Office Relocation: What Happens to Furniture, Files and IT?

What is included in an office relocation?

When a company moves offices, different types of inventory usually need to be organized at the same time. In addition to standard office furniture, this may include documents, computers, monitors, printers, servers and technical equipment.

Each area has different requirements:

Planning an office relocation properly

Good preparation is one of the most important prerequisites for a smooth corporate relocation. The larger the company and the more complex its technical equipment, the earlier planning should begin.

First, the entire volume of the relocation should be recorded. This includes not only furniture, but also files, technical equipment and other inventory.

The following questions should then be clarified, among others:

For more complex office relocations, it can be useful to document responsibilities, schedules and inventories in writing. This makes it clearer which task needs to be completed and when.

What happens to the office furniture?

Desks, cabinets, shelving, conference tables and office chairs account for a large part of the transport volume in many relocations. However, not every piece of furniture necessarily needs to be transported fully assembled.

Depending on their size and design, furniture can be dismantled before transportation and reassembled at the new location. This can make handling easier and may be particularly useful for larger pieces of furniture.

Before transporting office furniture, the following should also be checked:

Planning the rooms in advance can help avoid unnecessary repositioning at the new location.

What happens to old or no longer needed office furniture?

An office relocation is often a good opportunity to review the existing inventory. Not every piece of furniture necessarily needs to be taken to the new office.

Before the move, the inventory can therefore be divided into four groups:

What happens to files and documents?

Files require particular attention during an office relocation. Companies are required to retain certain business documents for extended periods, while many documents are no longer needed in day-to-day operations.

Before the move, it should therefore be checked which documents:

For transportation itself, files should also be packed in a way that prevents them from being lost or mixed with other records.

For larger file inventories, external file storage can be a useful option. This means that not all documents have to be accommodated in the new office.

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Sorting out old files before the move

An office relocation can be a good opportunity to review the company archive. Documents whose retention period has not yet expired must not simply be destroyed. Documents that are no longer needed and whose retention requirement has expired, however, can be released for secure destruction.

Particularly during larger office closures or relocations, considerable quantities of files can accumulate. In addition to office relocations, Haberling also offers professional document and data media destruction in accordance with DIN 66399 .

This means that office removal, file storage and Document destruction can be coordinated as part of one overall process where required.

What happens to computers and IT?

IT is one of the most sensitive areas of a modern office. Computers, monitors, printers, network components and other equipment should not simply be transported together with ordinary moving boxes.

Before the move, it should first be determined which devices will be taken to the new location and how they will be connected again.

The following are particularly important:

Clear labeling can help ensure that computers, monitors and accessories are assigned to the correct workstation again at the new location.

Relocating servers and sensitive IT equipment

For a standard office PC, Transport can be organized comparatively easily. The situation is different for servers, larger IT systems or sensitive technical equipment.

Weight, design, sensitivity and the conditions at the locations can create additional transportation requirements. The timing of the relocation must also be carefully planned if the IT systems are required for ongoing business operations.

For larger server environments or particularly sensitive technology, a high-tech transport solution may therefore be appropriate.

The following questions should be clarified, among others:

Especially for companies whose ability to operate depends heavily on their IT infrastructure, the technical relocation should not be considered separately from the rest of the office move.

How can downtime during an office relocation be reduced?

A company may be unable to operate or may only be able to work to a limited extent during a relocation. The period during which workstations are unavailable should therefore be kept as short as possible.

Dividing the relocation into individual phases can be useful.

What happens if the new office is not fully ready yet?

It is not always possible to move the entire inventory directly from the old office into the new one. Some rooms may not yet be completed, or the new office space may initially not provide enough room.

In such cases, temporary storage can be a useful option.

Items that can be stored include, for example:

This means that items that are not currently needed do not have to be moved unnecessarily between different locations.

Haberling offers various options for temporary and long-term storage. Furniture and technical equipment, among other items, can be stored in its own storage facilities.

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Which tasks should companies define before the move?

A successful office relocation does not depend solely on the moving company. Responsibilities within the company should also be clarified at an early stage.

A simple overview can help:

Why choose Haberling for an office relocation?

An office relocation can become particularly complex when large quantities of files, technical equipment or servers need to be transported in addition to furniture. Haberling combines various services related to corporate relocations and can therefore also support more complex projects.

The range of services includes packing and assembly work, support with IT cabling, room planning, as well as various transportation and storage solutions. For files and computers, rollable and lockable transport systems are available; external lifts can be used for higher floors.

If not everything is needed immediately at the new location, furniture and technical equipment can be stored temporarily. Specialized transportation solutions can also be considered for particularly sensitive technical equipment.

This allows an office relocation to be planned as one coordinated project where required – from preparation and transportation through to setup at the new location.

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Conclusion

Relocating an office involves much more than transporting furniture from one building to another. Office furniture, files and IT have different requirements and should therefore be considered separately during the planning stage.

While furniture can often be dismantled and reassembled, files require structured handling and, where necessary, secure storage. Computers, servers and other technical equipment, on the other hand, require particularly careful planning and transportation.

An early inventory, clearly defined responsibilities and a detailed schedule can help organize an office relocation as efficiently as possible. If additional storage or specialized transportation for sensitive technology is required, it can be useful to include these services directly in the relocation planning.