EFS began by implementing imaging and within three years added the workflow component. Because it installed an imaging and workflow system, he says, EFS added only a handful of new employees to help manage the growth during the past three years. Online loan applications submitted through Wells Fargo's website and fax machines converge with the imaged documents to join the queue. At that point, approval is granted pending receipt of the original signed master promissory note. Once the signed copy is returned, the document moves to a review queue in workflow and the loan is flagged as ready to disburse.
Online applications go through the system even faster.
Existing customers with college loans who need graduate school funding, for example, can be approved in minutes. We're now within minutes of approval. For repeat borrowers, as long as EFS has a signature on file, approval and disbursement can occur on the same day. Now, we're more effective because we are focused on answering calls, not tracking down documents. Although he can't specify how many files were lost during the loan-processing Stone Age, Roark says these days his department answers 15 percent to 20 percent more calls per day.