Background
The Business Manager at Holy Cross was seeking external independent expertise to tender the catering service as they were not satisfied that the service was as good as it could be, in terms of the customer experience. The school wanted the tender process to be managed on their behalf according to OJEU guidelines but wanted to be very much involved in the process.
Brief
The four objectives set for this tender were:
- To manage an OJEU compliant catering tender process;
- To work in partnership with the school to achieve its objectives;
- To provide ongoing advice and support on the schools catering service; and
- To achieve a quality of service that encourages more pupils to eat a balanced meal in school.
Approach
Diana Lishman, Consultant at Litmus Partnership, said: “We worked very closely with the Business Manager throughout the whole process, and began by liaising closely to ensure we understood the issues and objectives.
“With the previous provider the school was paying a subsidy for the catering service delivered, and wasn’t happy with the quality; we were aiming to create an agreement where the service was provided at no cost to the school.
“Throughout the tender, we were able to ease a lot of the pressure from the school and take on the more time consuming elements. This involved us offering guidance at each stage, feedback on the various contractors and their responses and advice on any questions that arose.”
Outcomes
We were successful in finding a provider who could provide the service at no cost to the school, with hospitality also provided at cost price. The school now benefits from a profit share and we identified a further saving of £843 and a higher profit share than originally proposed by the contractor. Not only this, but both pupils and staff now enjoy the service provided.
