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0:00 Every school is very similar, but they're all very different. We're a partner that likes to be in the background, almost invisible.

0:16 Hello and welcome to the educator TV.

0:18 I'm Kylie Spear and joining me today is Katie Mr. Ketus, head of education at WINC Australia. WINC Australia has been

0:27 named as a winner of the educator service provider awards for 2026.

0:34 Welcome to you Katie and thank you so much for joining us today.

0:38 Well, thank you Kylie. It's such an amazing honor to be here today. So I do appreciate uh your time and also being part of this amazing community. So appreciate being here. So thank you.

0:48 Well, firstly, Katie, huge congratulations on being named a 2026 five-star service provider. What does

0:57 this recognition mean for Wink and the entire team?

1:02 It honestly means so much to be honest with you. It's um it's such a great uh recognition for us as a business. We

1:09 work really hard to ensure we provide the best service for our schools. And for me, that's always been my, you know, focus in life in my career is to put

1:18 that customer first to ensure that we provide the right service and we don't stop. So each year we look at how do we improve how we operate, how we do things

1:26 better and you know just that hard work and effort we've put in over the over the years and you know over at least the past 12 months and having the whole

1:35 business on board supporting us in this is um it means so much cuz it just shows you know you put in the effort and you get the recognition which is what we

1:42 want to be able to ultimately help our customers and our schools just have the best experience. So it means so much.

1:49 Wink supports schools with everything from classroom resources to technology solutions. How does your team help educators focus on what they do best?

2:00 Well, we know what educators need to do.

2:03 We know what the focus is. We know what their priorities are. So, as a business and what we can bring to our schools is provide the service, the products they

2:11 need on a daily basis. So we evolve our range every day, every year and focus on the main things that matter to schools

2:18 which means that they can focus on their students which is the most important thing and we take away the noise um and the disruption that administrative

2:26 burdens can create. So we want to make it as seamless as possible. We're a partner that likes to be in the background almost invisible to ensure

2:34 that the schools have what they need when they need it um and with little disruption so they can focus on the things that actually matter. Katie,

2:42 schools have increasingly complex purchasing and procurement needs. Can you share a specific example of how WINC

2:51 helped a school streamline its procurement process and what changed as a result?

2:58 Yeah, I think you know there's a lot of examples because you're right the schools are complex and the way I'd probably describe it is in my experience

3:05 in in the education space is every school is very similar but they're all very different. So in terms of what they're looking for, what they need, um

3:12 the community, the students, the holiday school closures. So everything's a little bit different. So what we do as as an organization, we always look for

3:20 ways to turn that into a really simple solution. So one example I'd probably uh talk about today is our back to school solution. Uh and what that essentially

3:29 is is where schools place their large order for the new school year and ensure that every student has what they need to start the new year strong. So we've got

3:37 a full uh end to-end solution. So we look at it from when the school looks at what they need from a list perspective. So what do they need for their students?

3:44 We've got a very very very simple platform that the schools use. But not only that, we've got a team that actually on board our schools and actually take care of all the

3:52 administration. The schools essentially need to select the date that they want their deliveries made. Now whether it's a librarian or a school teacher or the

4:00 facilities manager, they get to place their orders in terms of what they want.

4:04 We deliver it to them on the day that they're looking for. We also deliver it to the area in the school that they want the product as well. So we make it as

4:10 seamless as possible from the initial conversation all the way through to the delivery. Um which it's a crazy time in in term four for all schools of course getting ready for the new school year.

4:21 So we um make it as simple as possible, a very complex requirement. We make it as simple as possible and deliver it to where the school needs on the day that

4:29 they want it. Um which just makes everything very very simple for them. So they get to start the new year without worrying about where you know the books

4:36 are, the textbooks are, the pencils are all that sort of stuff. We kind of take care of them and it goes to the location of the new of the teacher as well. So we

4:43 make it as simple as possible which in if you could be a very very complex process but we simplified that N10 process for the school. So schools love it. We do get a lot of great feedback.

4:53 We have um we survey our schools. Me being um very very obsessed with customer service what we survey we need to know is it good? Is it bad? What? How

5:02 can we improve? And we're just constantly improving our our solution.

