ABSTRACT
Applying Lean tools to transactional processes is the same as in a manufacturing line; however, it is difficult to see this transactional line. Many changes to transactional process are via mandate, corporate, or legal requirements. Every transactional process should have a safety, quality, delivery, inventory, and productivity board just like the factory. The greatest opportunity for the highest levels of margin improvement and customer satisfaction is to design all processes Lean from the beginning, whether it is manufacturing based or transaction based. If companies had great engineering and informational processes up front, the waste in the factory would be greatly reduced. Every business has transactional processes; there are even some businesses that are virtually all transactional processes. Every business, healthcare institution, financial services, and governmental agency can apply Lean to streamline the process and eliminate waste. Value-stream mappings are a great way to map, review, and discuss linkages between the customers' and suppliers' processes and the managers.
