UCSF Supply Chain Management Logistics offers storage services at the Oyster Point warehouse in South San Francisco, with 280,000 cu. ft. of capacity for short-term and long-term storage for our customers, including St Mary’s, Saint Francis, and Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. From documents (e.g., financial records, research material) to dental exam chairs, they store it all.

Fun fact: Logistics has document storage materials that have been safely stowed at Oyster Point since the 1980s.

Reducing Clutter and Opening Capacity 

For years, the Oyster Point facility was near capacity, forcing some campus departments to seek commercial storage solutions. However, over the last two years, Lead Storekeeper Donte Casey and the Storekeeping team have worked with several departments to clear obsolete materials. The team has reduced storage inventory at Oyster Point by 45 percent, saving departments across UCSF $61,000 a month in storage spend. This has freed space for other priority storage needs, such as a temporary 28,000-cu. ft. storage and project workspace to support Saint Francis and St. Mary’s.

Spring cleaning is a continuing trend, with more departments and labs looking at their storage inventories prior to the end of the academic/fiscal year. Recently, a disposal order was confirmed for 1,100 boxes—creating space for a lot of new material!

“While Finance operates as much as possible paper-free, we had a lot of files from our Controller’s Office stored at Oyster Point due to historical practices and specific record retention policies," said Angie Marinello, Operations Manager, UCSF Finance. "Donte Casey was helpful in providing instructions and a valuable follow-up call that ultimately saved time with the final requests to be submitted."

Storage Tips from the Logistics Pros 

• Know what you stow. Departments should periodically review their storage inventory reports via the Logistics Online Warehouse. Additionally, departments can review materials in-person at Oyster Point or have them pulled and delivered to their campus location—both services require a Logistics service request.
• Storage is not surplus. Large items sent to Oyster Point are inventoried and stored on behalf of customers for as long as they require our services. Materials are never disposed of without signed consent. Avoid paying storage costs for obsolete materials by checking your inventory routinely. Initiate disposal or surplus when appropriate.
• Storage is a journey.  Logistics has implemented a requirement for customers to assign a disposal review date—no more than two years out— for all new equipment storage orders. Documents should be reviewed in line with UCSF records management and retention policy. When storage materials reach the disposal review date, Logistics can send friendly reminders. Departments will be prompted to review items and decide whether the materials should remain in storage, be returned to the campus location, or to initiate disposal.
• Storage comes with support. The Logistics Large Item and Boxed Storage webpage includes examples of long- and short-term storage, how to store/manage your materials, and resources.

A Helping Hand

If you have documents or equipment in storage at Oyster Point, you are welcome to arrange an appointment to view your materials. Donte and his teammates are happy to help and can assist in getting materials processed for shredding or disposal.  

“Helping people is the best part of what I do. There is nothing like finding that one box that a customer is desperately looking for.” —Donte Casey, Lead Storekeeper

Donte and the Storekeeping team exemplify our PRIDE values, ensuring that storage services run smoothly and efficiently. Keep up the great work, team!