5:05 But we get great feedback, which is which is what we do. We do what we do to get that sort of feedback. So very very pleased.

5:12 Which is a lovely segue into my next question. How do you ensure the products and services you provide continue to

5:21 meet the changing needs of educators and students?

5:24 Um so what we we work with a lot of uh partners as well. So we have uh we interview schools. So one of the things that we do most importantly is, you

5:33 know, I don't sit back and look at what the schools are doing. I go and speak to schools. I'm always constantly out at schools talking to them about their

5:41 requirements, what they need, what they see, what are the things that we can do to help them. So always constantly looking at um our the end user, so the customer to tell us what you know what

5:50 they're looking for. We also look at a lot of market data. So we're looking at trends in the market to understand where things are evolving, what's not, you know, what's sort of going backwards.

5:58 What are the things we need to sort of look after, maintain, grow? We also work closely with our supply partners. So we can't do it alone. We work very closely

6:06 with our suppliers that actually help us bring these things to life and and talk and look at insights to actually help our evolve what we offer our schools to

6:14 make it um more simple and evolve with the schools in this everchanging environment. It has been at least the

6:21 last 5 years it's been um such a such an interesting marketplace. I think it goes for everybody but in schools in particular a lot has changed. So we've

6:30 just had to stay uh you know ahead of the game and ensure we're prepared for the future and be again be a partner that can offer the services that some

6:38 schools may love. So for an example some schools are very uh focused on their digital uh strategy whereas a lot of

6:45 schools aren't there yet and that's okay. Other schools are more progressive, but we'll also always be that partner that can support your school no matter what stage of their

6:54 life cycle they are. So, we're always monitoring, but you know, always looking outwards and not inwards because we need to understand what our customers are looking for.

7:02 And finally, Katie, what are your key priorities for supporting schools and education communities in the years ahead?

7:11 So, always simplified our delivery service is number one. So again going back to what I stated earlier uh in the

7:18 interview uh was we had service is most important. So you can always bring in different products, pricing, all the

7:25 lots of different things but if we can't deliver on expectations um none of that really matters. So service is always going to be number one. So always

7:32 evolving what we can do to support schools. So as they change their um requirements and needs will evolve with the school. So it's always about that

7:40 service element. Um in addition we will always look at those category areas of growth. So what range what do we need to bring in? What do we need to ensure that

7:48 we are relevant in the market? So we're not a we're not a company that goes backwards. We want to always be progressive with our schools and also

7:56 the economy. So it's always a bit it's always tough. So as much as I talk about the pricing side of things, we al also want to always bring a good value to our customers. So how do we actually create

8:04 better deals in the market? How do we work with our partners to ensure that we are meeting that requirement as well?

8:10 because it's not going away. Budgets are tough. Uh we understand that. So, we're always doing our best to get the best deal for our schools, but also

8:17 underpinned by great service is is something that will never stop improving because I know it means more to a school to get that right. So, it's really

8:25 really important that back to your question earlier, they get to focus on things that matter, which are the students who are going to be our next leaders and ex-p prime ministers. That's

8:33 where we need to put our effort and not worry about the, you know, the ad administration and the product side of things will take care of that. uh as a as a partner. So, always just moving

8:42 with the market and making sure that we again stay relevant as a as a partner uh and hopefully support our schools in many many years to come.

8:51 Amazing. Well, thank you so much for your time today and congratulations once again, Katie.

8:57 Thank you so much, uh Kylie. It's been absolutely lovely and a pleasure to speak to you today. And like I said, I'm just the front of Wink at the moment,

9:04 but there's a lot of people behind in the back end who work very hard. And one of our values at WINC is always improving and it it we live and breathe

9:12 that. So if everyone contributes across the business, it means a better outcome for our customers. So thank you so much for your time today and thank you for I

9:19 guess my team for you know being there to support and get us to where we are and and being recognized for something that really means a lot to us uh because

9:27 that's what we continuously try to do as an organization is improve that service and it's great to get this recognition. So, thank you, Kylie.

9:34 And thank you, of course, to our viewers for watching the latest episode of The Educator TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon.