A computerized cash concentration system

The Standard Oil Company of Ohio generates revenues at a large number of geographically dispersed retail outlets. These funds are initially deposited with local banks and are subsequently transferred to the Company's major bank accounts in Cleveland. This paper reports on a computerized system developed to introduce efficiency in this transfer process. The core of this new system is a modified inventory model which is used to issue transfer orders. The model captures the essential features of the process and at the same time is simple enough to be used in conjunction with a large commercial data processing system that contains the necessary data. The new system is a decision support system which allows management to intervene in the procedure for determining parameters of the decision model.