On Mar 10, 2009, at 12:00 AM, RECMGMT-L automatic digest system wrote:

> rom: Angie Fares <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: March 9, 2009 12:33:11 PM EDT
> Subject: Re: Record Storage Vendors
>
>
Snips from Angie

> I like David Gaynon's suggestion.
>
> A discount "pricing group" might be just the thing to lower costs for
> the individual organizations using the service and help the storage
> vendors manage their resources better by prioritizing what the group
> needs in terms of service levels, help desk coverage, response times,
> system maintenance and upgrades, etc.
>
>
> I would imagine that some of the ARMA Industry Specific Groups could  
> get
> concensus on a service model that would be common to organizations  
> in a
> similar industry.  By electing a user-group liaison to interface  
> with a
> record storage service delivery manager high up in the organization,
> maybe the group as a whole could get some leverage.

I think the buying group might have some merit.  If you offered  
storage companies in the industry 20,000 tapes or 20,000 boxes (or  
more)  in X number of cities, then you could receive a very solid bid.  
You could specify simple things like next day delivery as a SLA.

The whole purpose of the National Records Centers, (www.nationalrecordscenters.com 
) Secure Media Vault Associates (www.securemediavaults.com) other  
consortiums acting as a vendor group, is to offer large consortiums of  
clients or even one large client volume competitive pricing in  
multiple markets or improved service in a spectrum of markets. So the  
vendor groups exist.  PRISM International exists as a major trade  
group to allow independent records storage centers to act in  
networking to serve wide based accounts.

Nevertheless, I believe you will never be successful in gathering  
multiple accounts into a combine. You simply cannot achieve consensus  
among disparate companies, their records managers and their purchasing  
agents.  If you can though, I promise there are already organizations  
out there that will jump on such a bid opportunity.

For example, a few years ago, a network came to FIRELOCK and asked us  
how they could lower the price on our vault so it would provide all  
the great protection but be a little less expensive.  We immediately  
develop a pricing model that said if they would standardize all of  
their future vaults on a set height, (they chose 8' 0" High) thus  
creating volume for us in a given standard height, that this discount  
would apply. Being the optimist I was, I looked for a whole new trend.  
Playing with my kids while the vaults practically sold themselves.  :~)

Guess how vaults were ordered at the standard height?  No!  Not that  
many!  Zero! Yes.

Individuals want what they want.  If they have a 10' ceiling they want  
a vault that fits it.  If they have a 12' height they want to use all  
of that. I just installed a vault that was 8' 3" high.  Know how high  
the ceiling was?   8' 4" above the area where the vault was installed.

But if you truly think that could work send me an email off list and I  
will tell you how you could make this work for you.  The market is  
extremely friendly right now, a buyer's market if you will. But would  
you really work with another company do make this work?

Really, can you answer that question?


Hugh Smith
FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults
[log in to unmask]
(610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
WWW.FIRELOCK.COM



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