Every manufacturer has three goals related to product costs: keep them low, consistent and competitive. Meeting these challenges tends to be easier for a small company with one plant than a large company with many plants, or plants in several geographic areas or countries.
Whirlpool Corp. has dealt with cost challenges for more than a century while evolving from a single-factory company in Benton Harbor, MI, in 1911, to the largest home appliance maker in the world. Last year, the company had $20 billion in sales, 100,000 employees and more than 70 manufacturing and technical research centers around the globe.