The Challenge

Perkins Coie was not satisfied with their offsite storage provider, and receiving many complaints about them in local markets.

The Solution

Access for offsite storage and records management

The Results

  • Trust in records management process
  • Quicker turnaround times
  • Easy access to files through FileBRIDGE portal

About Perkins Coie

Industry: Law
Company Size: Enterprise 1000+ employees
Location: Washington, United States

We moved approximately 152,000 boxes in seven locations. The entire move took just about a year. The majority of the offices were moved in a matter of months.Patrick Benedict, Director of Records Management Services

An Interview with Patrick Benedict, Director of Records Management Services of Perkins Coie.

Perkins Coie is headquartered in Seattle, WA and currently has 19 offices across the United States and Asia. Perkins Coie consists of a wide variety of different practices from Business to Product Liability, Intellectual Property to Tax, Benefits and Compensation. Patrick Benedict is the Firm’s Director of Records Management Services.

How were you handling your records and what were the challenges you were facing?

Before the switch to Access, we had one primary offsite storage vendor and a handful of smaller vendors servicing smaller accounts. We began to see more and more complaints from the local offices regarding the level of service they were receiving from our primary vendor. We attempted to address these concerns with the vendor but saw very little or no improvements. The billing process for the offsite accounts had become confusing and inconsistent. We had several different contracts with varying rates for services and we wanted to consolidate and streamline the billing process. It was difficult to get accurate information regarding our inventory because of the number of different accounts. We wanted to consolidate all of our inventory under one account to more accurately monitor the entire inventory.

How did Access address these challenges?

Access began by just listening and understanding our concerns . We were impressed early on by not only the depth of knowledge the Access team had regarding the legal offsite process, but also the solutions they were proposing. We explained the current service related concerns we had with our current vendor and how we envisioned a future offsite vendor relationship. It was obvious from the very beginning that the values and service related philosophy at Access were exactly what we were looking for in an offsite storage vendor. This service related philosophy was evident throughout their company from the CEO, to the management team, to the drivers dropping off boxes. In regards to the billing process, we explained what our challenges were with the current process and how we would like future invoices to look. Access presented us with straightforward invoicing solutions and tailored it to better represent what was being billed for each local office.

We moved approximately 152,000 boxes in seven locations. The entire move took just about a year. The majority of the offices were moved in a matter of months but the largest account in Seattle took the year.

That can be pretty stressful to keep organized through. How did it go?

I was initially nervous to begin the transfer, I was worried that the day-to-day monitoring of the move was going to be an all-encompassing task. I could not speak more highly of the transfer team that was put in place from Access. Their ability to organize multiple moves simultaneously, coordinate with our prior vendors, locate inventory “in transit” when necessary and report on progress was more than impressive. The transfer couldn’t have gone more smoothly and I credit the excellent team Access assembled for this enormous task.

Now that the dust has settled, what strikes you the most about the transition?

Now that the dust has settled, and the transition of our inventory is complete, I can say without a doubt that we made a great decision to go with Access. They listened to our concerns, were honest with us throughout the process, assemble an excellent transition team and we couldn’t be happier with the entire move. In hindsight, so many of the concerns that hindered us from considering a change sooner just turned out to be none issues. I’m extremely pleased with how the transition transpired and look forward to expanding our relationship with Access in the future.

Any advice to other firms battling those same challenges that prompted your firm’s decision to transition to Access?

The prospect of moving large quantities of inventory can seem extremely daunting when first considered. The “what ifs” prevented us from making a change for many years. My advice to firms considering a change would be simply do it. The Access team is top notch and will walk you through the process regardless of how complex the project may seem. I’m extremely satisfied with the move to Access and only wish we would have done it sooner.

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