Context
While in the process of implementing a new operating system for its cash centres, one of South Africa’s largest Financial Services brands realised that the full benefit of the change would not be realised if the current processes were not reviewed and optimised. In addition, they needed to understand the capacity generated by the new systems in order to align this with the sales function.
Expertise
The group, which offers a complete range of banking, assurance and wealth management products and services, sought the services of Volition to increase the throughput capacities of its cash centres. In other words, to enable cash centres to take on additional cash volumes by improving the time taken to process the cash stock.
Sustainable planning, operations and scheduling solutions were delivered to assist centres with daily and weekly planning by taking forecasted figures and translating them into viable day-by-day work plans. The scope of work included long-term capacity planning of teller and treasury areas, from machines to staff scheduling.
Volition further identified the need for a treasury operations model to assist in determining optimal inventory levels.
Solution
Volition completed a comprehensive study in the teller area, through which a thorough understanding of cash processing procedures was established. The process included time studies, analysis, process change and solution build. A comprehensive matrix was then established. This identified the rate at which different deposit types were being processed through different machine types.
Three customised tools were developed for the client:
- Cash Centre Capacity Model, which considers the monthly forecast for each cash centre, determining centre capacity and performance.
- Teller Scheduling Tool, which calculates the cost of overtime and staff profile per centre.
- Treasury Operations Model, which assists to determine the optimal amount of cash to clear or order, optimising inventory levels and reducing the number of cash in transit trips.
Result
In short, this project delivered improved cash processing turnaround and reduced cash processing cost. Cash centres were enabled to operate at optimal volumes and staffing. The Cash Sales department was empowered to prioritise cash centres with excess capacity and was given an informed understanding of the impact of different types of sales on upcoming capacity requirements. Scheduling of staff takes place on a weekly and daily basis, resulting in alignment between number of teller staff and expected volumes.
Over and above a cost saving due to this, customer service levels were boosted.
The teller function is also able to determine the correct allocation of deposit types per machine on a daily basis, increasing overall efficiency. The treasury area has visibility in terms of equipment, staff requirements and its target clearing and ordering schedule. Perhaps the biggest measure of success is the national rollout that will take place, based on the success of this pilot project.
