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Another Exclusive of Office Moving Systems, Inc.
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Commercial Relocation - The Book
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"Two-thirds of those responsible for their company's relocations either lose their job or get demoted after the move."
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Source: IFMA Journal Article, 1989
"Making A Move That Won't Mean Your Job"
by Robin M. Stern & Bobbie Gordon
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SAVE YOUR JOB.
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Commercial Relocation
A Comprehensive Guide for Industry Professionals & Service Buyers
by Ed Katz
$297.00 (plus sales tax for GA residents) plus $10.00 USPS Priority Mail shipping. Shipping charges to addresses outside United States will be higher. Payment in U.S. funds.
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250 Pages of Plain-Sense, Easy Reading
Icons Throughout Link Related Material
Comprehensive Index
Available In Soft Cover Only
ISBN 0-9637477-5-4
Ask for the award-winning COMMERCIAL RELOCATION
at your local public library.
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What you will learn . . .
. Prepare, estimate, spend, monitor, and close out a realistic budget.
. Figure one-time move costs to reveal the true economic impact on the company.
. Organize a move team to hire and manage consultants, vendors, and suppliers.
. Design new space for long-term economic benefit.
. Plan a telecommunications system that won't be obsolete the day you move in.
. Buy office furniture.
. Safeguard vital company records while saving move costs now and rent later.
. Plan a sign system.
. Negotiate an office lease by avoiding these seven fatal errors.
. Work with a contractor to remodel or build new space on time within budget.
. Evaluate moving company bids and minimize disruption, damage, and downtime.
. Efficiently manage your new space after the move.
. Plan for an international move.
COMMERCIAL RELOCATION by Ed Katz covers the whole move - from feasibility to move-in, from budgeting to signage - in a fast-paced, easy-to-read format.
Internationally recognized as the authority in office moving, Ed Katz combines his 20-plus years in the commercial moving business with the expert advice of America's leading industry authorities in COMMERCIAL RELOCATION: A Comprehensive Guide for Industry Professionals and Service Buyers. Experts from some of America's most respected names in the industry share their know-how in the only single-source reference manual ever published.
Return To Top
SECTION 1
Your Career vs The Corporate Move
Chapter 1 - Your Career vs The Corporate Move
- SECTION 2
Money, Experience & Feasibility
Chapter 2 - Setting Up & Managing A Move Budget
Chapter 3 - The Move Consultant
Chapter 4 - Is it Feasible?
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- SECTION 3
Planning Your Space
Chapter 5 - Hiring A Designer
Chapter 6 - Telecommunications
Chapter 7 - Buying Office Furniture
Chapter 8 - Protecting & Storing Company Property
Chapter 9 - Planning A Sign System
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- SECTION 4
Finding, Building & Managing Business Space
Chapter 10 - Finding Office Space & Negotiating A Lease
Chapter 11 - Hiring A General Contractor
Chapter 12 - Facility Management Solutions
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- SECTION 5
Relocating Your Business
Chapter 13 - The Physical Move
Chapter 14 - International Relocation
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- Return To Top
SECTION 1
Your Career vs The Corporate Move
Chapter 1
Your Career vs The Corporate Move
First the bad news
Starting at the beginning
The Boss: Not always right but always the boss
Why & how much
Corporate Culture
Needs and expectations: Get accustomed to it
A realistic budget
Selecting a team
Setting operational goals
Image vs budget
Developing a team vision
Handholding: How much will you need?
Setting a move date
Finding the right location
One for the road
Return to Table of Contents
SECTION 2
Money, Experience & Feasibility
- Chapter 2
Setting Up & Managing A Move Budget
Five steps to success
Preparing a relocation budget
Capital & expense items
Asking for cash
Existing contracts & discounts
Existing & new business relationships
Timing and vendor payments
A realistic estimate
Vendor discounts and hidden charges
Spending the money you've budgeted
Vendor bids and billing
Enough plain english
Monitoring the details
Closing out the budget
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- Return to Table of Contents
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- Chapter 3
- The Move Consultant
What is a move consultant?
It's their day job
Hard & soft dollar payback
Who needs a move consultant?
