When it comes to reducing expenses by improving operational efficiency; one of the lesser talked about areas of opportunity for credit unions lies within their equipment maintenance process.
The Struggles of Equipment Maintenance
When equipment breaks at the branch it creates a chain reaction that sometimes involves everyone from the front-line teller staff to upper management to resolve. Credit unions must also manage many individual annual maintenance contracts with differing expiration dates and cost increases at renewal. This process is both highly time-consuming and costly for credit unions.
Scale, Cost and Efficiency
The economy of scale allows large banks to cost-justify a central management software platform that drives both back office and branch support. These platforms can incorporate any banking equipment (ATMs, drive-ups, servers, copiers, etc.) and automate Service Dispatch, Consumables, Inventory, Accounting, Custom Reporting, and more. The major advantages are that errors are eliminated, communications expanded, and management controls enhanced by leveraging technology to automate tasks.
A Solution for Credit Unions
Traditionally, automating a process that is otherwise done manually can be a considerable investment in terms of adding hard costs in the short term, in exchange for eventual soft-cost savings. However, CU Insurance Solutions has a solution through our vendor partners at Equips to bring the same functionality and efficiency to credit unions of all sizes with no out-of-pocket implementation costs. In addition, the program has also helped Maine credit unions to save considerably. In fact, credit unions have typically seen a reduction in their equipment maintenance “hard costs” by 14%. And a 19-branch client recently reported a 79% reduction in staff “soft costs” as well.
Network Platform
Our vendor partners at Equips have created a network of credit union clients in 34 states (including Maine), the Equips team supports thousands of branches through a platform named E-LINK. The E-LINK hub receives and distributes raw data among various departments; also performing complex analytics to produce customized management reports. Tasks previously routed through HQ can now confidently be delegated to the branch level, with automated notifications throughout your Operations staff. You outline your vendor specifics, and E-LINK automates the rest.
Peer Analysis
If you are interested to learn more, CU Insurance Solutions would be happy to arrange an online demo or facilitate a Peer Analysis (contrasting what you are paying for your equipment maintenance with what your peers are paying for that same equipment mix) that also documents your Equips savings opportunity.
For more information, contact CU Insurance Solutions Executive Vice President Tim Dalton, at tdalton@insurancetrust.us or complete the contact form below.