Gingerbread
view printable versionWho are Gingerbread?
How does Gingerbread use ICT?
What difference has ICT made?
What was learnt?
How to find out more
Who are Gingerbread?
Gingerbread is the leading support organisation for over 2.5 million lone parents and their children throughout England and Wales. Gingerbread has been going since 1970.
Gingerbread is a membership organisation and leading expert in providing advice, information, research and campaigns that meet lone parent family needs.
The name was prompted by the founder’s local restaurant called 'The Golden Age of Gingerbread' ; 'Ginger' for gingering up support or getting help from the authorities and 'Bread' for the money and resources one-parent families need to support themselves and each other.
How does Gingerbread use ICT?
The team at Gingerbread operated on second or third hand ICT equipment and on machines that did not communicate with each other.
Staff spent significant time re-booting machines as they crashed, and the ICT systems did not support organisational functions. Multiple databases created caused inefficiencies in keeping track of Gingerbread’s membership data, projects and staff activities.
External consultants agreed to undertake an ICT transformation project. The process was kick-started with a business systems review. Gingerbread felt confident in describing their existing ICT systems at that time and the basic business functions that Gingerbread needed to be in place.
The recommendations lead to the implementation of Gingerbread’s ICT software called Microsoft Dynamic GP (a system that helps to manage finances, sales and purchasing, manufacturing processes, inventory, human resources and payroll) and Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (CRM), (a tool that creates client details that sits alongside other Microsoft software).
Gingerbread also developed their website and updated their technological infrastructure (hardware, operating system and office automation software).
What difference has ICT made?
Gingerbread had specific ICT needs addressed and the implementation of ICT improvements provided comprehensive approach to supporting:
- Cost reduction and cost containment, they had a three-fold increase in membership.
- Revenue improvement: Gingerbread is now able to profile the membership and source donations.
- Improve the quality of service provided to members, journalists and other stakeholders.
- Process improvements, which enabled Gingerbread to function much more effectively without the need to increase head count.
- Effective management information and control
- Overview of funds across financial years.
- Supporting the Gingerbread’s strategy of promoting itself as the voice of lone parents
- And one that money can’t buy; motivated employees through the ability to realise results and remove some of the frustrations they encountered with the previous systems.
Result…Gingerbread’s ICT improvement has meant that over 157 business benefits have been identified so far.
Last words… Gingerbread feels the transformation has been extraordinary, and has really changed the way in which Gingerbread employees work.
What was learnt?
Gingerbread’s ICT needs proved expensive to undertake such a total transformation, although they believe the benefits are huge and worth more than the actual costs.
Gingerbread’s transformation was not easy to fund and were lucky to receive significant support. In future Gingerbread would have to budget significant costs to maintain the momentum.
Gingerbread’s process of change released more possibilities for ICT improvements and how to further development ICT systems, particularly to tap into the huge web-based community that is out there.
Gingerbread’s ICT improvements have not just made existing business systems more efficient, but for them, the opportunity to potentially change the fundamental way Gingerbread does business.
Gingerbread felt the process of ICT transition was difficult - took longer then anticipated, and proved more frustrating than one might expect in the most optimistic of moments, but Gingerbread felt it was definitely worth it.
How to find out more
Contact Gingerbread on: office@gingerbread.org.uk or telephone 020 7403 9500 x313
There are many articles on the Knowledgebase to help you put together an ICT strategy. To find out how to carry out an ICT healthcheck for your organisation, this Knowledgebase article is a good place to start.