Background
In response to reductions in funding from central government, a local authority client had been working to identify £49m of savings over a four-year period. As part of identifying the cost saving measures, the Director for Environmental Services approached Ameo Group to assist with a review of their depot facilities to identify any potential for savings.

Requirement
CMI were engaged by Ameo to act as the lead consultant to undertake a detailed review of the existing depots and to identify and review potential opportunities to consolidate the operations leading to cost savings and efficiencies. CMI worked closely with service managers to review existing facilities and operational requirements and explore service critical requirements. 

Approach
A comprehensive database of existing facilities was created to identify and baseline the current depot facilities which were in the scope of the review. Using the baseline knowledge, CMI identified a range of potential opportunities which were discussed and tested with stakeholders leading to a preferred option to consolidate the existing depots from fourteen down to seven. 

By withdrawing from leased facilities and disposing of non-critical sites, CMI were able to identify options which had the potential to be self-funding and provide fit for purpose facilities for their staff. 

Outcomes
The review culminated in the production of a detailed report outlining the preferred option and made recommendations for the next steps. 

Ameo, and CMI were retained for a second phase to develop the preferred option in further detail including development of a delivery plan to show how the end-to-end consolidation would be managed and the timing of benefit realisation.