Lake Trust Credit Union
Case Study
Who: Lansing, Mich.-based Lake Trust Credit Union, a $1.6 billion dollar-asset credit union serving more than 164,000 members in more than 20 communities.
Yvonne DeGasperis, Coordinator of Member Service Support for Lake Trust Credit Union.
What: A recent merger led the newly formed Lake Trust Credit Union to implement logicpath’s C3 Financial across all 21 branches, after having previously used Version 1 at some of the branches. Lake Trust Credit Union sought to centralize cash management operations and standardize the ordering process across its brand new branch network. C3 Financial has provided Lake Trust Credit Union employees with one reliable and centralized place to understand and examine member demand, receive orders, deposit recommendations and cash inventory.
Lake Trust Credit Union required full centralization and standardization of cash management processes, leveraging software to increase efficiencies and ease of use and adoption for branch employees. Previously, Lake Trust submitted cash orders to the Federal Reserve Bank by each individual branch, intensifying the difficulty to effectively manage the cash ordering and receiving process without constant branch manager monitoring.
“Lake Trust Credit Union needed a streamlined and centralized cash ordering process for its branch employees,” said Yvonne DeGasperis, Coordinator of Member Service Support for Lake Trust Credit Union. “We sought a software solution that enabled one group to manage the branch cash ordering, not each individual branch.”
Some of Lake Trust’s branch staff were already familiar with Atlanta-based logicpath’s C3 Financial, a web-based branch, ATM and vault cash management software solution – having utilized the software prior to the formation of Lake Trust Credit Union. According to Degasperis, the learning curve was a rapid one when rolled out to additional branch teams.
“C3 Financial was another change for employees to adapt to when Lake Trust Credit Union was formed, however they quickly overcame the learning curve and were ecstatic to utilize an accessible software that eliminated the need to manually enter cash balances,” said DeGasperis. “Now all branch employees, no matter which branch location, are aligned and operating the same way from the same centralized system.”
The clarity of C3 Financial’s graphical representation of cash management data also proved beneficial in accelerating the system’s adoption and effective use by Lake Trust Credit Union employees. While the process is centralized for efficiency, the data is still available to individual branches to help understand usage patterns.
“The charts and graphs within C3 Financial enable our branch managers to easily identify peaks and valleys in the day-to-day branch ordering process because of the data downloaded directly to the softw³are from our core processor,” said DeGasperis. “Human error is mitigated and the quality of data is better, enabling us to see where our ordering could be improved, where dollar amounts are excessive and which branches are doing well with recommendations.”
According to DeGasperis, the reliability of having a central place for the credit union’s cash management operations has increased each branch’s efficiency, day-to-day cash ordering and deposits.
“Our branches are able to track their funds directly through C³ Financial and our managers are given recommendations to guide them to optimal cash levels, enabling them to edit and review orders and deposits from the same place,” said DeGasperis. “Our centralized cash ordering process has reduced branch labor efforts associated with cash ordering due to C³ Financial.”
Twelve Lake Trust branches utilizing C3 Financial experienced a 22 percent cash inventory reduction. With the addition of eight branch locations, Lake Trust experienced an overall additional 8 percent reduction in institution-wide cash levels.
Lake Trust Credit Union moved from a decentralized to a centralized cash ordering process with C3 Financial’s assistance. logicpath estimates Lake Trust Credit Union employees reduced time dedicated to cash management from 60 minutes per week to one individual spending an average of 21 minutes per week. logicpath also approximates Lake Trust Credit Union has experienced more than $8,800 per year in cost savings from this time reduction. In addition to cost savings, the reduction in time spent on cash management activities has enabled branch staff and managers to dedicate more time ensuring a positive branch experience for members.
C3 Financial’s added training also provided Lake Trust Credit Union with the educational and technical support for a smooth software transition and quick resolution of any issues.
“Not many places have a good reputation for training, but logicpath is the exception as its technical support team was not only accessible, but any questions or concerns our staff had were quickly answered and steps were taken to prevent them from happening again,” finished DeGasperis. “If you can’t reach out and get assistance when you need it most, the product’s value is diminished, but that’s not a struggle with logicpath.”
Lake Trust Credit Union is a forward-thinking and growing credit union built upon more than 65 years of commitment to members, community and service. A $1.6 billion financial institution servicing over 164,000 members, Lake Trust stretches from Lake Michigan to Lake Erie and Lake Huron with branches in more than 20 communities throughout the state. As a community-based credit union, the strength of our organization is enhanced by the strength of our community, so the credit union strongly believes in supporting organizations and activities devoted to improving our members’ communities and their quality of life.
Atlanta, Ga.-based logicpath provides software solutions and analytics to financial institutions and retail organizations. logicpath proudly services the needs of more than 1,500 clients in 50 states and Canada by providing “Smart Solutions that Make Dollars and Sense.” logicpath is the designer of C3 Financial, a web-based cash forecasting and management software. logicpath also pioneered Deposit Reclassification, a retail sweep program designed to eliminate reserve balances. logicpath’s pALMs is a web-based asset/liability management simulation software that provides accurate and detailed analysis asset-by-asset and liability-by-liability. These solutions improve earnings, efficiencies, risk management and operations.