It was April 10, 2011 when the head of the International Purchasing Whirlpool Asia in Shanghai told his colleagues that the company is going to launch new energy-efficient refrigerator models in just six months. For the new refrigerator, the main difference was in the motor current of the AC motor will have to be replaced by a DC motor, which is more effective, but also more expensive. He has to find a suitable supplier of DC motors in a very short time. Search latency components may cause delays in the production of a new refrigerator, and, thus, the later launch of new products. In the home appliance industry, fierce competition means that any delay in the launch of new products may result in loss of sales for the stragglers. Whirlpool How to go about the process of finding a suitable supplier of engine parts required DC? In the event that the company would explore the possibility of developing their current suppliers, or they have to quickly deal with existing supplier of DC motors? "Hide
by Martin Lockstrom, Thomas Callarman, Shengrong Zhang Source: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation 8 pages. Publication Date: June 21, 2012. Prod. #: W12079-PDF-ENG
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