Creating a Lean Culture, 3rd Edition

146 ◾ Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions

Lean: Not Just for Manufacturing Anymore

Enterprise Lean first spread to administrative functions from the experiences

and lessons Lean manufacturers learned in their factories. Now Lean initia-

tives can be found in diverse sectors of the economy beyond manufacturing,

in organizations whose products are solely knowledge or services. Among

many examples are finance, insurance, government, healthcare, software,

pharmaceutical development, sales, order fulfillment and distribution, cus-

tomer service, and education. An increasing number of organizations have

moved beyond asking, “Will Lean work for me even if I don’t manufacture

anything?” Instead, the question now is, “How do I app ...