We are a relatively new company set up before Brexit and we started with just three staff and two shareholders backing the company.
We are a company which supports businesses exporting or importing goods out of or into the UK. We now have a team of 15 staff operating across three offices in Immingham, Harwich and Basildon. We cover all UK ports.
WHAT DOES THE TEAM DO?
We ensure our clients have all appropriate clearance permissions and documentation so that they are compliant and meeting the various legal requirements around their activities. This saves them time, and more importantly ensures they operate their business in a compliant manner.
WHAT’S YOUR ROLE?
I’m Natalie Avison and I’m a company director along with my fellow director Ann Farthing. We both have had careers around customs and clearance. We were headhunted to start this business and we work alongside two shareholders who support the business in the background.
WHAT ISSUES WERE YOU EXPERIENCING BEFORE YOU STARTED WORKING WITH FILESTREAM?
Initially we started with three staff and we used Microsoft Outlook as it was Cloud-based, backed up and we worked with an IT supplier to ensure security and with three staff it worked. However as we grew the issue was one of storage and also Outlook was not working for us any longer, we kept having issues of not being able to log in.
WHAT MADE YOU CONSIDER MAKING A CHANGE?
We had reached a point where Outlook – while good in many respects – no longer met our needs and it was clear we needed a more secure, robust file management system that would grow with us.
Two things collided here, our company was and is growing and we have to, by law, keep our documents for seven years so it was clear our ‘online paperwork’ mountain was only going to get bigger.
HOW DID THE FILMSTEAM RELATIONSHIP BEGIN?
Really simply, I did an online search and their website came up. When I looked at it, I read the case studies and testimonials. I saw that they were working with some big companies, including several universities so I was confident that this system could work for a business like this.
I requested a demonstration as I wanted to be sure the system was simple to use. It had to be easy for all of our employees, from the youngest to the most mature. It was and it is.
WHAT HAVE THE BENEFITS BEEN?
We signed up with Filestream in early 2023 and for us, it’s been easy and very smooth. The integration was relatively straightforward, the team are supportive and the ‘cabinet’ structure is, for me, really logical and it’s been so easy, I was really surprised by that.
The ‘search’ facility is really beneficial so you can find emails or documents so quickly. We’ve had very few issues and those we have had have been sorted quickly and efficiently by the support staff at Filestream. Personally, I’m also very grateful that it integrates with Outlook.
We’ve found the solution very affordable. We do pay a bit more because we need a lot of storage yet it’s clear we can add more storage at any time which gives us confidence around our business growth.
WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FILESTREAM?
This is a system which we’ve found easy to use, it’s secure, it’s logical and has been adapted for our business. There is more functionality that we don’t use because it’s not relevant for us however knowing it’s there has value as we may have need of this in the future. Filestream is now a valuable business partner for us.
Find out more about GB Customs Clearance here