Safe Deposit Boxes

Apart from their role as in-office advertising, containers are absolutely essential to the secure collection and transportation of confidential documents, and the criteria for their selection goes well beyond color and branding opportunities. Document destruction firms must consider a number of other factors ranging from product quality to supplier reliability when selecting containers.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Most document destruction firms place supplier reliability and container quality toward the top of their lists.

"It’s not always about the better deal," Jason Cresto of Shred Pro, Salt Lake City, Utah, says. "When you need a container or bins, you need them. If you are trying to save a few dollars here or there, it’s not worth it."

Instead, Cresto says container quality is at the top of his list, followed by the supplier’s reputation for service and reliability.

Shred Pro provides secure on-site data destruction in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. The company’s six branches operate a total of 17 shredding trucks and employ 100 people total.

Shed Pro prefers to deal directly with container manufacturers as opposed to distributors in light of the company’s order volume. Typically Shred Pro orders as many as 300 consoles and 1,600 plastic carts per month. Cresto doesn’t readily dismiss distributors, though, saying they are a good choice for smaller shredding companies who do not have the same volume requirements that Shred Pro does.

Quality and service also rank high with Kevin Smith, vice president and general manager of Secure Eco Shred, based in Farmington, Mich. However, Smith varies from Cresto in that he will deal with distributors and manufacturers. "A distributor will hold [inventory] for you," he says.

Secure Eco Shred operates offices and shredding trucks in Michigan, Illinois, Connecticut and Ohio.

John Bauknight IV, president of Shred First LLC, Spartanburg, S.C., says he looks for on-time delivery of quality product. "With our growth, we have to have containers in a short time," he says, adding that the company usually has a week of lead time to work with.

As transportation costs continue to escalate, many secure destruction professionals look for free shipping on minimum orders. Les Etscheidt, operations manager for Document Destruction & Recycling Services (DDRS), a division of Iowa City, Iowa-based City Carton Recycling, says his console supplier offers free shipping on all orders, while he looks for free shipping on minimum orders from his wheeled cart suppliers. "It is really important to us now with fuel costs to try to be efficient that way."

Etscheidt also looks for flexible payment terms when shopping for containers and consoles. "If we can float those payments out over time, it’s easier on the company."

Beyond these financial concerns, DDRS also looks for innovative containers that offer additional security. Etscheidt says the company has started using a new cart that includes baffles and deflector shoots, which offer additional security by preventing people from being able to reach into a container using the lid’s feed slot.

Many of the secure destruction professionals interviewed for this feature also find it in their companies’ best interests to provide their clients with a narrow selection of container sizes and styles.

LIMITING OPTIONS

Document destruction firms generally supply their clients with consoles and wheeled plastic carts of various sizes, depending on where the containers are to be placed and the volume of material to be generated.

Etscheidt says DDRS’ primary workhorse is the 95-gallon light grey wheeled plastic cart, though the company also places 32-gallon consoles in offices. DDRS also deploys 180-gallon wheeled tubs for purge jobs.

When placing containers at a client’s office, DDRS tries to convey to them that tonnage is an important factor, Etscheidt says. "They get better pricing with a bigger container. We try to make them understand the total process."

However, it always comes down to what the customer wants, he says, though DDRS tries to encourage its customers to choose from its inventoried options.

Bauknight says Shred First avoids allowing customers to make color choices "like the plague." The company also prefers to use nothing but 95-gallon wheeled plastic bins and 45-gallon consoles, but will offer various console sizes as needed.

Secure Eco Shred offers hunter green 64-gallon and 95-gallon plastic carts and standard-size consoles that measure 3 feet by 20 inches by 20 inches and smaller consoles that measure 24 inches by 20 inches by 20 inches.

The consoles that Secure Eco Shred offers are designed specifically for the company, according to Smith. He says they offer increased security as well as ease of operation for the company’s service reps.

Colleen Regan of Coast2Coast Shredding LLC, Oro Valley, Ariz., says, "We prefer the 64-gallon containers because they seem to jam the trucks a little less." The company also stocks 24-inch consoles and offers its customers blue 32-gallon and 96-gallon carts, though Coast2Coast does not keep these carts in its inventory.

Shred Pro offers its customers a wooden console or a 64-gallon grey plastic cart. "It’s very important that we have the same color," Cresto says. "We don’t offer anything but grey. Then you’d have to inventory all of those things. There’s not enough money in it to do that." Cresto adds that Shred Pro discourages the use of other container sizes, too.

IN INVENTORY

Cresto says Shred Pro has a central container warehouse in Salt Lake City to which it has all of its containers shipped. From here, the company dispatches the containers to its branch locations, which reduces freight charges.

In determining the number of containers to have on hand, Cresto says it’s essential for a document destruction firm to keep close tabs on its sales activity. "You have to follow your sales people and know what is in the pipeline," he says, suggesting that a company’s sales staff provide reports specifying their hot, warm and cold prospects. "Have half of the hot ones on hand," Cresto advises.

"You don’t know if you are going to get an account until you get it," he adds. "The turnaround time is really important; otherwise it’s cash on the floor."

Coast2Coast Shredding likes to have 100 carts and consoles on hand at all times. "If we need to order for a new account, we’ll order enough so we have 100 extra," Regan says.

Smith of Secure Eco Shred says the company keeps around 85 to 120 consoles and carts in inventory and buys in lots of 100.

Secure Eco Shred also numbers each of its containers and keeps track of their locations in an Excel file. "The consoles can be somewhat costly if you are losing track of them."

Shred First’s Bauknight says the company stocks 300 or more 95-gallon carts and 100 consoles at a time. "We try to keep up with the sales forecasts and know on an average month there are several hundred placed," he says.

Knowing the life expectancy of carts and consoles can also help a document destruction company plan for container retirement and have replacements on hand.

"We are slowly getting rid of our initial few years of purchase," Bauknight says of Shred First’s plastic carts, adding that typical life expectancy is from five to seven years. "These containers get beat up a good bit for off-site clients, as they are always on the go."

However, Shred First has taken very few consoles out of service in its eight years of business. Bauknight says this is because they rarely move after placement, reducing wear and tear.

When it comes to consoles, Regan says that most damage occurs on the initial shipment, but once out in the field, replacements are rare. Smith also says that most damage to consoles is a result of mishandling on delivery.

Shred Pro moves its container inventory among its branch offices and uses stickers instead of hot stamping to personalize its carts. "We have the branch’s specific phone number on them," he says. "We like to personalize the phone call rather than having it go to a call center at our main office."

Service and security is what the document destruction industry is based on, after all. The carts and consoles a company uses are the most prominent reminder of its services.