SouthTrust Bank Realizes Significant Cost Savings And Increased Operating Efficiencies
"TPG and Benchmark were diligent, helpful, flexible and dedicated. It spoke favorably on how they treat their customers." - Michael Lowe, G.V.P. of Retail Technology, SouthTrust Bank
Background
SouthTrust Bank, based in Birmingham, Alabama was established in 1887 and operates over 700 bank branches with over $53 billion in assets. They are utilizing ARGO Data Teller Systems (Windows 2000 OS) with inkjet teller validators. Branches have an average of 4-5 teller stations per branch.
Established in 1984, Benchmark Technology Group is a leading provider of branch technology solutions. From their innovative Branch Automation software through their deployment and asset management programs, their offerings present comprehensive solutions to banking and technology management objectives.
Problem
After several years of operation, SouthTrust Bank noticed that their inkjet teller printers were starting to have failure rates that were higher than normal and beyond the tolerance limit. At the peak of the problem, SouthTrust was not only paying to fix the failures, but also had four full time employees servicing the printers and managing the teller printer helpdesk. Aside from numerous printer failures, they were also experiencing day-to-day difficulties with printer operation. "Bank personnel were complaining about replacing messy inkjet cartridges", recalls Michael Lowe, Group VP of Retail Technology, SouthTrust Bank. With printers in seven hundred branches, averaging 4 to 5 tellers' stations per branch, the mounting problems became a catalyst for action.
Mr. Lowe approached Benchmark Data Corporation, a leading provider of bank branch technology solutions, in an effort to determine whether they should continue to service their current printers or replace them with new product. After some analysis, Benchmark and SouthTrust concluded that printer replacement was the best option.
TPG and Benchmark Solution
Understanding SouthTrust's needs, Benchmark presented several printer models available from different manufacturers that they felt were suitable. Following some review and testing, TPG's A721 impact printer was selected due to its ease of use, paper loading and cost of features.
Like other banks, SouthTrust images their checks for either archiving or ACH clearing purposes. Therefore, before replacing their inkjet printers with the new A721 impact technology, Benchmark and SouthTrust had to make sure that the new printers worked not only with their imaging equipment, but also with their current ARGO platform. In testing, an issue arose with SouthTrust's imaging software inability to read the impact font of the A721. The problem was that the imaging software was configured to read inkjet fonts only and not the fonts created by an impact head. The easiest solution was to update the software to read new font types, however it was the most costly. Instead, Benchmark and TPG worked diligently to re-engineer all of the A721 fonts stored in the firmware to mimic those created by an inkjet printer. In the end, the efforts of TPG saved SouthTrust Bank from the costly expense of upgrading their imaging software.
Significant cost savings and increased operating efficiencies
After the rollout was completed, SouthTrust Bank noted areas where they were realizing cost savings and other benefits tied directly to the A721. First and foremost, printer failures and the associated repair costs were drastically reduced. Prior to the replacement of the printers, SouthTrust had 4 dedicated people repairing printers and tending the bank teller printer helpdesk. The lack of problems with the A721 permitted SouthTrust to reallocate these 4 individuals to other areas that needed addressing.
They also were noticing that their imaging read rates actually increased from 70% to 90%, drastically reducing the costs of manually inputting the data, should there be an error. Supply costs were also reduced, as they no longer had to purchase costly inkjet cartridges.
With the installation complete and benefits quantified, SouthTrust Bank was happy they chose TPG's A721 and Benchmark Data. The solution significantly reduced printer operating/maintenance costs, streamlined operations, freed up human resources and didn't require them to upgrade software. "TPG and Benchmark were diligent, helpful, flexible and dedicated. It spoke favorably on how they treat their customers", said Lowe.