Boult Wade Tennant are a leading firm of European trademark and patent attorneys. They have a London base in Salisbury Square and 6 further locations across the UK, Germany and Spain.
The Why:
A price increase coupled with the introduction of a new monthly admin fee implemented by their incumbent offsite storage provider drove Boult to consider other options. They needed help to weigh up their options and were wanting more than a like-for-like service. They wanted to review their internal archive processes to ensure they were compliant with GDPR and substantially reduce their box volumes prior to a potential transfer to a new supplier.
The What:
Boult engaged with ClearSpace, who undertook an analysis of all boxes held offsite to understand what was being stored and whether it was past retention. Additionally, ClearSpace reviewed related business processes and policies to identify obstacles/opportunities to help reduce their offsite box growth rate. It was found that some boxes were sent offsite without retention dates and some paperwork in storage needn’t be stored at all.
The Outcome:
ClearSpace reviewed the current charges and costs and went out to the market to find a cheaper supplier. ClearSpace managed this process and made their recommendations. A lot of the boxes had no review date or a review date of the year 3000. ClearSpace inspected these boxes and through internal systems managed to assign retention to 90% of the boxes. This resulted in enhanced GDPR compliance with the boxes being destroyed in a timely manner going forward and over time, reduced offsite storage costs. An annual destruction process was introduced and this will result in financial savings of £50,000 over the next 36 months. Policies have also been introduced to ensure that only business critical hard-copy is archived, keeping offsite storage to a minimum. Within 5 years Boult’s archive holding should be 30% of what it was at peak.
Testimonial:
“ClearSpace demonstrated their expertise in the archiving industry throughout our working relationship. We felt unable to challenge our existing supplier and ClearSpace provided us with the information we needed to be able to do this and make better decisions. Offsite storage costs are something I think every company just accepts but there are obvious cost saving opportunities. I’d recommend ClearSpace to any firm wanting to stay compliant and instantly make an impact on their bottom line.”
- Tom Kelly, Facilities Manager, Boult Wade Tennant
Archive consultancy is just one of the many services provided by ClearSpace Group to help facilities managers to decrease spend and improve compliance. If you are experiencing similar issues to those described in this case study, call or message our team for an informal chat.