CASE STUDY:
SPARK ATM SYSTEMS
Spark ATM is an independent ATM provider servicing over 2500 merchants in
South Africa. They administer a complete end-to-end ATM service for their clients,
including ATM installation (with signage and merchant training), monitoring, and
network management.
The Challenge
Spark ATM Systems installs and manages
merchant-loaded ATMs in convenience
locations across South Africa. Spark
ATMs provide a number of benefits to a
merchant, namely reduced banking and
cash handling costs, the opportunity to
earn revenue through transaction rebates
and increased foot traffic in their store.
Spark ATM aims to provide the best possible
service to their customers. For this reason,
they have employed 20 field technicians
across South Africa to ensure that all 2500
ATMs can receive a complete end-to-end
service, at any time of the day. Managing
this workforce, however, came with some
challenges. Firstly, field event details were
Ryan Tzamtzis
Operations Executive
“
else was thin in
“ Everything
comparison to Journey.
not effectively communicated with field
technicians, and it proved cumbersome
and expensive to communicate with
technicians via telephone throughout the
day to relay project details. As a result,
schedules were not fully optimized, and
critical resources were being wasted
through dispatching inefficiencies and
burdensome manual processes to manage
field logistics.
The second challenge was to improve
bootstock control and ensure that Spark
technicians could complete the technical
resolution on the first service callout to
the customer. In order to achieve this,
Spark was required to accurately track
the faulty components removed from the
ATM and the working components which
were installed. Spark technicians work
on numerous ATMs each week, and it
became increasingly difficult to track the
movement and locations of faulty and
working components across South Africa.
This issue impacted on ATM availability,
service levels and logistical costs.
Key Results Achieved
Efficiency
The Journey solution enables Spark
ATM to make the best use of their
technical resources in the most costefficient manner.
Customer Service
Spark ATM can now improve on an
already high level of customer service
by being more prepared and preemptive in performing ATM services
and upgrades.
To solve the problem Spark ATM required
real-time reporting and visibility into field
activity and ATM component levels across
the country. They wanted a way to ensure
that the various service callouts were
being actioned promptly and to the correct
quality standards.
Spark ATM Systems had a unique
requirement to integrate its custom-
Case Study: Spark ATM Systems
built in-house software (SparkManage
and SparkWeb), which serves to gather
information and manage the status of each
ATM, with an automated solution to replace
the manual and time-consuming paperbased system used by field technicians.
The Solution
According to Operations Executive Ryan
Tzamtzis, “every other solution was thin
in comparison to the Journey solution.”
Journey’s unique mobile app is designed
to track events, resources and the
performance of Spark ATM’s technicians
on the road. The app sends job events to
the technicians throughout the day, who
action and update these events to provide
feedback to Spark HQ.
A call is raised and the technician can
immediately open the specifications of the
job on the Journey app before accepting
the job on his iPad Mini and entering his
starting odometer reading to commence
with the callout. All instructions pertaining
to the job appears on the app, which the
technician will follow to complete the call.
The technician fills out his digital technical
report, takes pictures and scans parts while
the customer completes a service rating
before the job is updated on the Spark
system. This is dynamically reported to the
Spark ATM Systems offices and reviewed
centrally by the Field Services Support
Team. Each call-out has unique fields to be
completed, ensuring the correct processes
are followed and activities performed on
each job.
best
“ The
advantage to
Ryan Tzamtzis
Operations Executive
“
competitive
have is great
customer service. Journey has
assisted us to establish that.
the machine are logged and reported to
Spark ATM’s Stock Control function. This
enables the Spark Team to track, manage
and report on stock levels more accurately.
The solution is fully integrated with
SparkManage and SparkWeb, which
means that manual processing is
eliminated when information entered into
SparkManage is automatically synced with
the Journey app, and vice versa. SparkWeb
provides an operational dashboard which
displays information populated through the
Journey app, such as field service event
activity, customer feedback and ratings,
parts used, as well as pictures of the work
carried out. Journey can now capture all of
this information on-site, and populate the
Spark back-end automatically, in real-time.
The Results
QUALITY CONTROL
With the Journey solution, Spark ATM
can ensure that the high level of quality
they stand for is maintained. Images and
service details captured via the Journey
Solution are reviewed in real-time, enabling
the Spark Team to closely monitor the state
of ATM sites and pro-actively assist with
installations, service callouts and upgrades.
saving costs on communication with field
technicians; Journey’s GPS capabilities
also ensure that technicians follow the
most efficient travelling route to optimize
their time every day.
FASTER TURN-AROUND TIME
Spark ATM can now ensure that ATM
downtime is promptly addressed, by
ensuring that the technician is wellprepared with the correct information
and equipment to complete the callout,
minimizing inconvenience to customers.
BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE
“The best competitive advantage to have is
great customer service,” comments Ryan.
“Journey assisted us to establish that.”
Ultimately, Spark ATM wants to provide the
best possible service to their customers.
With Journey, Spark ATM can be proactive, responsive and effective.
Future Outlook
As far as the Journey solution goes, Ryan
contends that Spark ATM will definitely
expand. “The Journey framework is
fantastic - we’d like to add more features
and be even smarter with it.”
STOCK VISIBILITY
The capability of the Journey app to
capture pictures of the ATM and signage
installations enables Spark ATM Systems
to review and manage the quality of the
work performed at each site.
The integrated Spark ATM/Journey solution
keeps track of all inventory used during
call-outs. Parts going in or coming out of
Journey helps Spark to keep track of all ATM
components, signage and consumables
used by technicians, enabling the Spark
Technical Team to accurately assess stock
levels and replenish bootstock as required.
OPTIMIZED RESOURCES
Technicians can now better apply their time
and skills, all at a significantly lower cost
to the company. Spark ATM Systems are
Contact Grove Group
Tel: +27 (0)21 466 9400
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.groveis.com
Learn more about Journey
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://journeyapps.com