Move from hell
Supplier mistakes
Communicating to the troops
Free managers to manage
Set the move date and hire your consultant
Time to react
A place for everything
Complex & sensitive projects
The consultant's approach
Management's role
Outsmarting yourself
Management responsibilities
Move manager qualities
The process
Relocation Services
Project Planning
Project Managemen
Communications
Selecting a move consultant
Evaluating prospective consultants
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- Return to Table of Contents
Chapter 4
Is it Feasible?
Where
Collecting data
Labor costs
Calculating one-time costs
Recruiting costs
Incentive pay to stay
Severance pay
Training costs
Dual operations
Employee moving costs
Financing
Return to Table of Contents
SECTION 3
Planning Your Space
Chapter 5
Hiring A Designer
So where do I begin?
Consultants you may need
The right help at the best value
Your approach philosophy
Let's have lunch!
Pay me now or pay me later
The RFP
Fee structure
Now the fun starts
Beware of low-bidder glitter
Getting there is half the fun
Building step by step
Tightening the plan
Things to think about
What to expect from your designer
Sample Request for Proposal
Return to Table of Contents
Chapter 6
Telecommunications
Remember when life use to be simple?
No way to hide a stampeding elephant
Telecommunications for dummies
Lead Times: The myth
How many lines and services do you have?
Verifying services
Mystery numbers?
Moving services you don't own
Changing service & planning for the future
Check with the phone company first
Other calls to make
Check leased space arrangement
Other rental equipment
Space design and build-out
Moving communications services
Fax numbers
Service changes after the move
Outsourcing telephone service
Sample Statement of Work
Return to Table of Contents
Chapter 7
Buying Office Furniture
Life use to be so simple
Who sells what
Service differences
Deciding what furniture you need
Influencial trends
Technological forces
People, procedures, equipment, and buildings
Selecting a furniture supplier
Narrowing the field of candidates
What you need to provide
Comparing apples to apples
Evaluating service
And now for a smooth selection
Return to Table of Contents
Chapter 8
Protecting & Storing Company Property
Planning file space
Throw a throwing out party!
Why go off-site?
There's storage and then there's service
How records storage works
Finding the right records management vendor
Record center costs
How secure is secure?
And what about their records of your records
Some not so obvious qualifiers
Paring the field of candidates
Commercial storage: Who needs it, anyway?
Why outside warehousing?
Before the move
After the move
Planned off-site storage
How it works
Inventory information
Ask yourself the following questions
Terms and types of charges
Return to Table of Contents
Chapter 9
Planning A Sign System
The gospel according to IDRI
Sign planning for the complete - err...novice
Now that it works, make it sing
Long arm of the law
First things first
Second things...well, at much the same time
Sign system selection checklist
Appearance
Quality
Functionality
Maintenance and updating
Regulatory considerations
Cost vs investment
Sourcing
Return to Table of Contents
SECTION 4
Finding, Building & Managing Business Space
Chapter 10
Finding Office Space & Negotiating A Lease
Seven deadly errors and how to avoid them
Poor planning
Business needs
Personal needs
Stating the requirement
Asking the right questions
Advantages of false confidence
Who's really working for who here?
The players and what motivates them
Vague, obvious questions get only half the story
Quoted rent vs true cost
Common area factor
Negotiating annual increases
Free rent and tricks of the trade
Free rent outside the lease term
Free rent and operating expenses
Hire your broker first
The broker's role and your responsibility
The broker and the building owner
Don't forget you're the customer
Return to Table of Contents
- Chapter 11
Hiring A General Contractor
Two approaches
Characteristics of a traditional approach
Characteristics of a team approach
Studies point to advantages of team approach
Selecting a contractor -- traditional approach
Prior to bid
Step 1 - General contractor pre-qualification
Evaluating responses
Step 2 - Bidding
Step 3 - Receive and evaluate bids
Over budget?
Step 4 - Award
Selecting a contractor -- team approach
Step 1 - Request for qualifications
Timing a problem?
