i-movo working with DWP
3 Dec 2018 11:03 AM
SME i-movo delivers an online voucher system for the DWP to support benefit claimants who are unable to use standard banking products.
Customer:
Department of Work and Pensions
Supplier:
i-movo Limited
Contract description
The Payment Exceptions Service (PES) has been implemented by the Department of Work and Pensions for customers unable to use standard banking products who wish to receive their benefits in cash.
The new service is available across the full PayPoint estate of 29,000 stores - which is more than all banks, Post Offices and supermarkets combined. PayPoint stores are typically open seven days a week, 12 hours a day allowing customers to claim their payments at a location and time convenient to them.
DWP, PayPoint and i-movo implemented the new system on schedule and PES became fully operational on 01 April 2018 as planned.
Contract delivery area:
UK-wide
Contract value:
£1,000,000 - £5,000,000 (approximate)
Contract details
Original CCS Framework:
G-Cloud
Supplier factfile
SME:
i-movo Limited
CEO:
David Tymm
What the company does:
i-movo is a UK provider of secure digital voucher systems, having processed over 20 million transactions worth in excess of £400 million. The service is available in over 60,000 locations across the the UK. The service enables vouchers to be distributed by SMS, email, direct mail or mag-stripe card, and be accepted by retailers as a trusted form of payment. i-movo vouchers are validated in real-time to avoid over-use or fraud. This also means retailers are reimbursed within days, without voucher counting, and clients know instantly who has redeemed their voucher, where and when.
Company HQ:
Southwark, London
Website: http://www.i-movo.com
Annual turnover of company:
£1.5 million
Number of employees:
5
Type of SME:
Micro
Social media:
Supplier’s experience
In relation to the contract awarded, how did you find the procurement process?
The procurement process was very thorough and the input required reasonable. Working from the Service Description that was part of our G-Cloud submission, DWP spent time understanding the component parts of our service and then produced a set of ‘High Level Business Requirements’ that we responded to and which formed part of the final contract. A series of workshops and demonstrations followed to confirm that we fully met requirements - this was a great co-production approach overall.
What worked well and what could have been done better?
The contracting process was very straightforward. We developed a strong partnership approach with DWP, which enabled contract outcomes to be successful.
We won business through a ‘marketplace’ procurement process which is an approach where suppliers describe their offer, and buyers need to establish if their needs are met. It is not the same as a traditional tender process, where suppliers respond to buyers’ stated requirements. For us, the advantages of the ‘marketplace’ process enabled a fast deployment of the solution. The only downside was not being able to iron out enough fine detail at the outset.
What benefit does your company receive from supplying to the public sector?
Central government departments are widely recognised as professional and extremely demanding customers, so to be recognised as a direct supplier to DWP confers great prestige on our company and is useful to reference with large, private sector clients.
What was/is/will be the outcome of the contract for the client?
The programme launched in January 2018 with all customers being migrated to the new system by 31 March 2018. DWP, PayPoint & i-movo implemented the new system on schedule and the Payment Exceptions Service (PES) became fully operational on 1 April 2018 as planned.
How would you like to work with the public sector in the future?
We would like early sight of requirements and an opportunity to present ideas and capabilities without going through an overly complicated process first.
We have seen from our work in the private sector that frequent, informal contact with our customer (i.e. the buyers) leads to development of a better solution overall. It’s good to see government taking a similar stance; and DWP’s ‘Innovation Showcases’ approach that follows this principle is a good example of this. Requirements are outlined, and invited vendors are then asked to respond with a ten-minute presentation. This allows both buyers and suppliers to ‘cut to the chase’ and is a much more efficient way of presenting and evaluating potential solutions at a high level, before going into the necessary level of detail with viable options.
Customer’s testimonial
i-movo is currently providing a payment exceptions service to our vulnerable customers. We feel the company has been extremely flexible and adaptable in meeting our requirements and tight deadlines. The service is running smoothly and both parties are working together to refine MI (Management Information) requirements which will help us manage our business better going forwards.
Rick Green, Department of Work and Pensions.
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