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Paper Trail
Case study: FUNWORLD examines Cincinnati Zoo’s success with cash automation
by Jennifer J. Salopek
Consumers’ increasing use of credit cards, prepaid debit cards, gas-pump keytags, and other electronic forms of payment would seem to indicate we are truly moving toward a cashless society. Indeed, no less authoritative a source than the CEO of Visa Europe, Peter Ayliffe, predicted in 2007 that “paying for goods with notes and coins could be consigned to history within five years” (The Independent, March 11, 2007).
Yet, according to Visualeconomics.com, there was $853.2 billion in currency in circulation in the United States as of Dec. 31, 2008, plus an additional $2.56 trillion in coins! Via cart vendors, caricature artists, face painters, hair braiders, and many other sources, much of that currency makes its way into amusement parks and attractions every day. These impulse buys at nonfixed locations throughout the park are particularly suited to consumers’ use of cash.
If yours is like most attractions, currency is transported at the end of the day to a central location, where it is counted and recounted. The notes are then redistributed into cash drawers for the next day’s transactions, and the remainder deposited at the bank. Many people touch the currency during these steps, multiplying the opportunities for error, loss, or theft. Cash automation can greatly reduce these opportunities, while also reducing the labor time necessary for cash processing, as the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has recently discovered.
The ‘Supply Chain of Cash’
Last spring, the zoo was creating a new ticketing and admission area as it reopened its old, historic entrance; this required moving the main vault. The zoo had previously used vacuum tubes to transport cash to a central counting area, where it was counted and balanced four times.
“We had looked at cash recyclers a few years ago, but found them too large and too expensive,” says Raymond Ulrich, director of purchasing at the zoo. “We reopened our search in fall 2008 because we really wanted fewer people handling the money.”
In the old system, zoo cashiers would turn their drawers in to their supervisors, who counted them out. “There were multiple people and too much paperwork involved,” says Ulrich. “We also had some shortages, but it was hard to hold people accountable because there were so many involved.”
Ulrich looked at a couple of cash automation vendors, ultimately settling on ArcaTech Systems, based in Mebane, North Carolina. Jim Halpin, ArcaTech’s director of retail solutions, worked with Ulrich to select the right technology for the zoo.
“The cash-handling industry grew out of the banking community with the invention of counting machines,” explains Halpin, who has been working in the industry for more than 20 years. “They were designed as an efficiency measure. We have progressed from simple desktop models to automated counting and dispensing systems that enable balancing and cash logistics management.”
This entire process is known as the “supply chain of cash.”
Halpin helped design and implement an automated cash system tailored to the zoo’s needs. ArcaTech conducts a survey of site cash-flow operations and custom configures each system. No changes to the point-of-sale system are required. “The previous cash-handling system required substantial labor,” Halpin says. “The zoo wanted better control, fewer shortages, increased efficiency, reduced cash on hand, and lower transportation costs.”
How the System Works
ArcaTech’s cash automation solution includes a cash recycler— a piece of equipment that accepts, verifies, and counts cash deposits, then retains that cash to dispense as needed— as well as a secure side vault and ArcaTech’s cash management software. The software also processes coin deposits, checks, and Zoo Bucks, the zoo’s gift certificates. The machine itself weighs 1,200 pounds, due to the inclusion of safes and steel, and takes up about as much space as a sophisticated office copier.
At the start of a shift, zoo associates log in to the recycler, which automatically creates tills. Thanks to automation, there’s no need for supervisors and cashiers to double-count the tills. Midday exchanges are performed the same way. During every cash exchange or deposit, valuable data is collected. That can be used to balance registers, track cash shortages, and ensure the zoo always has enough cash on hand to operate efficiently.
When it’s time to cash out, associates simply deposit their tills into the system, eliminating the need to manually check and recheck deposits. Coins are dumped into a separate locked, high-speed sorter that provides a receipt. Ulrich reports that, since the solution was installed in May, the zoo can balance its cash in a fraction of the time previously required—and can balance it to the penny, something it hadn’t been able to do in four years with manual counting. Further, the number of people who handle each till has been reduced from four to one, which reduces loss, theft, and labor costs.
The machine is known as the 8000D Cash Recycler. It incorporates some nifty technology to make all of this automation possible:
- The machine’s interface and controls are simple and intuitive. Training of all cash-handling associates at the zoo took less than two weeks, Ulrich says.
- When they log in to the recycler, zoo associates key in their ID numbers, then place their palms on a sensor. This biometric reader checks their blood plasma to ensure their identity.
- The machine incorporates multiple sensors that identify each banknote via ultraviolet, optical, and magnetic imaging to flag any possible counterfeit notes.
- Once a banknote is verified, it passes into a track where four additional sensors guide it on its path through the machine and into the proper cassette by denomination.
Is Cash Automation Right for You?
How can you decide whether your attraction could benefit from the implementation of cash automation? “Even a small park probably handles more cash daily than a bank branch,” says Halpin, who observes that park guests also use more small bills, resulting in a greater quantity of banknotes to count and process. There are three main considerations:
1. How many cash intake points do you have? If you have at least five, you would likely benefit from cash automation.
2. How many people are required to reconcile, count, and manage your currency deposits each day? If it’s more than two, you would likely benefit from cash automation.
3. Are you experiencing significant and frequent shortages? If yes, you would likely benefit from cash automation.
The zoo has reduced the number of full-time-equivalent staff who handle cash by 40 percent, and its deposit processing time by 75 percent.
“Our cashier closeout time has been reduced from 20 minutes to about three,” says Ulrich, who estimates the zoo will see 100 percent return on its investment within one year. “Everything balances, and we can post the cash immediately.”
Jennifer J. Salopek is a freelance writer based in McLean, Virginia; jjsalopek@cox.net.
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