CASE STUDY: Office Relocation and Logistics Solutions

In 2016 Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc. opened a branch in Augusta, GA, one of 16 offices across the U.S. After a great first year, their newly opened firm quickly overwhelmed their current office space and began the hunt for a new facility that could accommodate their growing business. After finding an available suite at Enterprise Mill, GMC was left with the task of not only relocating their current offices and employees, but planning and coordinating the delivery and setup of their new office furniture and fixtures, in addition to managing their daily workload.

Relocating an existing office space and outfitting a new one means coordinating a lot of moving parts. From packing and preparing items in your existing space to planning, purchasing, and scheduling delivery for items that will come to your new space, developing the perfect project timeline can become cumbersome. In addition to having a lack of time for detailed planning and coordination, Kyle Titus, GMC’s Office Lead, knew his team also had a lack of storage space for incoming furniture and other items for the new office and that they did not have immediate access to a variety of the tools and resources they would need to complete their move effectively.

Developing a Plan:

As the pre-move project list grew longer, Office Leader Kyle Titus knew it was time to find a customized solution for his office move. After reaching out to Ellefson Transportation Group, the planning process for his relocation began. “We really left the planning up to Ellefson Transportation Group. We met early on with Jim Thorpe and Rachel Moore. We essentially told them we need to move ‘this stuff from this office to that office.’ Jim and Rachel were extremely helpful. They took our very basic direction and laid out a logistical plan for our move,”  said Kyle.   This plan included details such as a moving timeline, as well as details about furniture layouts, and relocation of any specialty items or pieces of equipment. In addition, the delivery of storage totes was coordinated to ensure that GMC had time to pre-pack any items they desired, prior to moving day.

Tools of the Trade:

As an experienced transportation and relocation service provider, Ellefson Transportation has streamlined the process of planning and preparing for relocations, both large and small. An added benefit of working with the experts is access to the tools of the trade. One of the major selling points of any office and industrial relocation is the use of our blue storage totes. These plastic, weather-proof containers are easy to stack and can be loaded four to a rolling dolly (versus just 3 boxes on a hand truck). Using these totes allows ETG to get your items moved more efficiently and with less waste than traditional corrugated moving boxes. In addition, we have systemized the relocation of your employees’ desktop technology to ensure they are safely and neatly relocated to your new office and setup for your employees to shorten downtime.   One of the best tools in our tool box is our trained, insured, and uniformed crew. They are the true experts when it comes to ensuring that any relocation goes off without a hitch. From knowing the proper way to pack and lift your items to helping ensure furniture and fixtures are placed in the correct locations at your new office, they are instrumental in creating solutions that work.

KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT:

As moving day approaches, it’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page. That’s why we place such an emphasis on pre-move planning and walk throughs. Setting and meeting is a key part of developing relocation solutions that work. In the case of GMC, we worked with their organization to coordinate the delivery and storage of their new office furniture prior to the completion of their new office space. Once the space was available for move-in, those items were pulled from storage, delivered and assembled. In addition, packing supplies were delivered ahead of moving day to allow employees ample time to pack and store their belongings before moving day, and on the day of their relocation our team was on-site to ensure that items were delivered, assembled, setup, and ready for business upon completion of the project. “All of our new furniture that was ordered was shipped to Ellefson’s warehouse in two shipments. Once each shipment arrived Ellefson’s staff would bring the new furniture to our new office space, assemble, and dispose of the trash. For all of our existing furniture, moving bins were delivered to our current office space two weeks prior to our move to give us plenty of time to pack. We informed Ellefson about a week before we were ready to make the final move. They showed up the day of, moved our computers first so that our downtime was minimized, then disassembled all of our existing furniture. They then moved the existing furniture and moving bins to our new office space, reassembled everything, and cleaned up before they left. It really was a stress-free move.”     Being in communication throughout the project ensures that we are able to accommodate additional needs as they arise. We recognize that plans and needs change as moving day gets closer, which is why our relocation experts are constantly checking in and keeping you updated throughout the process.   “If there were any instances or details that needed to be conveyed outside of the original plan I simply texted or called Jim and they were taken care of. I didn’t have to look back. I felt as if Jim truly cared about our business and he understood the importance of minimizing our down time and getting us back to work.”    

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA:

Ellefson Transportation Group and its subsidiary companies are able to offer a unique suite of services perfect for handling your office relocation, no matter your needs. In addition to helping with the heavy lifting, our partners at Augusta Data Storage are experts in file relocations and purge shredding projects, fulfilling additional, often unrecognized, needs during an office move.   While GMC did not require a large-scale file transfer like a healthcare provider, law office, or other client-facing business, they did find themselves with a large number of documents in need of secure destruction. “Once the move was complete we found ourselves with many outdated documents but did not want to simply throw them away. ETG sent in certified purge shredding staff to remove the documents from our office and properly dispose.”

WHY ELLEFSON TRANSPORTATION GROUP WAS THE PERFECT SOLUTION FOR GMC:

With a portfolio of services to serve B2B clients across a variety of needs, Ellefson Transportation Group is uniquely positioned to provide a full-service relocation experience for a business of any size. Whether you’re new to the area and opening your first office, in need of logistics and storage solutions, or you are a long-established organization starting a new chapter in new office, our team can create a customized relocation plan for your project.   We are happy to offer our full suite of services, across all of our brands, to each of our customers to ensure that their needs are met in the shortest time with the least amount of headaches.

“We utilized their moving, warehousing, furniture assembly and installation, and document purging services. Really, those are the only services we needed throughout the move. ETG was a one-stop-shop and really eliminated the headaches involved in the moving process.”

WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE ETG FOR YOUR OFFICE RELOCATION?

With over 50 years of experience in the transportation and relocation industry, Ellefson Transportation Group and its subsidiary companies have developed a process that works. Our focus is always on the customer first, we are determined to create a solution that works for your unique needs, and our efforts are always driven by quality. We take pride in the work we do and the opportunities we have to serve businesses in the Augusta area and across the C.S.R.A. every day.

Questions? Give us a Call!

We’re here to help, reach out to one of our relocation specialists who can help answer any questions you might have about relocating your office. 706.793.0186