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About our sponsor: Loomis, Fargo & Co.

Loomis, Fargo & Co., a third-party provider of ATM services, makes sure cash is available to bank customers 24 hous a day.

February 12, 2002 by

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What's more important to Houston-based Loomis, Fargo & Co., people or money?

The company answered that question long ago. It considers customers and employees its most important asset. The company provides a vital service distributing currency and coin.

Bill Fletcher, vice president of ATM Services, said the company places great importance on the satisfaction of its customers and employees, and said the top priority is making sure "our teammates go home every night."

This kind of concern for personal safety permeates the company's philosophy. It includes working with and actively listening to clients, designing solutions to meet their needs, and handling cash and other kinds of valuables. Loomis, Fargo & Co. prides itself on performing its duties while enjoying the backing of the most comprehensive cargo insurance coverage in the industry.

Loomis, Fargo & Co.'s services

The company's three core areas of service are:

1. Armored Car Services.

The company transports currency and other valuables worth trillions of dollars in specially designed armored cars.

The amount of cash the industry moves every year is astronomical, Fletcher said. "With approximately 283,000 ATMs in the industry, on average they load $50,000 apiece every two weeks. That's in excess of $600 million daily being moved into ATMs."

2. ATM Services.

Loomis, Fargo & Co. is the leading third-party provider of ATM services in the nation.

In addition to moving cash to and from ATM sites, the company provides First-line Maintenance (FLM) of ATMs. Company technicians, specifically trained on every make and model of ATM, are on call 24 hours a day to keep machines operating smoothly.

Loomis, Fargo & Co. also stocks and replenishes alternative media for ATMs, including stamps, coupons and promotional items.

3. Cash Management and Storage Services.

The verification, reconciliation and delivery of funds promptly at the appropriate time are the requirements of this service. The company sorts, wraps and stores coins, precious metals, computer disks, tapes and other valuables that require secure and dependable handling.

"Part of Cash Management is forecasting how much cash an ATM will dispense and then managing that amount for the bank," said Fletcher.

Rick Miller, vice president, ATM and Armored Operations, said this service includes back room processing.

Breakthrough Service

Loomis, Fargo & Co. places a high level of importance on training and developing its employees. The goal is to minimize the risk of potential injury or loss of life, and to protect assets, lower worker's compensation costs and third-party litigation.

Guards and custodians are carefully screened, going through detailed background checks before they're hired. Each completes the company's certification process, which entails extensive training and regular refresher courses. Training includes courses in weapons (states also have weapons certification rules), customer relations and driving.

Employees are trained for specific duties, whether it's as a messenger (one who handles the cash), a guard or a driver. Good training encourages employees to stay with the company.

"The more training you give, the better it helps with employee retention," Miller said.

"It gets back to treating our people right - things as simple as, when they come into the branch, finding it painted and clean," Fletcher said. "It makes you feel good about coming to work in the morning."

Employees on all levels work together as a team. A program called Breakthrough Service encourages staff members to make day-to-day business decisions.

"We have a number of branches involved in our Breakthrough Service quality program," said Miller, a 20-year employee whose family has been involved in the armored transportation industry for 80 years. "It's geared around treating your employees well, so they will then treat your customers well."

He said employee committees are formed at the branch level, focused on employee and customer satisfaction.

"The numbers have proven that the process definitely does work," said Miller, crediting Loomis president and CEO Jim Mattly with spearheading the concept.

"The primary objective of Breakthrough Service is to demonstrate leadership in implementing the Loomis, Fargo & Co. operating philosophy by making good branches better. This in turn leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty," Mattly said.

During the holidays, a time when there is an increased threat of violence, the company created a special program to alert branch employees and customers to take increased safety precautions.

Y2K teamwork

A good illustration of the company's teamwork philosophy occurred during the 1999 preparations for Y2K, which coincided with the busy Christmas season.

"We actually started our planning for that as early as June and had everything in place by November. Although we were moving a whole lot of money at that time, we didn't have any glitches at all. And, we received quite a few compliments from our customers," Fletcher said.

The January 3, 2000, edition of ZDNet Technology News recognized the organization of the Loomis, Fargo & Co. war room in Houston. There the company followed Y2K progress across seven time zones from San Juan to Hawaii, checking phone systems, network connectivity, remote file servers and security surveillance.

"We did not run into one single problem," said David Young, vice president of Information Services.

Fletcher and Miller attribute that success to teamwork, involving all aspects of the firm, from operations, sales, risk management, accounting and fleet - right down to the number of trucks the company needed.

Loomis, Fargo & Co. is a domestic carrier, covering the United States, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska. It has about 160 facilities and is active in about 230 marketplaces.

Five Fundaments of Doing Business

The company has identified five fundamentals to its business.

1. Loomis, Fargo & Co. is a risk manager. The company takes on the risk of moving valuables from one place to the other, whether it is risk from loss of cargo, risk of theft or the risk of not getting the money to its destination on time.

2. The company believes in doing business right. "We don't want to say we can do everything for everybody, we just want to say we do our own services well - Armored Car Services, ATM services and Cash Management Services," Fletcher said.

3. Loomis, Fargo & Co. treats its people right by making sure they have the right equipment and training, are paid a decent wage and that they have the proper benefits. One of the key components of this is a training module called "Going Home," making sure the employees go home every night.

4. The company brings solutions to its customers. "Being the largest privately owned cash-in-transit (CIT) company in the world means we can bring solutions to customers and share ideas from one coast to the other," Fletcher said. "We interact with banks' strategic planning and budgeting, and we develop processes and procedures to improve efficiencies. And, that's something we're really into now - researching new technologies to improve efficiencies," he said.

5. Loomis, Fargo & Co. believes in being the best Armored CIT Carrier. "We are constantly reviewing customer satisfaction and striving to improve it," Fletcher said. "And, we are working toward becoming a world class organization in every aspect."

Loomis, Fargo & Co. places its people as its top priority. It believes that when people are happy, a successful business naturally follows.