White Paper Intel Xeon Processor E5 Family Data Center Efficiency Financial Services Intelligent Business Operations Best Practices in Cash Supply Chain Management Executive Summary The purpose of any supply chain is to meet customer needs and grow business profits. The cash supply chain is no exception. Banks manage their cash point networks (e.g., ATMs, bank branches, cash centers, retailers) by providing cash withdrawal services where and when customers need them. To make a profit, banks must manage these activities efficiently. Managing cash supply operations is a complex process that involves independent stakeholders including banks, cash in transit companies (CITs), and independent service operators (ISOs). The process also involves decision-makers at strategic, tactical, and operational levels each performing certain tasks by managing and controlling the operations and processes. Every decision-maker needs timely, quality information. The main question is how to quickly provide decision-makers with the right insights to help them make winning decisions. This white paper explains the best practices in cash supply chain management and outlines the benefits of the intelligent business operations (IBO) working style. Why Efficiency Matters Despite the popularity of credit cards, cash is still the most common payment method. Globally, more than half of payments are made in cash. The increasing demand for easily accessible cash drives banks to expand their cash point networks. However, as the network grows, it becomes more difficult to supervise and operating costs rise. Effective cash management is a crucial success factor for banks and outsourcing companies. It can give banks more prime retail space in branches and free up staff to focus on customer-facing activities. Other benefits include shorter cash lead times, better ATM availability, and lower operating costs. IBO and Company Performance IBO is a work style that integrates nearreal-time analytic and decision management technologies into the transactionexecuting and bookkeeping operational activities that run the business. 1 According to Gartner, by 2016 around 70 percent of companies reporting high performance will be implementing extreme collaboration or real-time predictive analytics to manage their business processes. IBO tools (Figure 1) can help improve business processes by providing visibility, situational awareness, and flexibility for those who manage cash supply chain operations and make decisions on a daily basis.
Contents Executive Summary................1 Why Efficiency Matters.............1 IBO and Company Performance....1 Artificial Intelligence-Based Analytics..........................2 Business Benefits of IBO...........3 Intelligent Cash Management.......3 Scalability.........................4 IBO in Action......................4 Recommendations.................4 IBO connects internal and external business information systems into a common environment where data is analyzed and made available in real time for operation managers and strategic decision-makers. IBO performs a different function than business intelligence (BI) but is complementary. The goal of BI systems is to gather and analyze the historical data during a certain period. The IBO platform compares historical data with real-time data, determines trends and links between actions, and makes projections for the future. Another important IBO function is automating optimal decision-making, where the forecasted demand, existing and planned limitations, and results are used in real-time to automatically choose the most cost-efficient combination of cash quantity, denomination, delivery time, route, etc. With IBO, decision-makers have full visibility to rapidly and flexibly respond to real-time changes through: Graphical presentations of information Customization of user interface in accordance with the performed functions Contingency notifications Decision simulation tools Managers can perform real-time monitoring and evaluations of key performance indicators (KPI), monitor implementation of strategic goals in the company, and stay informed on the system suggested tactical actions. Artificial Intelligence-Based Analytics The IBO platform performs the complex cash demand forecasting and optimization tasks using its integrated artificial intelligence algorithms, capable of realtime processing of large amounts of information, evaluation of historical data, relations between them, trends, and projection. It chooses the optimum decisions out of millions of possible combinations something the human brain and standard analytical tools cannot do. It is important to mention that without underestimating the human input, the expert knowledge of staff is especially important in the process of algorithm training. The system does not answer the question Why?" Instead, it evaluates causes based on insights entered by expert staff. For example, while analyzing the error of system forecasting, an employee notices it could have been influenced by an event that took place in the region. The Figure 1. Intelligent business operations (IBO) tools 2
algorithm gets this information and reevaluates the relations, thus learning to make even more precise projections. This work method eliminates the risk of losing know-how due to staff changes. It also eliminates the information gap when, for example, a bank employee fills in for a colleague from a branch in another region who is on sick leave. Studies and pilot projects evaluated the precision of these complex algorithms. For example, in a network of 6,000 cash points, in measuring the efficiency of activities, revealed that using the IBO platform saves: 22 percent in logistics costs 17 percent of costs related to preparation of money 55 percent of costs related to interest In monetary terms, a bank operating a cash point network of such size saves 11 million Euros (USD 13.6 million) per year. Risk management takes place simultaneously and the quality of client service is ensured, so profitability grows. Business Benefits of IBO IBO benefits financial institutions in a number of ways (Figure 2). This enables them to shorten cash lead times, maximize cash point availability, reduce network operating costs, and maximize profitability. Additionally, the technology enables its users to: Be aware of network performance including real-time profitability Reduce cash-related operating costs by up to 40 percent Automatically support set KPIs and service level agreements (SLAs) for the entire logistical chain Ensure minimization of on-balance sheet cash in the supply chain by using effective forecasting and stock management tools Use latest-generation IBO technology in cash points to streamline cash transactions Ensure the supply chain is defined, integrated, and managed as a single entity Reduce physical space and resources devoted to the administration and handling of cash Examine the potential for the full cash cycle to be outsourced with the benefits of full accountability, ownership, and efficiency that flow IBO Platform Connects and integrates all kinds of information systems Automates processes endto-end across systems Provides visibility into what is happening real time Supports evidence-based and timely decision-making Delivers efficient management and optimization from having responsibility for the full cycle vested in a single entity. Intelligent Cash Management The FOBISS CM* IBO solution is the first complete and integrated product for delivering cash management services within any type of cash point networks: ATMs (cash in/out, recyclers) Bank branches, Cash centers Retailers Figure 2. Business benefits of the IBO approach It is self-learning It assumes It adapts It predicts It finds typical and untypical behavior of each cash point It analyzes and suggests the most valuable decisions for the user 3
