The Francis Crick Institute required a swift, effective, detailed and considered plan for its high volume of daily deliveries and secure storage. They also required a partner that understood the need for secure automated tracking and auditing, the opportunity for multiple services, and a willingness to comply with an S106 agreement with Camden Council, covering restrictions on delivery traffic, noise, vehicular access and movement.

They also had the following challenges:

– Up to 120 deliveries a day, with internal movements on top, not just of documents but lab equipment, chemicals, computers and furniture
– lost parcels, lost time; disparate providers operating different tracking systems, combined with a manual inbounding process was open to error
unbalanced workload; lack of control over arrivals meant the team tended to be flat out for the first two hours of the day, then went through an unproductive afternoon lull which impacted on resource planning
Keep carbon footprint and vehicle emissions as low as possible
Achieving compliance with the right provider, with the right attitude and software to bring it all together and make it work was key.
“Consider the calibre of the scientists that make up Francis Crick Institute, and you will understand the Crick environment. You cannot put a price on some of the research carried out here. The safety and security of our documents and scientific materials when it’s out of our hands is paramount.” James Fawsitt, Logistics Manager

Security and reducing the number of deliveries was key. Restore Records Management have a highly secure and modern facility in London. This enabled us to offer one delivery point for all items from all suppliers for The Francis Crick Institute.

We provided them with a dedicated team and area in the facility. With one delivery hub, controlling the number of deliveries per day was made easier. As well as a dedicated delivery hub Restore Records Management provided:
2 dedicated deliveries per day with approx. 12 roller cages per delivery.

All items on delivery would be sorted by a dedicated Restore Records Management team and organised into departmental deliveries so that when they arrived at the site, all items could be accessed quickly, and no teams were required at The Francis Crick.

Reverse supply – all cardboard packaging from the deliveries is taken back to us for recycling creating efficiencies, improving housekeeping, saving money in waste disposal and reducing waste collection vehicle visits and emissions
Storage of archive boxes of documents, furniture, lab equipment and other, classified, objects.

End-to-end inventory with a fully auditable trail, including the ability to add photos of any damaged packages to a file, viewable at any time by any authorised employee, closes the gap for risk and helps us regain control.

A specially configured QR on each package barcode which contains data specific to that item, is simply scanned by drivers, giving instant access to the Crick’s logistics team and assisting with generating invoices from scan and delivery reports – again, superior security and control

A bespoke monthly management report that includes the number and type of vehicles that deliver into Rainham, vehicles used and how many packages have been delivered. This helps the institute to report back to the council.
Where possible biological samples were delivered Monday to Thursday due to the risk of dry ice not preserving months of science or expensive samples. To avoid dry ice depletion The Francis Crick team trained our Restore Records Management team on how to top up biological samples if an item on dry ice was delivered over the weekend, ensuring valuable research was not damaged.

Prior to relocating to the new Francis Crick Building in Central London, Restore Records Management installed their FileTrak records management software, with a number of minor configurations in preparation for the migration to the new location. With a ‘bridge’ created to communicate seamlessly with the O’Neil’s software Restore uses to run their facilities, they could immediately feel the benefits.

End-to-end inventory with a fully auditable trail, including the ability to add photos of any damaged packages to a file, viewable at any time by any authorised employee, closes the gap for risk and helps us regain control
A specially configured QR code on each package barcode which contains data specific to that item, is simply scanned by drivers, giving instant access to the Crick’s logistics team and assisting with generating invoices from scan and delivery reports – again, superior security and

The key concerns – regaining control and security – have been fully addressed. The security at Rainham and of the supply chain has been 100%, thanks to our streamlined, automated systems.

Keeping carbon emissions low (as per the S106 agreement) through dedicated deliveries removing 20 trucks a day from London’s roads.

60 pallets a week being put back into the supply chain, encouraging reuse.

Six cages of cardboard were removed from the site daily by Restore Records Management and recycled.

Further storage has been provided when equipment has been purchased but a lab may not be ready to receive it
Our Account Manager provides bespoke monthly Management Information Reports which includes the number of vehicles and deliveries which is provided to Camden Council as part of the S106 agreement.

• Removing 20 trucks a day from London’s roads
• 60 pallets a week being put back into the supply chain, encouraging reuse