Evaluating RFQ responses
Step 2 - Request for Proposals
Step 3 - Evaluating RFP responses
The Interview
Step 4 - Making the final selection
- Conclusion
- Sample Request for Qualifications Cover Letter
Sample Request For Qualifications
- Sample Request for Proposal Cover Letter
Sample Request for Proposal
- Sample Interview Letter
Return to Table of Contents
Chapter 12
Facility Management Solutions
The business climate
New alternatives
The changing role of corporate real estate
Enough? Too much?
The new business strategists
New external resources
True property ownership
The right provider
Outsourcing vs outtasking
Developing the business case
Screening potential suppliers
Picking your partner
What to expect from your partner
Return to Table of Contents
SECTION 5
Relocating Your Business
Chapter 13
The Physical Move
Guilty as charged
How to hire a mover
Ask for the last five moves
10 steps to getting an accurate estimate
Validating move estimates
Shortcut Formula Diagram
Movers' Proposals Diagram
Compare man-hours instead of price
Beware of the latest trend
Moving Cartons: What's the big deal?
Office Legal Tote
Plastic Super Box
The Peach Pop™
Insuring your move
Need a mover? Ask your building manager
Move Security: How to prevent theft
Walk softly and carry a big wanted poster
An ounce of prevention
Moving computers
Here are five ways to move computers
Break a leg . . . er, I mean how not to
The "boxless" move
Moving glass can be a shattering experience
The art of moving paintings
File this under moving cabinets
Moving blueprint (map or flat) file cabinet
Do as I say, not as I did
Moving lateral (wide) file cabinets
Preparation
Moving vertical (narrow) file cabinets
Moving a parts warehouse
Return to Table of Contents
Chapter 14
International Relocation
FIDI covers the globe
What's controllable and what's not
ISO gets a chance
Taking matters into their own hands
Forgetting everything they ever knew
Frankenstein meets Dracula
Good news on the home front
Return to Table of Contents
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Read An Excerpt
Chapter 1 - Your Career vs The Corporate Move
First the bad news
Two-thirds of those responsible for their company's move either get fired or demoted afterwards.
That is the finding of a study by the International Facility Managers Association (IFMA). And even worse, thanks to the explosion in information technology, business moves have become significantly more complicated than when the IFMA study took place in 1988. Since businesses seldom relocate, that can be pretty scary if you're about to plan perhaps the only move you'll ever be asked to do. Doubly so when expected to work it in around your regular, full-time responsibilities.
Starting at the beginning
Up until now, there's been no universally accepted formula for what to do and when. That's because every move is unique, and that's the problem. However, I've taken the liberty of outlining first steps, explain why they should be firsts, and suggested an order in which they should be undertaken. Moving means changing a lot more than where you'll report for work. An office move is a very complicated undertaking requiring many specialized skills rarely found inhouse. Underestimating the time needed, the degree of complexity, and the cost very often lead to disasterous results. And you only need to look as far as the IFMA study mentioned earlier to prove it.
A realistic budget
Available money dictates everything. Some things like the cost of the physical move will obviously become a line item in your budget, but many less apparent expenses lurk in the fog. As you will discover, the great unknowns of a typical commercial relocation consistently cause companies to under budget, sometimes woefully so. Expect conflicts over image and budget. Part of your job will be making someone else's work-place vision become a reality within the amount of money you can spend.
Selecting a team
You'll need to form an in-house team to help. Select individuals within your company who can contribute relevant experience or knowledge such as construction or buying furniture. Together you will begin developing more specific plans for the project by defining operational goals. The in-house team in collaboration with the consultants you hire later form the move team.
Developing a team vision
Assemble your team and go over the collected details. A picture of the space should begin to take shape as each member presents the defined needs they've gathered. Encourage members to express their vision for the space and record the main points. Begin hammering out a team concept of the new area by comparing the impressions of individual team members. Due diligence at this point in the project saves significant time and money later.
Handholding: How much will you need?
Given the scope of the project and the strengths and weaknesses of your in-house team, you should be able to determine the level of outside services required. Or to say it another way, how much or how little handholding will you need? Once you're able to define what you need your consultants to do, you can then find the ones who will bring the most value to the project.