The FOBISS CM* IBO solution can: Save significant time and HR and money resources for users of applications by optimizing decisions and processes Eliminate dormant cash all over the network and maximize efficiency, meeting SLAs with minimum resources Provide complete transparency into processes for significant savings and evidence-based and timely decision-making Scalability Effective cash management requires the ability to aggregate and decide upon large volumes of data from different sources such as ATMs, bank branches, or vaults (Figure 3), while organizations need fast computation and flexible access to this data in real-time. Large numbers of cash storage devices, multiplied by provided currencies, decision spaces, and hourly or daily solution demands, create huge computational workloads that can be managed by the parallel processors of modern servers. FOBISS worked closely with engineers from Intel, using the advanced Intel fasterlab environment to undertake a number of benchmarks of the FOBISS CM product to ensure it can scale out to significant volumes and still provide fast and flexible results. The collaboration resulted in improved crucial daily calculation performance of 6,000 cash points (CPs) per hour per standard server. 2 Adding more standard server nodes to the calculation cluster and/or dedicating more hours daily calculations allows FOBISS to meet the exacting demands of scale and timeliness present in today s and tomorrow s banking enterprises. Built on the Microsoft.NET* platform running on Intel Xeon processors, FOBISS CM delivers effective data analysis and cash management with the scalability to manage tens of thousands cash points. IBO in Action FOBISS CM is showing strong results for banks that have tested it. Figure 4 shows a case study where FO- BISS CM was tested at a bank with 6,000 ATMs. The tests resulted in total annual savings of 11.5 million Euros. Figure 5 documents the results of a test at a bank with 185 branches, which was able to decrease its dormant cash level by 41 percent. Figure 6 shows the results of testing at a bank with 1,100 ATMs. Once FOBISS CM was deployed, the bank started planning CIT visits more accurately, reducing both planned and emergency visits by 16 percent and 64 percent, respectively. Recommendations The days of limited, unintegrated solutions with only basic forecasting and optimization are over. Users in today s volatile world expect high performance and total flexibility and situation awareness to deal with day-to-day cash supply chain management. When choosing a cash supply chain management solution, it is important to look for technologies that are highly responsive and able to increase performance efficiency. Such technologies should include demand management tools, optimization engines, complex event processing tools, role-based dashboards, decision management technologies, and performance measurement analytics. Most importantly, they should be based on near- or real-time data. Independent Service Operators Central Bank CIT Companies Commercial Banks Currency Chests Outsourcing Cash Management Companies Figure 3. Effective cash management requires the ability to aggregate large volumes of data from different sources 4
Total Annual Savings: 11.5 Million Euros Figure 4. Testing the platform in a bank with 6,000 ATMs showed total annual savings of 11.5 million Euros. Replenishment Cost (CIT) Cash Custody Cash Processing Cost Cash Interest Rate 724,098 EUR Replenishment Cost (CIT) Cash Custody Cash Processing Cost Cash Interest Rate Dormant Cash Level Down 24 Percent Cash Replenishment Down 15 Percent 5
Figure 5. A bank with 185 branches decreased its dormant cash level by 41 percent. Annual CIT Stops 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 Figure 6. After using IBO techniques, a bank with 1,100 ATMs reducing both planned and emergency visits by 16 percent and 64 percent, respectively. 20,000 10,000 0 Planned Stops Emergency Stops 1 Hype Cycle for Business Process Management,2014, Gartner, July 30, 2014 (https://www.gartner.com/doc/2812117/hype-cycle-business-process-management). 2 One standard cash point (CP) represents an ATM holding five denominations of a single currency. Daily calculations are performed at night and can take multiple hours for large CP counts. The test configuration included a server with two Intel Xeon processors E5-2699 v2 (45M cache, 2.30 GHz), 128GB of DDR3 memory at 1800MHz, and Intel Solid-State Drive Data Center Family P3700. INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH INTEL PRODUCTS. NO LICENSE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL OR OTHERWISE, TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS GRANTED BY THIS DOCUMENT. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN INTEL S TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE FOR SUCH PRODUCTS, INTEL ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER, AND INTEL DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, RELATING TO SALE AND/OR USE OF INTEL PRODUCTS INCLUDING LIABILITY OR WARRANTIES RELATING TO FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT. UNLESS OTHERWISE AGREED IN WRITING BY INTEL, THE INTEL PRODUCTS ARE NOT DESIGNED NOR INTENDED FOR ANY APPLICATION IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE INTEL PRODUCT COULD CREATE A SITUATION WHERE PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH MAY OCCUR. Intel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice. Designers must not rely on the absence or characteristics of any features or instructions marked reserved or undefined. Intel reserves these for future definition and shall have no responsibility whatsoever for conflicts or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them. The information here is subject to change without notice. Do not finalize a design with this information. The products described in this document may contain design defects or errors known as errata which may cause the product to deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request. Contact your local Intel sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications and before placing your product order. Copies of documents which have an order number and are referenced in this document, or other Intel literature, may be obtained by calling 1-800-548-4725, or by visiting Intel s Web site at www.intel.com. Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products. Intel does not control or audit third-party benchmark data or the web sites referenced in this document. You should visit the referenced web site and confirm whether referenced data are accurate. Copyright 2014 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. * Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Printed in USA 1114/SS/JW Please Recycle