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Case Study - Bradgate Education Partnership
Bradgate Education Partnership utilise Electricity (191) and Gas (192) within their schools
The requirement
Bradgate Education Partnership, a multi-academy trust consisting of over fifteen schools across primary and secondary, have a large portfolio of both gas and electric meters that were contracted with multiple suppliers and had varying contract end dates. They found that across the portfolio they were receiving different levels of service and fees and it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
They wanted to partner with a Public Buying Organisation (PBO) who would understand their needs, be a one-stop shop and provide excellent customer service, something that had been an issue in the past. Accurate billing was also very important and ESPO validation checks are vital in identifying any issues early on, providing peace of mind as schools are billed every month and paid by Direct Debit.
The overall objective for the Trust was to procure centrally for all of their schools, moving to one supplier and aligning the end dates which would make procurement easier in the future, while achieving best value and making savings.
The Solution
Bradgate Education Partnership approached ESPO after having worked with them on other frameworks. Most of their schools were with ESPO, but not all - some were with other energy companies directly and some were with companies via a broker. The Trust met with ESPO to discuss what they could offer and as schools’ contracts expired, they were moved onto the ESPO portfolio.
Since partnering, the Trust have been utilising the following features:
- Centralised portal access for management and individual school logons.
- A named Customer Relationship Manager, who provides updates, escalation points and support in moving schools onto the best solution.
- An experienced Supplier Account Manager for ease of query handling.
The Results
So far, Bradgate Education Partnership has seen the following results:
- All meters are now with one supplier.
- Complete control of their portfolio.
- Fees and costs are transparent, so they know what each school is charged.
- Bill validation ensures that all bills are accurate, avoiding large debt build up.
- Receive a consolidated bill, providing an overview of the monthly charges for each school.
- ESPO provide data for the SECR.
