Retail department store Citadium wanted to automate back office cash operations when they opened their new three floor clothing store in Paris. The goal was to simplify processes to help accommodate the large and varying number of cashiers that would be working there. And they needed high-performance technology they could depend on to withstand the heavy use and high volume of cash they expected while fitting into their limited back office space. Arca provided a solution that:

  • Significantly reduced till management time at the start and end of day
  • Allowed cashiers to securely manage their own cash without supervision
  • Enabled managers and staff to focus more on their customers
  • Delivered 99.6% operational up time
  • Adapted to their back office space constraints

Citadium chose to open their fourth department megastore on the famous Champs-Elysées, la plus belle avenue du monde, the most beautiful avenue in the world. Each year Parisians and tourists flock to this 1.9 km (1.2 miles) of luxury stores, cafes, and cabarets. With a 1700 square meter (18,000 sq. ft.) space, Citadium was anticipating a tremendous number of visitors each year.

The Challenge:

How to manage tills quickly and securely to allow more time for excellent customer service.

When Citadium opened the new store in July 2017, they had to decide how to organize such a large space and implement a cash management strategy that would be fast, efficient and secure. The department store positioned themselves to serve the 15 to 25 year old population, offering more than 250 brands of trendy, casual streetwear.

Registers are distributed throughout the store, but that number fluctuates depending on seasonal traffic, the collections, and special sales. For any cash automation system to be successful in this rigorous and ever-changing environment, it needs to be accessible and simple to use.

It was important to create a back office solution that could adapt to the flexible number of tills and simplify the manual operations involved with starting and closing tills each day while accommodating their limited back office space. Simplicity, reliability and flexibility have been key to the success of the solution.

The Solution:

CM18b Cash Recycler + CC3R Coin Recycler + Arca Quireo Software.

Citadium Network Operations Manager, Michael Royer already knew Arca products were reliable and could hold up to the high-volume use they would be exposed to. Citadium is owned by the department store brand, Printemps who was already using Arca cash automation in some locations.

Royer selected an Arca Retail Cash Solution consisting of a CM18b Cash Recycler and a CC3R Coin Recycler, both controlled by Arca’s Quireo software. The comprehensive solution immediately delivered significant time savings resulting in lower labor spend versus manual back office operations.

“Arca’S technology allowed us to focus on delivering premium service to our customer by letting the solution manage the cash.”

Michael Royer, Citadium Network Operations Manager

Cashiers are able to fill their tills automatically at the start of a shift and without supervision. Subsequently, at the end of shifts, when the cash was returned to the recycler, mid-day audits and end of day reconciliations are performed quickly and requiring a manager’s time. “When the cashiers arrive in the morning, they log in with IDs created in the Arca system. The machines dispense a predetermined amount of cash that I set up in the software for each cashier.” explains Ngo Pierre, Citadium Back Office Coordinator.

Surplus cash is deposited directly from the CM18b storage modules into sealed, tamper-proof bags sealed securely within the cash recycler and ready for CIT pickup. The time cashiers and supervisors save with automated till management can now be spent assisting customers and increasing sales — a primary benefit of Arca cash automation technology.

The Result:

Reliable cash recycling = fast cash management = extra time for great service.

The Arca Retail Solution installed at Citadium is exceeding expectations. The rugged CM18b is able to handle the anticipated high cash volume. In the event there is a technical issue, the modular design of the device allows staff to isolate and disable the problem area while the recycler continues to operate.

“The solution is built to work in a temporary mode so that the customer doesn’t have to wait four hours for our technician to close a shift,” said Thierry Elipe, CEO of Monetik, Arca France’s distributor and service provider. “Our role of service partner goes beyond the fix and repair. We consult the retailers on how to better organize their store so to improve their bottom line.”

They never let us down.” said Royer. “Working with Arca’s technology allowed us to focus on delivering a premium service to our customers by letting the solution manage the cash.” The Arca technology has vitalized staff productivity allowing Citadium employees additional time to focus on serving clients.

Describing unexpected benefits, Pierre (last name) adds, “Pierre (last name) adds, “What also surprised me is that we have no contact with the cash. Everything is managed by the computer and the cash goes directly into bags, which are then sealed. This limits incidents of theft or counting errors.”

The Arca solution has streamlined cash processes, increased security and and given Citadium staff more time to serve their customers. The success of the Arca solution has resulted in additional systems being deployed to other Citadium shops and to the retailer’s Printemps department stores.

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