You'll hire some consultants early, others later on, but perhaps the most important initial selection will be an architect or designer. It may help to develop a matrix for clues to whether you should choose either a program management or a compartmentalized approach to hiring design, engineering, and construction services. Strong in-house skills and experience may indicate compartmentalizing -- hiring separate companies -- is the best approach. On the otherhand, a program management approach may be called for if a weaker in-house team needs the shoring up that one company performing all three services can provide.
You'll use different criteria to evaluate and select consultants. Section Three, the chapter about hiring a designer, contains a list of consultants you may need for your project. You may decide to hire a move consultant as the first outsider you add to the move team. As you'll see in Section Two, the right move consultant will supply the experience you lack, assist you in hiring the designer and other consultants, and help you efficiently direct the activities of all players during the process.
Setting a move date
Afraid you'll start planning your move too soon? Don't worry, no such possibility exists. Time is short. If you plan to move into leased facilities within the next 12 months, you could already be behind schedule. If you're building, allow two to two and a half years.
Finding the right location
Where you move should directly relate to why you need to (there's that word need again). Where will you find the place that will best realize the vision while satisfying the budget? When choosing a new site, decide what's important and look for sites that best satisfy your needs. Ask yourself how will relocating most benefit my company, my staff, and/or me? Categorize needs as either business or personal. In Section Four, Finding Office Space & Negotiating The Lease, you'll find several examples of business and personal needs. Your findings could dramatically affect the feasibility of the decision to move.
One for the road
The success or failure of your move will ultimately be judged by whether you finish on time and within budget, how well employees accept the changes, and if business continues without interruption. Likewise, the future of your career can hinge on fallout from all of these factors.
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Awards & Recognition
Winner! Distinguished Author - Book Category
ex • cel • lence - exceeding expectations; surpassing in degree, amount, or quality; of exceptional merit.
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International Facility Management Association
Awards of Excellence 1999
Recognized for his contribution toward raising the awareness of the importance and relevance of office moving to facilities professionals, Ed Katz nabbed the Distinguished Author Award for his new book COMMERCIAL RELOCATION.
Katz received the award during World Workplace '99 held in Los Angeles, CA USA Oct 5. The Distinguished Author award is part of the Awards of Excellence 1999 of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).
IFMA is the Houston, TX-based international trade association for facility professionals.
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Reviews
"This is the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to relocation that I have ever seen. It is a "must" for anyone in the business of supplying relocation services and for organizations planning to purchase and use them."
Robert S. Hascall
Senior Associate Vice President
Facilities Management
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
"This book is an exceptionally well-crafted collection of insight, knowledge, and information that is absolutely essential to any company that's relocating. Mr. Katz, who is internationally recognized as the expert on office moving, did an outstanding job of presenting a "cook-book" approach to a successful relocation."
Dr. Gary Frank Petty
Past President and former CEO
National Moving & Storage Association
Alexandria, VA
"Chances are you picked up this book in hopes of saving your company some money . . . or yourself a job. Fair enough. Turn to page 128 [Chapter 10: Finding Office Space & Negotiating The Lease] and apply what you read. You have just recouped your investment for this publication. Katz & Borden have assembled some of the industries' best and offered a unique insider's look at how to conduct a business move plus a few tricks of the trade!"
Shawn Scheffler
Program Manager
American Management Association
"It's the book that every building facility manager always wanted to have. It's very helpful and very easy to read and follow."
N. T. Gordon
Amoco Corporation
Chicago, IL
"This book will help you anticipate the problems and issues, and understand when to seek professional help . . . like a personal trainer . . . a career enhancer!"
Christine Neldon
CFM, IFMA Fellow
IFMA Past International President & Former Board Member
Atlanta, GA
"How I enjoyed reading your new book. Finally, the "Guru of Office Moving" has committed his brain trust to paper! The book is wonderful, comprehensive and in many respects, a great act of charity. If properly used, I am certain that it will save many lay people from the great angst which results when they embark upon moving their company. In validation of a commonly expressed dictum and despite years of experience in the moving business, I found that the more I read, the more I realized how little I know about the intricacies of this great and complex task.I was amused that the chapter regarding the physical move was enumerated by the imposing "13." For those who are superstitious, there is a tremondous volume of data which can be ascribed to luck (or lack thereof) when it comes to moving. For the person given the dauting responsibility of moving their company however, this resource will ensure that nothing is left to chance. What a valuable resource. Thank you!"
