Anna White: Lean Thinking at Acme Funding

Abstract

Anna White, process engineer at Acme Funding (Acme), a mortgage-loan-processing company, is considering a redesign of the loan-closing process. She is evaluating a centralization/decentralization system called pods, similar to manufacturing cells, as a process redesign. Data is given for the student to analyze the implications of this approach and suggest alternatives. Students must calculate utilizations and capacities of both the centralized and decentralized systems. They need to consider both costs and benefits in order to make a decision. Excerpt UVA-OM-1720 Mar. 11, 2021 Anna White: Lean Thinking at Acme Funding Anna White, an industrial and operations engineer with a master's degree from the University of Michigan, had begun her career at two Fortune 200 manufacturers, working in unionized production facilities as a Lean and change-management associate. While she enjoyed and valued the people she worked with and many of her experiences in these roles, one thing that she consistently found challenging about working in large, established companies with a long history of various change-management programs were the preconceptions many of the employees had about what to expect from her services. White reflected: Working in these environments helped me learn how to overcome other people's resistance to change mostly by taking the time to make personal connections and building trust. I was able to make some improvements here and there, but ultimately the culture was not a good fit for me. That's what led me to consider leaving manufacturing. A fellow Michigan alum introduced White to an executive at Acme Funding (Acme), thinking that the faster pace might be a welcome change. Acme had been experiencing rapid growth, and the executive team needed a process engineer. Five interviews later, the job was hers. . . .