De La Rue has a turnover of £640 million with a 200-year history in the international financial sector. It is the largest independent printer of banknotes and the largest provider of cash-handling solutions that include ATM mechanisms, note & coin sorters, note dispensers & recyclers and banking software.
Mindsheet were called in by the Cash Systems division which helps financial and retail customers optimise their goals by the supply of cash and media handling solutions.
The security risks for customers dictate a high degree of automation and authentication in Cash Systems’ solutions. Furthermore, the media is uncontrolled and the variability very high leading to a large engineering challenge to design robust and reliable solutions.
Traditionally, engineering has focussed on the increasingly competitive product platform arena and not on the application to the customer’s processes.
Much of this transformation is about moving the creation of IP up the value chain from product platforms to the customer application arena, giving Cash Systems a more differentiating advantage for controlling their supply chains and excluding competitors.
The specific aims of the engineering transformation programme were to:
- Provide more flex in the Technical costs
- Preserve and strengthen Cash System’s competitive barriers
- Create higher-value business propositions and IP
- Provide proper support for product, service and solution sales
- Meet the strategic needs of the Cash Systems Division
As a result of this successful Engineering Transformation programme, the Cash Systems division was spun out as a separate company (Talaris) a few years later proving the self-sufficiency and sustainability of their Engineering.
Mindsheet helped us develop a very compelling and innovative solution to address our ballooning technical support costs.
Kevin Carter, Director – Programme Management, De La Rue