Eric C. Callahan
Vice President
Hoffman Office Moving Systems
Ramsey, NJ
"This book is the only single-source reference manual that covers all aspects of handling commercial relocations. Each chapter was written by an expert in his or her particular field and then combined under one cover. It is an informative guide which helps you make the right business decisions or tells you when to turn to industry professionals. From feasibility to building to moving to managing, this comprehensive guide helps you avoid pitfalls and know what to expect. It may save your sanity and your job!"
Taloyre Butler
Project Manager
Trammell Crow Corporate Services
Overland Park, KS
" . . . immediately liked the set-up . . . you've cut it into nice digestible pieces. There's even an index to find just the right tidbit of information."
James R. Pelger
Director, Facilities & Plant Operations
Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power
The Boeing Company
Canoga Park, CA
" . . . very well produced and presented . . . full of information, statistics and anecdotes . . . "
FIDI Focus: Worldwide Moving
Journal of the International Moving Association
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Reader's Comments
Ed Katz's Commercial Relocation is a vast reservoir of industry knowledge. This guide is the first of its kind-- a dire needed resource for the relocation professional or anyone in charge of their company's relocation.
This supurb guide provides the reader with the tools to execute a successful commercial relocation. Most small and mid-size companies don't know whom to turn to for planning and executing their company's relocation. This comprehensive guide assists those planning a commercial relocation through the intricate steps of the process--from preparing, estimating, and deploying a relocation budget and outsourcing various functions of the process, to the importance of buying the "right" office furniture and finding the "right" office space and negotiating the lease. It distills the complex relocation process in easy-to-understand steps.
This resource also provides a solid discussion of the organizational and financial consequences--from the risks of eroding your established business "culture" to negatively affecting the bottom-line--of inexperienced and uninformed decision-making. This thorough guide addresses those risks, arming the reader with key information to make sound, informed decisions. It is a must have for anyone charged with relocating facilities, tenants, offices, and large companies.
This comprehensive guide will empower the relocating organization with information formerly available only to industry insiders. This well-thought-out guide will educate you on the inticacies of planning, designing, and relocating your facility, saving you time, money, and uncertainty. It is essential knowledge for those in charge of their company's relocation, since, according to the IFMA, "two-thirds of those who oversee their company's relocation are subsequently fired or demoted."
Jason Gonzales, Founder and CEO
FacilityRelo, Inc.
Lake Barrington, IL
United States
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Ed Katz
Entrepreneur, Inventor, Teacher, Author
Ed Katz has spent more than 30 years listening to customers and developing methods and tools to either minimize moving complaints or eliminate them altogether. Better still, he's willing to share what he has learned.
Ed Katz has changed the way businesses move. He realized early on that office moving is a service; give the customer superior service and they'll be back. Minimize the disruption, damage, and downtime normally associated with moving -- let them stay in business -- and moving becomes a painless experience.
His training programs & seminars offered through the International Office Moving Institute help moving companies, furniture dealers, and project managers develop or improve their commercial moving business, and help iinhouse move crews improve service quality.
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Ed Katz
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In 1976 when Ed Katz founded Peachtree Movers in Atlanta, GA, he moved furniture like every other mover. And heard the same complaints. Moving means packing and unpacking - and everyone hates it. Besides the drudgery and inevitable lost and mixed-up files, productivity comes to a complete standstill. The customer is out of business. To add insult to injury, the mover damages walls, floors, and furniture getting to the truck. Haphazardly stacked on the moving van, many items such as glass, framed art work, and computers undergo a beating in transit and emerge at the new location marred or broken, sometimes worse. After the move, the customer feels as battered as his or her belongings.
But Ed Katz took customer complaints seriously and began developing methods and tools to eliminate or minimize the grievances. To minimize damage, Katz devised protection systems for building surfaces and sensitive electronic equipment. To minimize office disruption, he developed moving methods that allow customers access to records and files right up to the time they're rolled out the door. To his customers' delight, Katz began moving the contents in the furniture rather than the contents and the furniture, and thus the "boxless" move was born. By virtually eliminating the costly downtime of packing, his customers stayed in business and loved it.
