OPEN ... Amazon for schools?
OPEN (Online Procurement for Educational Needs) is a web portal, a 'marketplace for schools' where schools can compare and then purchase educational products from a range of suppliers. There is a useful YouTube demo video that explains how it works (if you can get YouTube through your school broadband connection!).
OPEN consists of five elements.
- Electronic marketplace
- Purchase-to-Pay transactions.
- Secure access to user information
- Portal for suppliers to upload their catalogues.
- Sales ordering system.
Apparently OPEN allows users to access local contracts and e-catalogues for goods and services as well as opening access to regional and national contracts which might provide better value for money than existing providers.
Anyone who shops online will find the system familiar, with online shopping cart and the ability to make comparisons etc. There is also the feature to directly link with your SIMS FMS. (It does however require you to go looking for your online transactions).
Should schools use OPEN? Well setting aside from the fact that (other than the video demo) its hard to find out what suppliers and products are in it, (and its not immediately obvious how you get an account), its hard to say.
There are a number of niggling questions that I'm sure someone will be able to answer:
- Does Kent Commercial Services support OPEN? - KCS has its own supplies catalogue, but I can't find any information as to whether it has plans to support OPEN. How do local suppliers get on to OPEN?
- The DCSF press release states that schools should contact their Local Authority OPEN contact - do we have one?
- How does this support schools in meeting stringent EU procurement regulations and KCC financial requirements. It seems all too easy for schools to assume they can purchase directly from a web screen comparison.
If you use OPEN, I would love to hear about your experiences.