whirlpool seeks to fill up the intermodal containers and
railcars it uses for shipping.
A breath of fresh air
Whirlpool is looking at more than just its
buildings in its drive to go green. It’s also
swapping its internal-combustion–powered
industrial clamp trucks for cleaner electric
models. As of this writing, the company had
replaced 105 of its internal-combustion
trucks with electric units.
Today, electric models are in use in all 25
of Whirlpool’s worldwide factory distribution centers. The company is currently in the
process of replacing the trucks at its regional
distribution centers with electric models as
well, an effort that was expected to be completed by the end
of last year. (The local distribution centers, which generally
do not use lift trucks, are unaffected by the conversion.)
By Whirlpool’s calculation, the switch to electric forklifts
has already resulted in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The company estimates that replacing
the internal-combustion models has kept 12,643 tons of
carbon dioxide and 208 tons of nitrogen oxides from entering the atmosphere.
Although the new trucks have done much to curb pollution, Hancock says, Whirlpool’s decision to use electric
models was actually motivated by a desire to reduce noise
and product damage. The forklifts Whirlpool uses are
equipped with big clamps to pick up items like refrigerators
and stack them as many as five high. When an operator of
an internal-combustion–powered lift truck would deploy
the clamp while pressing down on the gas pedal, the clamp
would sometimes damage the side of a refrigerator. “There
was an increase in clamp pressure as the gas pedal [was]
pushed,” Hancock explains. “That’s not the case with electric trucks. We get a more level and even clamp, which we
feel helps [reduce] damage.”
The push for full loads
Just as Whirlpool has been analyzing its distribution network for ways to save energy, it has also been examining its
transportation operations for opportunities to reduce its
carbon footprint. As oil prices have skyrocketed over the
past three years, the company has come up with several
innovative strategies for cutting transportation costs and at
the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
For example, Whirlpool has made a concerted effort to
ship products in full truckloads rather than in multiple less-than-truckload shipments. Using full truckloads wherever
feasible creates efficiencies that reduce fossil-fuel consump-
Fuel-saving incentives
Many times, rail is not an option, however, leaving
Whirlpool with no choice but to use trucks. In its dealings
with U.S. carriers, Whirlpool has initiated several programs
to encourage greater fuel economy.
To begin with, it has developed a fuel surcharge policy
that provides incentives to carriers to boost fuel efficiency—and conversely, penalizes them for poor fuel utilization. Whirlpool determines the mileage for each trip and
then pays its carriers a fuel surcharge based on a set rate of
six miles per gallon, regardless of the truck’s actual mileage
per gallon. On a 330-mile trip, for example, Whirlpool will
pay surcharges on 55 gallons of fuel—the amount a truck
that gets six miles per gallon needs for the journey. If the
truck gets just 5. 5 miles per gallon and the carrier ends up
using 60 gallons of fuel for the trip, the carrier still can only
collect fuel surcharges on 55 gallons.
“Current engine technology says a truck should get six
miles a gallon,” says Hancock. “This makes the carrier
responsible for having trucks with the right engines. This
fuel surcharge method [provides an incentive for] carriers
to maximize fuel efficiency and minimize empty miles.”
Whirlpool has had this fuel surcharge policy in effect for
the past three years with its 50 primary motor carriers as
well as its 250 secondary carriers. “In the beginning, there
was some pushback from the carriers,” says Hancock, “but
we haven’t had any pushback in the last couple of years.”
Although the six-mile standard applies to fuel surcharges
only in the United States, Whirlpool does have a similar
program in Europe.
To further encourage fuel economy among its carriers,
Whirlpool has also been promoting the practice known as
