Implementing a Management Operating System at Travelex

Understanding the big picture;
Managing the detail
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Synoptic Consulting
creates value
through implementing
practical and
sustainable solutions.
Synoptic Consulting

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Implementing a Management Operating System
Background
Our Approach
Travelex is a retail and wholesale foreign exchange provider operating over
After analysing the existing workflow we found that there was little wrong
100 retail branches nationwide and transacting with numerous wholesale clients.
with the process of moving cash to and from branches itself. However, the
The company trades in more than 40 foreign currencies with each having
management of the process was weak.
multiple denominations. The currency stocked in any one branch wil vary
A new CIMS was designed as shown in the Schematic .
depending on the location of the branch and its local market demographics.
The various elements of the new CIMS system were designed and de-
Prior Approach to Managing Inventory, and Issues Arising
veloped in MS-Access and MS-Excel applications for speed and simplicity.
Prior to the Synoptic project there was an inconsistent, and often inaccurate
Sales and purchases data was taken straight out of the existing Point of Sale
approach to managing cash stock. Approaches ranged from using Sales ratios
(POS) system.
and factors, through ‘gut feel’ to complete guesswork. Branch tel ers simply did
A phased development approach of designing, building, testing, training
what they thought was best. This meant that stock holdings were often too high
and implementation was fol owed. Extensive user training was accomplished
causing unnecessary expense and reducing working capital or in specific cases
by means of trained trainers and on-the-job fol ow-up.
stocks were insufficient resulting in costly lost sales.
The standard Synoptic Consulting change structure was adopted for managing
Requirements
the change process.
Travelex required a more systematic, formalised system to manage their
New Role of Demand Planner Created
retail stock flow. Importantly, they did not want to purchase an expensive
A new role reporting into the CFO was created for the management of the
‘shrink-wrapped’ system that claimed to manage cash stock without first having
CIMS system from head office. Highlights from the role included;
developed a ‘learning prototype’ that let them understand their true information
• Production and distribution of regular operational information with which
and procedural needs. Migration to something more robust could then take
operating units can make appropriate ordering and remittance decisions.
place at a suitable future date.
• Evaluation of operational accuracy of the system and make adjustments
System Objectives
as necessary.
The new Cash Inventory Management System (CIMS) had three key objectives:
• Ensuring that operating staff receive appropriate training on inventory
• Decreased stock holdings overal .
management procedures.
• Decreased purchasing penalties (maximised recycling of cash).
• Working with management in co-coordinating proposed inventory manage-
• Improved service levels through better balancing of demand and stocks.
ment initiatives and procedural changes.

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Implementing a Management Operating System
Business Benefits Achieved
The major project benefits were a substantial reduction in inventory holdings and stock outs,
and an increase in customer service.
In addition the project also delivered:
• An effective process for dealing with reverse logistics.
• The majority of branches using the system recommended stock levels.
• A much higher operating discipline and procedural consistency.
• A mechanism by which the Inventory Manager is regularly updated by the branches and these
changes are reflected these in the weekly forecasts.
• Aggregate demand for cash, and therefore aggregate sales and purchases requirements,
is predicted for any of the 52 weeks of the financial year.
• Al operations staf now find the weekly task of ordering significantly less stressful, particularly
those with less experience.
Overal Travelex is confident of maintaining their competitive position due to the reduced operating costs being achieved.
Measuring
Forecasting
Planning
Scheduling
Reporting
and Control ing
Currency
Cash Count
POS Extract
POS Data
Pareto
Sheet
LegeND
Branch
Weekly Master
Weekly
Branch Weekly
Weekly
Weekly Sales and
Completes
Order Plan
Order / Remit
Stock Report
Marketing
Purchase F/C
(MOP)
Form
(WSR)
Report
Inventory
Manager
Vault Weekly
Vault MOP
Completes
Stock Report
“You have given us a sustainable business
model that has simultaneously
reduced our stock holdings whilst
improving our customer service.”

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Synoptic Consulting Pty Ltd
3 Spring Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: 02 8249 4484
Fax: 02 8569 1073
synoptic@synoptic.com.au
www.synoptic.com.au

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