OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
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COMPANY OVERVIEW
EUROPE REGION
• ~$3.2B Sales
• 12,000 Employees
NORTH AMERICA REGION
• ~$9.6B Sales
• 29,000 Employees
ASIA REGION
• ~$900 M Sales
• 5,000 Employees
LATIN AMERICA REGION
• ~$4.7B Sales
• 25,000 Employees
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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EVERY ROOM … EVERY HOME … EVERYWHERE
Clothes revitalization
Room air conditioning
Dehumidifiers
Air coolers
BEDROOM(S)
KITCHEN / DINING
OUTDOOR
GARAGE
Grills
Cooking
centers
Storage
Appliances
Workstations
Flooring
Refrigeration
Dishwasher
Cooking
Ventilation
Portables
Cookware
LAUNDRY ROOM
Washer, dryer, sink
Clothes revitalization
Laundry storage solutions
BASEMENT
Storage
Water filtration
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
HVAC
Freezers
13 April 2015
Air treatment
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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WHIRLPOOL GLOBAL OPEN INNOVATION CONTEXT
COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT IS FORCING TO INNOVATE THE WAY WE INNOVATE
KNOWLEDGE DISTRIBUTED &
INTERCONNECTED
TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES
Rapid evolution of technological trends
OPEN INNOVATION
OPEN INNOVATION
Difficulties to master internally all the competences / technologies needed
Leverage external resources to increase the productivity of AD & XP internal resources.
AD = Advanced Development: Whirlpool R&D department
XP = Cross Products categories: internal R&D categories that serve different product categories
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION ORGANIZATION AND SKILLS
ORGANIZATION
SKILLS
Open Innovation
Leader
Business
Analysis
 Cross category accountable to manage Open
innovation projects of all research categories
 Open Innovation team manages also publicly
funded projects
 Open Innovation reports to VP of research
and development
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
Project
Manager
Tech Scouter
EMEA Public
funding
 Strong technical competences
 Business skills are required to consider
different value proposition
 Administrative roles are required, mainly for
public funded projects
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION PROCESS
AD Product cat and X Product
Understanding of
internal
knowledge needs
Tech Scouting
Opportunity
assessment with
internal PP
Seedbed into C2C
• Actively network externally
to scout, identify, access
and evaluate new
technology opportunities
with potential to advance
AD/XP strategies
• Develop partnerships with
key center of excellence
both industrial & academic
• Transfer technologies to AD
and XP groups
Network
Partnerships
Transfer
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
Partnership
Management
• Leverage Public Funding
Opportunities to support
R&D initiatives
Public
Funding
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION PROCESS: INTERNAL GAP
AD Product cat and X Product
Understanding of
internal
knowledge needs
Tech Scouting
Opportunity
assessment with
internal PP
Seedbed into C2C
Partnership
Management
 Consider knowledge needs  Evaluate external opportunities to cover the
needs
 Many solutions are already there  find it!
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION PROCESS: TECH SCOUTING 1/2
AD Product cat and X Product
Understanding of
internal
knowledge needs
Tech Scouting
Opportunity
assessment with
internal PP
Seedbed into C2C
Partnership
Management
CROWDSOURCING
Scouting Tools
IP Scan,
OI networks, Intermediaries (Ninesigma,
innocentive), Leverage existing Network
 Crowdsourcing can represent an opportunity for tech scouting
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
8
OPEN INNOVATION PROCESS: TECH SCOUTING 2/2
AD Product cat and X Product
Understanding of
internal
knowledge needs
Tech Scouting
Opportunity
assessment with
internal PP
Seedbed into C2C
Partnership
Management
TECHNOLOGY FORUMS
Scouting Tools
team of Whirlpool
people expert in a
field and working
allover the world –
who meet to discuss
a specific technical
competency area to
achieve alignment
around
IP Scan,
OI networks, Intermediaries (Ninesigma,
innocentive), Leverage existing Network
 Leverage the knowledge of your employee
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
9
OPEN INNOVATION PROCESS: OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT
AD Product cat and X Product
Understanding of
internal
knowledge needs
Tech Scouting
Opportunity
assessment with
internal PP
Seedbed into C2C
Partnership
Management
Potential drivers to be considered:
 Impact of the collaboration on innovation
pipeline (both in terms of ideas and project),
 Speed of execution
 Access incremental resource
 Knowledge generated
 Expected business returns.
 Different indicators should be considered to evaluate external
opportunities
 Different skills required to take into account different aspects
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION PROCESS: OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT
AD Product cat and X Product
Understanding of
internal
knowledge needs
Tech Scouting
Opportunity
assessment with
internal PP
Seedbed into C2C
Partnership
Management
 Link Open Innovation initiatives to your innovation processes
 Apply Project Management to manage partnerships
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION: KEY LEARNINGS
 TOP MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
 MAKE OPEN INNOVATION VISIBLE: ad hoc organization provided with different skills
 MAKE OPEN INNOVATION WORK: ad hoc and tailored process
 CONSIDER WHAT ALREADY EXIST: Importance of tech-scouting
 DEMONSTRATE THE VALUE OF OPEN INNOVATION ACTIVITIES THROUGH
APPROPRIATE METRICS
 LEVERAGE PUBLIC FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION AND PUBLIC FUNDING
Publicly funded projects (e.g. 7th framework program) represent an embryonic form of Open
Innovation since they force firms to collaborate for achieving innovative outcomes. However they
present pros and cons.
PROS
 Stimulate long term research
 Force multinational collaborations
 Possibility to obtain financial support to
“your” research projects
CONS
Rigid rules in the consortia creation
 Risk to pursue a “financial” strategy
 Management of projects is complex
• Publicly funded projects can constitute an interesting trigger for Open Innovation
• Publicly funded projects present some drawbacks that need to be managed
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
13 April 2015
OPEN INNOVATION @ WHIRLPOOL
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OPEN INNOVATION: RESULTS
Participations to several publicly-funded projects
from 2009:
Technology district for the innovation in food
processing and preservation
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
Creation of strategic partnerships in different
knowledge domains:
Energy
Motors
Materials
Electronics
Creation of strategic partnerships with a leading
academic institution :
13 April 2015
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