Press release - Scottish Tech Army delivers order and inventory management solution for free period product distribution
Edinburgh, 8th November 2021 -- The Scottish Tech Army (STA), a not-for-profit organisation focused on harnessing the power of technology for good, is supporting Perth & Kinross Association of Voluntary Services (PKAVS) with technology to support its “Tampon Taxi”, a practical volunteer delivery service of free period products to anyone in Perth & Kinross who wants them. This initiative is helping PKAVS to deliver on the Scottish Government's legislation to make Scotland the first country in the world to make period products free for all.
The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill puts a legal duty on local authorities to ensure anyone who needs period products can obtain them free of charge, initially at fixed locations throughout the local authority and potentially through a delivery mechanism, such as that already implemented by PKAVS in Perth & Kinross.
Jenni Keenan BEM, Empowering Communities Team Manager at PKAVS, said: “Period Dignity is at the heart of making Perth & Kinross a fairer and more equal place, and is what PKAVS set out to achieve with the Tampon Taxi. The new system which the STA has been working with us to develop represents a great step forward for both the user experience, and how we ourselves manage this fast-growing service. The online ordering platform and inventory management system will allow us to make best use of our stretched capacity by improving efficiency; whilst most importantly making the process of ordering free period products even easier for the people of Perth & Kinross. For us, the ease and dignity with which the service can be used is what it’s all about. We’re grateful to the STA for the incredible amount of work which has gone into this, and we can’t wait to introduce our many service users to a new way of connecting with us!”
Kirsty McIntosh, Head of Partnerships at the Scottish Tech Army, said: “This is a wonderful example of the impact the Tech for Good ecosystem in Scotland can have. By drawing experienced technical volunteers from the tech sector together with inexperienced volunteers at the start of their tech careers, we have not only delivered this project, our volunteers have also gained new skills, experience and a sense of purpose that can only benefit the tech sector in Scotland more broadly. The platform that we have delivered for PKAVS can be used to support multiple organisations across Scotland, helping them to deliver a similar level of dignity for users and efficiency for staff.”
The STA solution has been developed with volunteer support in partnership with PKAVS and utilises the leading open source ERP software system, Odoo, hosted within the Amazon Web Services infrastructure. This online web and mobile solution can scale to support multiple organisations involved in the practical implementation of this legal requirement, wherever they are in Scotland.
The solution is the first standardised product to be delivered by the Scottish Tech Army and is an example of its approach to delivery of scalable solutions capable of serving many organisations from a single platform, increasing efficiency and significantly reducing development and onboarding time for organisations making use of the system.
For details on how to get involved in the work of the Scottish Tech Army, please visit: https://www.scottishtecharmy.org/take-action
About the Scottish Tech Army:
Founded in April 2020 by Edinburgh-based entrepreneurs, Alistair Forbes and Peter Jaco, to help charities and other organisations dealing with the massive impacts of Covid-19 on the economy and society, the Scottish Tech Army is a volunteer-based not-for-profit community that provides impactful digital solutions to support a wide range of civil society organisations delivering social benefit across Scotland. Its enduring mission is to mobilise Scotland’s tech talent for good and to aggregate, amplify and augment the tech for good ecosystem in Scotland. https://www.scottishtecharmy.org/
Media contact:
Scottish Tech Army
Heather Stewart
Email: heather@scottishtecharmy.org