Last month, a select group of schools began using OPEN for their day-to-day procurement needs as part of a pilot project, transforming the way they purchase goods and services electronically over the net. The pilot involves over 1,000 participating schools in Devon, East Sussex, Rochdale, Manchester, Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Bury, Salford, Stockport and Tameside. Schools are finding OPEN easy to use and a system that integrates well with existing school financial systems. In short, OPEN is delivering real benefits for them.
OPEN, developed by ProcServe (a PA Consulting Group company), is a new and innovative eProcurement and eMarketplace platform designed for schools to simplify and substantially improve the way they and their suppliers do business. The Department for Education and Skills, with PA Consulting Group, the leading management, systems and technology firm, officially launched OPEN, at the Education Show at the NEC in Birmingham last month. Over 20,000 education professionals and suppliers were in attendance and a large majority of them visited the team manning the OPEN section of the DfES stand.
Following the initial pilot phase, due to complete end-2007, the system will be made available more widely. Schools in England will have access to the OPEN marketplace where buyers and suppliers can transact and access national, regional and local value-for-money contracts. Teign School in Devon was the first school to use OPEN and placed orders with their suppliers from day one. Kingsley Matthews, Bursar of Teign School, commented that “this is the start of a new quick method of procurement that will open up the opportunities for improving the school's buying power and at the same time provide curriculum leaders with more choice - and all on-line so saving staff time too”.
Darron Cox, DfES’ Deputy Commercial Director said:
“We are delighted that OPEN is now up and running and being tested thoroughly by the pathfinders. We believe that OPEN will make a big difference to schools and their suppliers, helping improve how business is transacted and this pilot phase will help us ensure that difference is tangible to schools using OPEN. Our focus now is to expand the use of OPEN with all the pathfinder schools and their suppliers, and build up to the national roll-out later in 2007.”
Veera Johnson, CEO of ProcServe and a member of PA's Management Group, added:
”Our presence at the Education Show with DfES further cements our passion for making OPEN available to all schools and suppliers across the country. It is a bold and exciting initiative that we believe will make a positive impact in the schools sector. We will continue to work in partnership with DfES to help them take the vision forward and fully realise the benefits of OPEN.”
For more information, please contact:
Heather Smith at the PA Consulting Group press office
Tel: 020 7312 4975 (office) or 07710 294 845 (mobile)
For further information about OPEN go to : www.dfes.gov.uk/cpp/open
For further information about Zanzibar go to : www.zanzibaronline.gov.uk
For further information about the CPP go to: www.dfes.gov.uk/cpp
For further information about the Schools Marketplace please e-mail: eprocurement.schools@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
