At 365 Response we strive to help Councils buy Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) transport services. We invest heavily in research and development to make sure we are offering innovative, digital solutions to drive improvements and efficiencies. Last year, working with a large City Council, we introduced a new module to our 365 Smart Platform with the purpose of speeding up the procurement process and providing a transparent purchasing environment.
Buy SEND transport services
The 365 Ordering Tool enables Councils to create and publish orders for transport services, which are automatically sent to approved suppliers from the Council’s DPS. Using the 365 Smart Platform, the Council is able to publish requirements with set deadlines for approved providers to bid for the work.
Designed specifically to aid the process of organising Home to School transport and managing the complexities of the service; the Ordering Tool can be used to buy specialist transport, taxis, minibuses and coaches etc.
This innovative digital tool offers significant benefits to both Councils and providers, as it reduces the manual searching and administration time associated with procuring transport, and it gives providers immediate access to regular shift and journey requirements.
Reducing manual administration time
Utilising the pre-approved list of providers – which is constantly updated to ensure a vibrant, competitive marketplace is available – Council staff have seen a reduction in time spent searching for appropriate providers and performing the manual process of retrieving and approving quotes for services. Using the 365 Smart Platform, order requirements can be input into the system once, and all providers are automatically notified to give the best price for services. This enables Councils to easily benchmark these costs and compare results from all providers, quickly.
The smart booking tool enables Councils to set pricing plans and assign routes to specified contracts within the 365 Smart Platform. This improves the process of invoicing and billing, as well as reporting. Utilising the digital invoicing tool, the Council has the ability to pull detailed information from the contract, provider, or journey, in order to create an invoice for multiple or individual journeys.
The 365 Digital Marketplace has received notable recognition within government services and has demonstrated proven efficiencies as the UK’s first digital transport marketplace. For a demonstration and informal conversation about how the 365 Smart Platform can help with your transport requirements, contact us by emailing [email protected].
