Following a number of high profile acquisitions of independent document shredding companies by large national firms, The Shredding Alliance (TSA) fears that the industry could fall victim to complete corporate monopoly.
Drawing on over 100 years' experience TSA is concerned that the confidential document disposal industry has the potential to be dominated by a small number of large corporate shredding companies which could completely eradicate healthy competition. In an industry where the main differentiation factor between larger shredding companies is price point this could result in the removal of independent shredding suppliers that are able to offer higher levels of customer service and flexibility towards agreements from the marketplace. Therefore, this has the capacity to be harmful to the business community at large.
Daniel Hawtin, managing director, The Shredding Alliance, comments: "For a small number of large shredding firms to have monopoly of the national market could be extremely detrimental for an industry such as ours where suppliers often compete almost entirely on price. If acquisitions of large independents continue at this rate it could result in there being limited choice of suppliers for national companies or government organisations, thus removing all element of competition from the marketplace."
With the introduction of enhanced powers for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to prosecute and possibly fine those companies caught breaching the Data Protection Act up to £500,000, the consequences are serious. Therefore, it makes sound commercial sense for companies to procure the services of a professional shredding supplier to securely dispose of confidential information.
Reducing costs is a key message resonating amongst businesses in both the public and private sector at the moment and for multi-site organisations secure document disposal could get quite costly especially if competition in the market is limited.
"Furthermore, larger national shredding suppliers tend to have rigid procedures for the management of customer accounts, which do not always perform to the advantage of the customer. Flexible and regular reviews of the amount of confidential waste that a company produces and the frequency of collections ensures that the customer receives exactly the right level of service. Therefore, our advice for any business would be to take customer service into consideration before appointing a shredding supplier." Continues Hawtin.
Formed by a number of the UK's leading independent document shredding and recycling companies at the end of last year, TSA is a unique service proposition that delivers improved customer experience, increased response times but most importantly better value for money. Offering both on-site and off-site secure shredding services, on a scheduled and ad hoc basis, TSA ensures a highly flexible approach to single source agreements.
Considering the importance of the environment in document shredding and recycling procurement; TSA only uses the latest mobile shredding vehicles with minimum environmental impact and off-site plants which benefit from energy efficient shredding technology. All contracts are closely managed by a single point of contact and dedicated account manager, ensuring consistency of communications at all times and only the highest service levels.