Company update, Family Fund Business Services
Family Fund Business Services (FFBS) has won the Tech for Good Award in Social Enterprise Yorkshire and Humber’s (SEYH) 2021 Awards.
The Tech for Good Award recognises the way a social enterprise has used technology to deliver services in a way that supports their mission. FFBS received the award as a recognition of the way that their fulfilment Portal enables local authorities, housing providers and charities to support those in need across the UK quickly and easily.
FFBS’ Fulfilment Portal
After identifying inefficiencies in clients’ order placement processes, FFBS developed an online fulfilment Portal that consolidates large-scale orders and order volumes. Customers can order many pre-selected items from multiple suppliers in one place, making it easier for everyone, and receive one monthly invoice. Orders can be tracked through the portal and all items are delivered directly to their beneficiaries. Streamlining the procurement process for customers allows them to invest the time and money they save through working with FFBS into helping even more people in need.
Jill Wheeler, Managing Director of FFBS, says: “After seeing first-hand the scale of the administrative burden it can take to deliver grant-awarded goods and services to vulnerable people, we developed the portal to simplify the process of buying and delivering essential items.”
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw a huge surge in demand from Local Authority customers for the provision of food, energy and cash awards to vulnerable people impacted by the crisis. Our portal proved invaluable during this time as orders could be placed and processed quickly and efficiently, enabling our customers to support those who needed it most.”
“I’m really proud of the team. This award is testament to the hard work of everyone at FFBS and the way we all put our customers and their beneficiaries at the heart of everything we do.”
The SEYH Awards judges commented: “We thought there was a clear understanding of the issue faced which FFBS developed a solution for. We liked the fact that there is ongoing continuous development and that they take on board customer feedback to improve their service.”
Social Enterprise Yorkshire and Humber
SEYH supports existing and developing social enterprises in the Yorkshire and Humberside area, who are driven to tackle important social and environmental issues. The Annual SEYH Awards recognise and celebrate these organisations, and showcase the breath of work being done in the social enterprise sector in the region. This year it was held virtually on Thursday 27 May 2021.
Ali Ward, SEYH Manager, says: “We strongly believe that whilst we cannot come together like we did last year, we need to celebrate the amazing achievements of our sector throughout 2020. Social Enterprises are a major force for good in our communities and throughout the pandemic they have gone above and beyond to support their communities. We have been blown away by what some of the nominees have achieved in very difficult circumstances. The awards recognise organisations and individual entrepreneurs who play an important in tackling issues such as employment, reuse, health, wellbeing and food poverty locally.”
