Advia Credit Union
Case Study
Who: Based in Oshtemo, Michigan, Advia Credit Union has $2.9 billion dollars in assets and is one of the largest credit unions in Michigan.
Joann Nupnau, Operations Support Specialist at Advia Credit Union.
What: Customer since 2015, Advia has 29 locations on C3 Financial.
Advia Credit Union’s currency management process was previously complicated and manual, involving various steps from ordering to management oversight. The order and deposit process relied heavily on employee background knowledge and dedicated observation of cash trends and limits. Cash level volatility needs also required continued repetitive management practices which pulled the team away from other responsibilities. Additionally, the process involved manual 10-key typing of cash orders to Alloya, leading to potential errors and inefficiencies. Unnecessary emergency orders and managing restrictive cut-off times also contributed to elevated operational expense. Moreover, management recognized strategic challenges in assessing annual cash limit decisions.
Advia streamlines its cash forecasting process by automatically receiving daily files from Symitar through logicpath. These files populate the necessary data for C3 Financial to forecast across Advia's 29 locations, covering various cashpoints such as teller drawers, cash recyclers, branch vaults, and ATMs. Subsequently, logicpath transmits the order data to Alloya Corporate Federal Credit Union on behalf of Advia, ensuring a synchronized process with confirmation received by all three parties.
On reviewing the Guidance vs. Actual Residual Reports, C3 Financial revealed that, on average, Advia maintained an excess currency of 26.5% across their cash network. However, it's noteworthy that not every location exhibited surplus cash; the variance ranged from 2 locations needing to carry more cash by 9.5%-16.5%, to others requiring a reduction in cash by 1.9%-74.8%.
In their approach, Advia selected an average confidence level per denomination at 89.84%, while C3 Financial's forecasting outputs surpassed this confidence level, reaching an impressive 91.91%.
Joann Nupnau, Operations Support Specialist at Advia Credit Union, shared insights during an interview conducted by logicpath. Here's what she had to say.
How has logicpath improved your financial institution's operations and efficiency?
“Logicpath has saved us exponentially in terms of operations and efficiency. Since the latest upgrade especially and the integration with Alloya, we no longer have to manually place cash orders for each branch, saving us on the Operations side alone an average of one hour per day. With the auto approve/fulfill feature, branches don’t have to wait for us, or remember themselves, to take care of requisitions to start the next. Planning for yearly cash limit changes has been so much easier having all the data in one report readily available for our managers and operations team to review. Branches are more aware of their limits because of getting daily alerts when they are over, and we’ve never had anything like that before. Fewer emergency orders are being placed because of the cut-off time alerts as well that have been customized to go out to all the tellers at each location responsible for ordering cash.”
Can you share any specific challenges you were facing before using C3 Financial and how C3 Financial addressed those challenges?
“Before using C3 Financial, we were guessing and going by past knowledge of employees and cash trends, especially around major holidays, for orders and cash limits. This often led to not enough or too much cash on hand. C3 has taken the guesswork out of all that and uncomplicated the process. Housing trends from the past year, forecasting future use, and accounting for what is on hand, branches are now aligning better to the needs of our members. With all the information in one place and readily available, it is easier for management to see the reasoning behind changing limits. Last year having this at our fingertips it cut the month(s)-long process down to 2 weeks.”
What benefits have you experienced from partnering with logicpath?
“One of the best outcomes from partnering with logicpath has been all the time savings we’ve gained. Not only is the process time for placing orders reduced by having the file go directly to Alloya but we’ve been able to reduce our lead time by a day! The way we were ordering cash before, we needed to have branches submit their order to our Operations team two full days before delivery. With all the integrations, they just need to have them in and approved by the morning cut-off time the day before. This has been a game changer for us! It allows for better planning; especially for locations that get two deliveries a week.”
Please describe your experience with logicpath’s client services teams.
“I can’t say enough about client services; they have all been great to work with. They are quick to respond and are eager to help resolve any issues that arise. From helping to make sure all our cash points were set up correctly to just checking in and seeing how things are going, the service team is amazing.”
What do you MOST appreciate about the partnership with logicpath? How are they different than your other partners?
“What I appreciate most and what sets logicpath apart from other partners is their connection with us and willingness to help. The open communication and transparency through processes have aided our partnership as well. Logicpath has been patient in our learning all the ins-and-outs of everything they offer, and they have helped us every step of the way. From emailing the support team to demo webinars and 1:1 calls with our account manager; the resources are unmatched. They hear our suggestions and often take them back to the team to see if it is something that can be worked into a future version.”
Any other positive feedback you can share with logicpath?
“The product speaks for itself, and the staff adds to the fantastic experience we’ve had with C3! I love how customizable the product can be for the needs of each location. It is easily laid out to see and explain what the data represents to the branch staff or regional management. Paula, Heather, and David are amazing to work with. I always look forward to our interactions and to see what new enhancements they bring.”
Advia Credit Union, serving members for nearly 90 years, has grown substantially over the years through both organic methods and mergers and acquisitions. Headquartered in Oshtemo, Michigan, its full-service branch locations, digital delivery, and no-fee Alliance One and Co-Op Network ATMs continue to grow. Advia’s mission is to provide financial advantages for its members and communities served and focuses heavily on proactively seeking reliable and easy access to financial solutions for its nearly 200,000 members throughout Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
As a credit union for credit unions serving 1,400 members across the U.S., Alloya delivers unique solutions that give credit unions a competitive edge in the marketplace. Together, the member-owners of Alloya wield aggregated power to gain access to affordable, comprehensive products and services – including payments, liquidity, investments and member solutions. The team of 200 professionals at Alloya view themselves as an extension of the credit unions they serve, ensuring that each credit union’s best interest is always at heart.
Georgia-based logicpath provides software solutions and analytics to financial institutions and retail organizations. Logicpath has proudly served the needs of more than 2,300 clients in 50 states and Canada by providing “Smart Solutions that Make Dollars and Sense.” The foundation for logicpath originated in 2008 when the company emerged out of its sister company, Ceto and Associates, as a software solutions company. In 2020, logicpath was purchased by Loomis Armored, US and remains its own company.