Casey's

How Sesami Helped Casey’s General Stores Achieve $12M in Annual Savings Through Cash Automation

The convenience store of choice for communities across the Midwest, Casey’s General Stores partnered with Sesami to streamline cash management processes, resulting in a 41% reduction in cash handling costs, improved labor efficiency, and enhanced security through Sesami devices and Sesami Enterprise Software.

Business Objectives

For convenience stores like Casey’s, cash is often the preferred payment for patrons. At scale, this cash can make up a sizable portion of the company’s revenue—and its expenses.

For Casey’s, the objectives were clear: reduce cash-handling costs, improve cash-management efficiency, gain better insights into cash behaviors, and enhance control over all cash operations.

Challenges

As the third-largest convenience store chain in the U.S.—with 2,550 stores in 16 states and an annual revenue of $15.1 billion—Casey’s General Stores handles a lot of cash. As it turns out, that cash was also costing them a lot.

The costs? Over 1.7 million labor hours and $25.5 million annually, thanks to an outdated cash-management system that left personnel burdened with bookkeeping and deposit work—as well as cash shrinkage, process inconsistencies, and an overall lack of insight into cash operations. At a glance, these were just some of the challenges faced by Casey’s.

High operational costs. The company’s outdated branch-banking model consumed over 1.7 million labor hours annually, equating to $25.5 million in expenses.
Managerial burdens. Store managers were tasked with daily deposit preparation, driving to banks, and handling change orders, all leading to increased strain on labor resources and reduced attention given to other in-store operations.
Ineffective cash management. Manually handling cash contributed to a number of issues, including cash shrinkage, mistake-prone process inconsistencies, and an overall lack of transparency—all contributing to major losses.

Solutions

Rebuilding their cash processes from the ground up, Casey’s took a multi-pronged approach—with perhaps the most pivotal change coming courtesy of the Sesami Smart Deposit Range and Sesami Enterprise Software (SES).

Implementation of Sesami Tidel S4 Devices: Installed at the point of sale in all 2,550 Casey’s stores, our under-the-counter S4 Smart Deposit devices use dual-note acceptors, a powerful CPU, and onboard intelligence to validate, count, and dispense cash—as well as reconcile it, prepare it for pick-up, and process it to provide daily provisional credit.
Integration with Sesami Enterprise Software (SES): Casey’s also elected to equip our Smart Deposit machines with Sesami Enterprise Software, which features a host of AI-powered tools for unparalleled control of cash operations. With everything from predictive forecasting to robust remote management capabilities, SES enables Casey’s to save even more on time, money, and team resources.
Process Standardization: Together with new Sesami solutions, Casey’s introduced self-service change orders through an integrated eCATS system and deployed new store and support center processes, streamlining operations across all locations.

Results

Significant Cost and Labor Savings

Achieved a 41% reduction in cash handling costs, saving $12 million annually, and eliminated 6 employee hours per store per week.

Improved Working Capital and Cash Flow

Next-day access to provisional funds improved working capital, while reduced cash shrinkage and better forecasting enabled optimized cash flow management.

Scalable Growth for More ROI

Future POS system integration could save an additional $4 to $8 million annually, with enhanced data utilization improving cash management and operational growth.

Background

Casey's General Stores is the third-largest convenience store chain in the United States, operating 2,550 stores across 16 states with an annual revenue of $15.1 billion. Handling substantial amounts of cash daily, Casey's recognized the need to modernize its cash management processes to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance security across its extensive retail network.

The Challenge

Casey's faced significant challenges due to its outdated cash handling and branch banking model:

High Operational Costs: The manual processes consumed over 1.7 million labor hours annually, equating to $25.5 million in expenses.
Managerial Burden: Store managers were responsible for daily deposit preparation, driving to banks, and managing change orders. This not only took time away from core operational duties but also introduced inconsistencies in cash handling procedures.
Security Risks and Shrinkage: The lack of standardized processes led to cash shrinkage and a lack of transparency in cash management, costing the company millions and increasing security vulnerabilities.

These challenges affected operational efficiency, increased costs, and posed risks to both financial performance and employee safety.

The Solution

To address these issues, Casey's partnered with Sesami to implement a comprehensive smart cash automation and store treasury initiative:

Installation of Tidel S4 Devices: Deployed at the point of sale in all 2,550 stores, these devices automated cash handling tasks such as validation, counting, dispensing, reconciliation, and preparation for pick-up. This reduced manual cash handling and associated errors.
Integration with Sesami Enterprise Software (SES): The Tidel S4 devices interfaced seamlessly with SES, providing AI-powered tools for daily provisional credit, predictive forecasting, remote management, and real-time visibility into cash operations.
Process Standardization: Introduced self-service change orders through an integrated eCATS system and deployed new processes for both store staff and the support center. This streamlined back-office operations and standardized cash handling procedures across all locations.
Multi-Phased Implementation: The rollout included selecting and configuring the right equipment, training staff, and gradually introducing new systems to ensure a smooth transition and adoption across all stores.

By automating and integrating cash management processes, Casey's significantly enhanced efficiency, security, and control over its cash operations.

The Benefits

By May of 2023, Casey’s had successfully installed SES-equipped Smart Deposit machines in all of its 2,550 stores. The move is saving the chain millions—in dollars and employee hours.

Significant Cost Savings: Realized a 41% reduction in cash handling costs, saving $12 million annually. Additionally, closing all 900 branch bank accounts resulted in $2 million in annual bank fee savings.
Labor Efficiency: Eliminated 6 employee hours per store per week, allowing staff to focus on core responsibilities and improving overall store operations.
Improved Cash Flow: Gained next-day access to provisional funds, enhancing working capital and enabling better cash flow management.
Enhanced Security and Accuracy: Achieved a 98% match rate for transactions, reducing discrepancies and improving financial transparency. Improved loss prevention controls led to a reduction in cash shrinkage.
Standardized Operations: Streamlined cash handling processes and standardized procedures across all 2,550 locations, resulting in consistent and efficient operations.
Future Scalability: The scalable solution sets the foundation for further improvements. Plans to further integrate the POS system could yield additional labor savings of $4 to $8 million annually and further optimize change orders and courier services.

The collaboration with Sesami has transformed Casey's end-to-end cash operations, demonstrating how innovative cash management solutions can deliver scalable, efficient, and cost-effective results. With these advancements, Casey's is poised for continued growth and operational excellence, setting a new standard for retail cash management.

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