Executive Summary
The case study is about Wachovia Bank and Trust Company regarding the operations of its Piedmont Operations Center Scheduling. The center handles the scheduling or the logistics of paperwork and cheques which need to go through the proof department and then get transported to the bank’s different branches in an organized manner. There are problems with increased volume of paperwork from 38 million to almost 43 million annually. This problem can be solved by incorporation of technology where necessary such the use of emails as well as minimization of paper usage inside the banking halls. Optimization of the current workforce through more training to equip with competence may also help to alleviate the problems of increased workload.
The volume of paperwork and cheques being processed had increased significantly from 38 million to almost 43 million as a result of which the scheduling of the sorting and transportations of the paperwork had caused problems (Donnelly 2). There is massive uneven nature of the volume. The company is forced to use a large part-time staff to cover for the peak loads (Donnelly 2). Increased workload means more expenses on additional staff and there are also complex logistics to address.
Decision alternatives and evaluation
At the moment, the company operates by forecasting the amount of paperwork it is expected to handle for an upcoming week using statistics of a preceding week (Donnelly 2). However, for better management, the scheduling department can conducts long-term scheduling which helps them address the staffing issues on a long term. They can maintain an optimum number of employees who are adequately trained to handle any amount of work. Whenever it was forecasted that the work would exceed the available staff, it would be easy and less costly to add staff.
Conclusions and recommendations
Wachovia Bank and Trust Company problem with the handling of paper work needs to be addressed by increasing the number of competent staff and better long-term scheduling. Where possible, the company needs to adopt technology as much as possible to ease the scheduling work.
Works cited
Donnelly, Charlotte. Case study 49: Wachovia Bank and Trust Company. Piedmont Operations Center Scheduling. University of Virginia Darden School Foundation. Charlotteville, Virginia. 1979. Print