Moving "boxless", using his patented Spider Crane® and Space Gobblers™ combination, gave companies planning a move a green-tech option never before available. Katz realized that his unlikely sounding devices were not only smart for business by saving customers time and money but the process is environmentally-friendly, with fewer truck loads burning less gas and less packing materials thrown away after the move.
In 1996, Peachtree Movers was chosen "Number 1" in both updating the industry and customer satisfaction by the National Moving and Storage Association. Shortly before Katz sold Peachtree Movers in 2000, it received the Consumer's Choice Award for Best Office Mover in Atlanta. His methods, techniques, and inventions have been featured in numerous trade journals, business magazines, and the Wall Street Journal. Katz's innovations have brought him international recognition, and the unofficial title of guru of office moves.
As a first-time author, Katz was chosen Distinguished Author of the Year for 1999 by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) for Commercial Relocation: A Comprehensive Guide for Industry Professionals & Service Buyers. Katz produced Moving Computers, his first self-paced, multimedia training CD in 2000, and two years later released his second book, Office Moving for Movers. His latest work, Move Your Business (Without Becoming A Moving Target) was published in 2004.
Katz holds a master's degree in urban renewal and city planning from the University of Pittsburgh, and spent four years as a Wall Street stock broker and investment counselor before moving to Atlanta to sell commercial real estate. It was the horror stories of building landlords that introduced him to office moving.
For all his success and achievements as a businessman, inventor, and author, Ed Katz is most passionate about teaching. A natural behind the podium, Katz receives rave reviews as keynote speaker, guest lecturer, and training instructor for his fresh enthusiasm and his ability to motivate and inspire an audience. Despite what would seem to be a painfully dry subject, for tens of thousands of industry professionals, a session with Ed Katz has been a truly unforgettable experience.
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Experts Contributing To This Guide
Setting Up and Managing a Move Budget
Christine Neldon, CFM, IFMA Fellow,
Regional Facilities Project Director, Arthur Andersen, Atlanta Office
Past International President and Board Member, IFMA International
The Move Consultant
Patsy A. Lesley, Lesley & Associates, Houston, TX
Is It Feasible?: Strategic Decision-Making for Commercial Relocations
George Kettner, Ph.D., Director & Raj Patel, Senior Analyst
Economic Systems, Inc., Springfield, VA
Designing Your Space
Joyce Fownes, Director of Interiors, The Leo A. Daly Company, Atlanta Office
Buying Office Furniture
David Purser, President, Western Contract Furnishers, Rancho Cordova, CA
Planning a Telecommunications System
Ken Masters, President, Key 4, Atlanta, GA
Protecting & Storing Company Records & Property
Robert J. Schmitz, Cor-O-Van Moving & Storage, San Francisco, CA
Planning a Sign System
Matthew Buksbaum, Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Ken Ethridge, Vice President, Corporate Communications
ASI Sign Systems, Inc., Dallas, TX
Finding Office Space & Negotiating the Lease
Jack Saltman, President, Compass Investment Properties, Casselberry, FL
Hiring a General Contractor
Robert B. Salmon, Senior Vice President, Holder Construction Company, Atlanta, GA
Facilities Management Solutions
Daniel A. Probst, P.E., Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle, Chicago, IL
The Physical Move
Ed Katz, Founder and Chairman, Peachtree Movers, Inc., Atlanta, GA
International Moves
Karin Wouters, Executive Director, International Federation of International Moving Associations (FIDI), Brussells, Belgium
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Publisher's Comments - Franklin-Sarrett Publishers
Nobody but Ed Katz has the contacts or the clout to get a group of industry experts like this together. Commercial Relocation is the culmination of two years and the collective effort of more than a dozen leading authorities to cover the "whole move." We're very proud to have been part of this award-winner.
Beyond the technical know-how, Commercial Relocation humanizes business moves. It's really about how to keep your job when a multitude of move tasks is added to a work load that's already brimming over.
For those dedicated professionals who contributed to this book -- who instantly saw the need for it -- and gave freely of their time and then waited patiently during the long months of production, we are deeply grateful.
Kay Borden
Franklin-Sarrett Publishers
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