Strategic Megatrends

In the last couple of months I’ve written about the duty of foresight that all boards have, and more specifically, about how the TIA Board is developing the next strategic plan for the Association. This month, I want to begin unpacking the strategic megatrends that the Board identified to address in the plan.

The first strategic megatrend identified by the TIA Board is: “How does TIA address the impacts of consolidation in the industry? This megatrend was further divided into four segments: helping members; dues and member engagement; mergers and acquisitions; and expansion.”

The TIA Board identified this megatrend to examine its potential impact. It is estimated that $1.5 trillion of private equity and other  interest money is looking to invest in the logistics industry. We have seen a number of mergers and acquisitions over the past few years, and we are likely to see more. So, what will that mean to the marketplace?  Will there be wholesale consolidation, or will there be enough market growth to continue to support all size companies?

We broke the megatrend into four segments, with the first being member support. Here, the Board will look at how we help members continue to grow; how we help members wade through the changing landscape; and how we help members understand the changes in the marketplace.

The Board will look at whether our dues are set correctly to meet changes and challenges in the marketplace. The Board will also look at how we are engaging with members and how they engage with each other. What should that engagement look like as we change generations?

The Board will look at whether TIA should play a role in helping members that want to sell or to grow through acquisition. What, if anything, can be done with people that want to enter the industry, but are not prepared to run a business; is there a way that they can become agents?

Finally, the Board will explore how members and TIA will need to grow and expand to meet the changing demands of the marketplace. What will future members want and need from the Association?

As the Board gets into the megatrend, they will push and pull their discussion in many ways. The result should be a desired direction for the future of the industry and, therefore, a desired future for the industry.

As this is the December issue, let me take a moment to offer my sincere thanks to the members for the opportunity to continue to serve you. I thank my staff for all of their work on behalf of the Association.

We had a great second Technovations meeting with more attendees, more technovators, and more educational sessions. We have lots of plans for expanding upon the success in 2020.

We look forward to an amazing Conference (April 1 – 4, 2020 in Austin, Texas). I hope to see all of you there.

I wish all of you a blessed holiday season and terrific 2020!