The most obvious and most over looked is tossing out junk from that black hole of a storage closet. Think about donating out dated manuals or books to a trade school or local school. Old computer equipment is not to be thrown in the trash but companies are set up for responsibly destroying those assets. A reminder is to destroy the hard drive on old CPU’s before turning them over to be destroyed. Worst case with large items or excess furniture is to have it hauled to the local county disposal facility. Remember this long time mover’s proverb…Chuck It, Don’t Truck.

Another savings is thru King Office Services QuickCube estimating software that helps the mover create a efficient move plan and optimized move crew size. Once your inventory of items to be moved and the building logistics are inputted, QuickCube provides the most efficient crew size saving you paying too much because of someone’s math error. Quickcube takes the guess work from estimating your relocation project providing you the best possible price.

Lastly and very important step is to set up a task list and assign duties to your move team. With some planning upfront certainly can save you once your move crew shows up and they can get right to work. Hold move meetings with your staff to explain what needs to happen to make the move efficient for everyone involved. Creating a office layout helps the movers place the furniture without taking time to ask questions or looking for someone to give direction on placement of furniture. All employees need to be prepared and packed up on move day so the move crew can get right to work saving potential hundreds of dollars not having the move crew waiting.

THE APPOINTMENT

First you want to sit down and have a conversation with the sales person or surveyor.  Discuss the timeline for the move, destination factors including what type of building, and the address or area of town you are planning to move into.  This process typically takes about 5 minutes.

Then the surveyor will want to perform a walkthrough of the office or warehouse to inventory the furniture, contents and electronics.  Depending on the size of your space this can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as an hour.  A typical business with about 5000 sqft takes about 20 minutes. 

Once the walkthrough is completed I have the ability to process and email your proposal onsite from us to review and discuss the material and labor needed and the timeline associated with the move.  The processing time takes about 15-20 minutes.  All together a typical appointment takes about an hour.

THE PROPOSAL

A worthwhile proposal will contain a scope of work, an inventory, and a move plan.  The scope of work should detail the services included, excluded and items left open; meaning items priced but not included in the total.  An example of item you want specifically stated as included or exclude would be disconnect or reconnect of cubicles, metal shelves, stair carry at origin or destination or packing and unpacking labor for files or medical records.  The next item is an inventory.  How can one compare bids if you cannot verify what the surveyor has inventoried?  The move plan should include pricing and timeline.  The pricing should break down material cost per unit and labor should be calculated hourly with set rates for the crew.  A start time and completion time should also be stated for each phase of labor.

One of the most important phrases to look for is “Fixed bid,” or “Guaranteed Price.”  We all have heard horror stories of moves that took twice as long as estimated and cost twice as much.  Most buyers look at price as the most important criteria for procurement of a move, and it is important, but comparing apples to apples proposals and making sure you have a fixed bid is critical to budgeting and sanity.

WRAP-UP

I hope this blog has been helpful.  My name is Kevin Crofoot and I am VP of Sales for KCS Office Moving.  This is the first in a series of six blogs and corresponding videos.  The next video and blog will be on “How Organization Can Decrease Your Downtime,” in an office move.  You can request a quote or find more information at www.kcsofficemoving.com.

Kevin Crofoot

KCS Office Moving

www.kcsofficemoving.com

Houston Office Movers, Office Moving Houston, Office Movers, Preferred Office Movers, Facility Movers, Commercial Moving, Free Office Moving Checklist, Free Office Moving Quote, KCS Office Moving

King Office Services provided moving, packing, unpacking, computer disconnect & reconnect services, plastic crates, and assisted with move management related tasks. All of these services were planned for over a year before the execution of the project took place.

Working hand in hand with the relocation project management team of Blackman and Holberton, the LAPD move team, and A2Z-It for computer services the move was completed on time and under budgett. The client has been quoted as saying it was an efficient and professional relocation.

2500 moving personnel hours, 10,000 plastic RentaCrates, 3,500 computers, 2500 employee staff members, over 1500 truckloads where relocated during the 11 phases of the move. All of this was completed without one misplaced item and zero damages.  

Currently King Office Services is working on the decommissioning and vacating of the old origin locations. During this process we have assisted with liquidation, recylcing and disposal of all unused assets. The entire process will be concluded by the end of February 2010.