The challenge
The leading nationwide supermarket was grappling with sky-high storage costs due to around 34,000 boxes of confidential information scattered across multiple stores. This exposed them to the risk of data breaches, as well as non-compliance that could’ve risked significant legal penalties. Their manual file searching was slow and inefficient, hindering productivity. Moreover, they lacked a comprehensive 'going paperless' strategy to modernise their operations.
The solution
Shredall SDS Group provided full consultancy on the supermarket’s current records management practices, leading to a full hybrid document management plan that aimed to reduce current spend and maximise the use of existing files. This included all facets of Shredall SDS Group’s document management services, including scanning, storage, and shredding and recycling.
Of the 34,000 boxes of data, 7,000 were obsolete and destroyed due to expired retention periods, meaning there were 27,000 boxes containing 448,000 files left to sort through. In collaboration with the supermarket, we meticulously assessed each document to determine its storage or digitization needs. Factors such as access requirements, usage across the nationwide stores, and remaining retention periods guided our decisions.
A digital strategy was a large part of the developed solution for the customer, with approximately 96,000 files digitised as they were most utilised by staff, or they had the longest retention periods. A scan-on-demand solution was designed for physical records that needed retrieval, with all new physical records having a monthly collection to ensure that they were digitised and accessible.
The result
The hybrid solution offers a cost-effective alternative to full digitisation by carefully evaluating each file type and finding the best solution for storage and access. Leveraging their expertise in document management and processing, Shredall SDS Group has alleviated the overwhelming burden of an outdated records management system.
Over time, the supermarket will transition to a paperless environment, with physical records being destroyed as their retention periods come to an end. All historic and future records will be seamlessly integrated into their new digital document management system.
“I would like to thank the wonderful Shredall SDS Group team. They are a pleasure to work with. We went through a rigorous selection process to determine the best company to manage such a mammoth task. Shredall SDS Group wrote an exceptional plan of not only how they would re-organise and manage our current archive, but the ongoing process of digitisation was extremely thorough. As they have worked with other supermarkets on similar projects, the expertise and knowledge was a real stand out for us. The process from start to finish was transparent, accurate and expertly done. Thanks again for all of your hard work and guidance, we look forward to continuing our working relationship for years to come.” Operations Director
Discover how Shredall SDS Group can provide your business with a full document management strategy by getting in touch with us today.
