About the Client
Established in 1995, The American International School of Chennai (AISC) offers a curriculum based on North American academic standards. Hosting an international faculty, AISC offers advanced programs and facilities for children of American and international expats. The school offers state-of-the-art facilities and a diverse range of extracurricular activities - including sports, music, drama, and clubs. AISC thrives on strong parent engagement and digital connectivity and aims to offer an inclusive environment for every student.
Country
India
Industry
Education
Services used
Business Situation
AISC, as one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Chennai, offers a wide range of academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities. However, it became a challenging task to manage these activities on a day-to-day basis.
Firstly, the administrative team was overwhelmed with multiple, disconnected 3rd party systems that weren’t integrated. This led to inefficiencies and communication gaps.
Managing the vast array of extracurricular activities that students participated in, was another challenge to conquer. Teachers and staff had to manually update records, often resulting in errors and overcrowding. This led AISC to look for a smart and unified solution to automate the booking process, track student participation, and manage activity schedules in real time.
Another challenge was managing the sale and distribution of school merchandise. Oftentimes, parents had to visit the school only to check if the stock was available. As there was no central platform available to view available merchandise, check stock levels, or make purchases, it became a hassle for both parents and staff to manually track the process.
AISC was also looking to streamline Purchase Orders (POs) and vendor transactions. Tracking and approving the purchase orders manually led to a lot of delays and increased the chances of miscommunication. Moreover, there was no way to track at what level of hierarchy was the PO at.
Owing to these challenges, the client reached out to Daffodil Software for a tailored solution development.
Daffodil Software was required to:
Develop a comprehensive, integrated platform for AISC to address multiple operational challenges.
Design an activity management module for parents to book activities, make purchases, and have visibility into activity schedules.
Simplify merchandise ordering and streamline inventory management.
Integrate payment mechanisms for seamless financial processes.
Implement a PO management module to streamline the procurement process.
The Solution
Through thorough collaboration with key AISC stakeholders, we gathered detailed insights into the client’s specific challenges and pain points that hindered their operational efficiency.
Our approach was to develop an integrated, web-based platform that would address all of AISC’s challenges, automate tasks, and provide a better user experience for parents, students, and administrators.
Team Daffodil designed a responsive web application architecture with the following modules:
◉ Activity Management Module: To automate activity bookings, and scheduling, while offering flexible payment options for parents.
◉ School Merchandise Panel: To allow parents to place school merchandise orders online, track order statuses, and pay through the integrated payment gateway.
◉ Procurement Management System: To handle budgets, purchase orders, and vendor management.
◉ School Admin Portal: To manage student registrations, activities, and schedules; generate reports and track purchases.
For the backend, Laravel (PHP) was chosen for its scalability and robust architecture. React.js was used to build a highly interactive and responsive front end for parents, students, staff, and administrators.
Key features of the platform:
To streamline the management of extracurricular activities, Team Daffodil developed an Activity Management Module. This module enabled parents to book one activity per day for their children, with the option for activities to repeat every week (if the slots were available).
By offering the flexibility to pay only for the activities their children attended, the platform addressed the issues of paying for an entire month upfront.
Parents could easily monitor their children’s participation and receive real-time updates on upcoming activities or changes in schedules. This level of transparency and control elevated the overall experience and enhanced convenience for the parents.
To ensure a secure and seamless transaction process, the system integrated with HDFC’s payment gateway. This enabled parents to make payments for bookings in a safe and efficient manner. The integration also reduced the administrative burden of handling payments manually, making the entire process more streamlined.
An additional Camp Program Module was built to help parents book these activities for their children during the special winter and summer camps organized by the school. This feature allowed parents to book multiple activities for their children each day, selecting different time slots based on availability. The selected activities were repeated every day throughout the camp, giving parents the ability to plan their child’s participation with ease.
Team Daffodil built a comprehensive module integrated with the school’s inventory system to streamline merchandise purchases. This system allowed parents to order school uniforms, sportswear, and other merchandise directly through the platform. Parents could select the correct size, color, and quantity, with real-time inventory visibility.
Once the order is placed and the payment is fulfilled, a pick-up location inside the school (such as the auditorium or the lab) and pick-up time are assigned corresponding to the order. Parents or students could then collect the merchandise from the designated location at the assigned time. Children and Teachers can also view the status of the order through the module.
To further enhance efficiency, a detailed dashboard was developed for vendors to view and update the status of the order through the panel.
The module helped to reduce stock-out situations and overcrowding at the school and ensured a smooth and efficient purchase experience. It eliminated the need for parents to visit the school a number of times just to see if the stocks were available, making the entire process more convenient and hassle-free.
Team Daffodil developed a comprehensive Procurement Management System (PMS) to help AISC streamline its procurement process. This module provided several key features that made managing procurement more efficient and transparent:
◉ Budget Setting: The system allowed AISC to define budgets for each department, ensuring that all purchases stayed within predefined financial limits. This helped prevent overspending and provided better financial oversight at the departmental level.
◉ Purchase Order (PO) Creation and Approval: PMS also enabled the generation of Purchase Orders (POs) and facilitated an automated approval workflow. The system tracked each PO through the approval hierarchy – from the Department Heads to the Finance Heads. This ensured that all purchases were properly authorized before proceeding.
◉ Vendor Relationship Management: The system helped AISC monitor and manage its vendor relationships more effectively. Through a centralized view of vendor performance and past order history, the school could improve negotiations, and ensure better service from suppliers.
The Procurement Management System also provided full visibility into the school’s spending and procurement processes with real-time insights. Furthermore, it enhanced budget control, ensuring that all departments adhered to their financial limits. This aided in making AISC’s financial operations more transparent, efficient, and streamlined.
A robust Admin Panel was developed to centralize scheduling, activity management, and reporting for school administrators. The panel allowed administrators to:
◉ Create and Manage Activities: Admins could easily set up and manage various activities, assign instructors, and define activity schedules to ensure smooth execution.
◉ Monitor Participation and Performance: The panel allowed for real-time tracking of student participation, helping administrators manage attendance, track progress, and ensure that activities were being conducted as planned.
◉ Generate Reports: Admins could generate detailed reports on a wide range of key metrics, including activity participation, financial transactions (i.e., payments and bookings), and other performance indicators, enabling data-driven decision-making.
Additionally, the PDF export functionality enabled admins to download reports, making it easier to share schedules and summaries with the staff. This streamlined the school’s operations, reduced manual administrative work, and provided full control and visibility into activities and schedules.
The Impact
The integrated system developed for the American International School of Chennai addressed critical operational inefficiencies, improved user experience, and led to significant time and cost savings. By moving away from manual processes to a centralized platform, AISC was able to streamline its core operations and enhance the overall experience for parents, students, and staff.
This project not only solved immediate challenges but also positioned AISC for future growth, with a scalable platform that supports both current and future needs. The solution has proven to be a strategic asset for the school, boosting both operational efficiency and parent satisfaction.
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