Blue Ridge Academy is an independent study public charter school, serving transitional kindergarten through 12th grade students in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Kern Counties. Established in 2016, it has enrolled around 6,900 students and employs 296 certified teachers. The school is known for offering flexible, personalized learning experiences and unique, dynamic programs.
The challenges
Blue Ridge Academy works hand-in-hand with a diverse set of families, providing each student with a unique and personalized learning experience. This array of learning adventures requires a variety of educational materials. For instance, lessons about farms might use an assortment of farming-related items, including unique requests like caterpillar eggs.
With so many specialized educational materials for its thousands of students, Blue Ridge Academy frequently saw an overwhelming volume of invoices — a burden given their cumbersome, largely manual procurement processes.
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Manual, error-prone processes: Their purchase order process involved copying and pasting and adding tax and shipping details manually, causing delays and errors.
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Usability requirements: Parents and staff needed an intuitive and easy-to-learn interface that would allow them to procure products and services seamlessly.
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Lack of scalability: Manual procurement processes and complex approval workflows could not easily scale to meet the individualized needs of its diverse students.
The solution
After implementing Procurify, Blue Ridge Academy’s procurement process became more efficient and user-friendly, with streamlined approvals and reduced processing times. In particular, the integration of the Amazon Business PunchOut marked a notable improvement in operational effectiveness, enhancing order accuracy and efficiency.
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Streamlined approval process: Approvals that previously took 6-8 weeks were reduced to half a day, significantly speeding up the procurement process.
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Enhanced accuracy and efficiency: The Amazon Business PunchOut led to a tenfold increase in order efficiency, minimizing human errors and streamlining invoicing.
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Adoption and compliance: Procurify’s easy-to-use interface and robust budgeting functionality made the procurement process less intimidating for families, encouraging adoption and compliance.
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Accelerated implementation: A dedicated account team provided hands-on implementation support, balancing accurate workflow configuration with speedy deployment for the quickest time to value.
Takeaways
Blue Ridge Academy’s adoption of Procurify has transformed its procurement processes, rendering them more efficient and user-friendly. This change has enabled timely and personalized ordering of educational resources, empowering families to easily meet their children’s diverse and unique set of educational needs.
Ultimately, this transformative shift has allowed Blue Ridge Academy to refocus its efforts where they matter the most – on specialized and impactful educational experiences.
By alleviating the burdens and complexities of procurement, Procurify has enabled the academy to dedicate more resources and attention to delivering high-quality education, thereby fulfilling its commitment to the academic and personal growth of its students.
