It has been more than a year and we are still knee-deep in the pandemic. Stress incurred by the ever-changing community quarantine protocols has become an accepted norm. Everyone is trying their best to flow with the “NEW NORMAL.” Everyone is trying their best to comply. School of Tomorrow® Philippines is not exempted.
When the pandemic struck last year, the School of Tomorrow organization was looking into ways we could continue serving our customers (schools and homeschoolers) after being unable to operate for almost 2 months. We knew that processes would inevitably change. We started to put systems in place to cope with national protocols set by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) in their efforts to keep the country afloat during the global health crisis.
Before we move on, I would like you to leave all your biases regarding the pandemic or your personal views on whether the government is doing a good job or not. The sole intention of this article is to provide you with facts of how we are currently handling the processing of your orders. Our political views do not have any direct effect on the status of your orders. School of Tomorrow® Philippines will always respect the authority of the local and national governments as commanded in the Bible (1 Peter 2:13-17).
Re-Shifting the Working Paradigm
Back in 2010, the whole team involved in the order processing flow went through a gruesome paradigm shift. It was hard and tough as external teams tried to analyze and evaluate every system in place. We were set to change everything so that we could deliver the best customer experience to our clientele. Today, after 11 years of mastery and improvement in system efficiency, we will be realigning the current working model.
- LONGER PROCESSING TIME – As of the writing of this article, Parañaque is currently under MECQ, and the workforce is limited to 50%. That means only half of the staff in Warehouse and Distribution is working on your orders. There are currently 300+ schools and 1000+ home school families that are actively ordering. We cannot give you a definite timetable because changes in community quarantine guidelines do not have a definite schedule. One solution we have worked on is an ONLINE ORDER TRACKING that can be accessed through our portal (https://portal.schooloftomorrow.ph). This instantly gives you a real-time overview of the status of your order. This option is currently available to our Schools only. We are still working on order tracking for home-school families.
- CHANGING COURIER TIME TABLES – Currently, we are using one major courier service (LBC) and one bus line (Victory Liner). Since the implementation of the new shipping fees within the system, we have incorporated a number of bus lines. Unfortunately, some of them are still operating in minimum capacity. As of the moment, we are still trying to coordinate with some of the bus lines. If you are within Metro Manila and would like to use a door-to-door service like Lalamove or Speedy, you need to coordinate with our Customer Service Representatives before booking. Please make sure that payments are made in order to avoid any delays.
- DELAYS IN DELIVERIES OF SUPPLIES – School of Tomorrow® Philippines also experiences delays in the deliveries of our supplies. This is true especially with our overseas orders with A.C.E.® Ministries, International. A delay in the beginning of the process will most likely domino down to our clientele. This is not putting blame on our courier services, but an expectation check during the global pandemic.
We at the main office strive to provide fast and accurate service. It is our desire to reach the maximum level of efficiency, and we accept the fact that we have a long way to go. This pandemic has realigned our priorities and has given us the opportunity to be good stewards. We are praying that as we strive for a more professional supply chain management, we can also reach a higher quality of customer care.
Pandemic or not, striving for excellence is a must. So thank you for still partnering with us through the hardships of this pandemic. We are praying for your success as well.