THINK TANK

WG

IT’S ALL ABOUT IELA WORKING GROUPS

}}CHAIRWOMAN Tania Khodayar

Transit Air Cargo, Inc. , USA CONTACT DETAILS T.+1 714 380 5586 E.taniak@transitair.com

VICE CHAIRWOMAN Alexandra Erdmann Swiss Expo Logistics AG, Switzerland

E: alexandra.erdmann@swiss-expologistics.com

}THINK TANK WG

Dear Fellow IELA Members,

I hope you all had a nice long vacation after the Prague Congress we attended back in June so we can start the “Tradeshow Season” off well rested! As “Winter is Coming,” we say goodbye to the beaches and hello to the convention centers and fairgrounds. I am looking forward to my early morning “Non-fat Pumpkin Spice Lattes” while running around the showroom floor.

It was so nice seeing all of you in Prague and having a very successful inaugural meeting of the “Think Tank” Working Group. I have to say the amount of members in attendance and involvement was beyond expectations and very much appreciated. The brainstorming of ideas kept on flowing and made the whole session more of a conversation. And I am very happy to report what is to come from this fantastic team this coming year!

Based on our discussions and topics we decided to have two main

THINK TANK WORKING GROUP

Kumarason Arumugam JIM Project & Expo Logistics(M) Sdn.Bhd, Malaysia kumar@jim.com.my

Vicki Bedi PS Bedi Group, India hsbedi@psbedi.com

Rene Carvajal NAIB Group - New Age Of International Business S.A. de C.V., Mexico rene.carvajal@naibgroup.com.mx

Ali Erel Gruptrans International Transport and Trade Co. Inc., Turkey erel@grouptrans.com

Mariane Ewbank Fulstandig Shows e Eventos MC Ltda, Brazil mewbank@fulstandig.com.br

Neil Goatcher Exhibition Freighting Ltd, UK Neil@exhibitionfreighting.co.uk

Matthias Hampel BTG Messe-Spedition GmbH, Germany matthias.hampel@btg.de

Fran Hollingsworth Mendelssohn Commerce Event Logistics, Canada fhollingsworth@mend.com

Rashed Juma Airlink International U.A.E., UAE Rashedjuma@airlink.ae

Manoj Kumar R.E. Rogers India Pvt. Ltd., India manojk@rogersworldwideindia.com Mark Lopata ML International, USA mlopata@MLINTL.net Achim Lotzwick Cretschmar MesseCargo GmbH, Germany achim.lotzwick@cretschmar.de

Anderson Marisa Fulstandig Shows e Eventos MC Ltda, Brazil anderson@fulstandig.com.br

Ian McLean DB Schenker Logistics Abu Dhabi, UAE ian.mclean@dbschenker.com

Chrys Mendonca Airlink International U.A.E., UAE chrys@airlink.ae Eduard Mir Agility Logistics Spain SA, Spain emir@agility.com

Anne Norkin Go Events Management Inc., USA annen@goeventsmgmt.com

Jim Pantopolis Agility Fairs & Events Pty Ltd. Australia, Australia jpantopolis@agility.com

Chris Ray AMR Group, Inc., USA chris.ray@amrworldwide.com Jorge Reina RESA EXPO LOGISTICS, Spain jreina@resaexpo.com

Felix Sadenwasser Swiss Expo Logistics AG, Switzerland felix.sadenwasser@swiss-expologistics.com Puneet Sekhri R.E. Rogers India Pvt. Ltd, India puneet@rogersworldwideindia.com Dean Wale CEVA Showfreight -UK, UK dean.wale@cevalogistics.com Benjamin Wilson Schenker Australia Pty Ltd, Australia ben.wilson@dbschenker.com groups headed by project managers. The two groups are Team Vendor headed by Chris Ray (AMR Group) and Team Millennial headed by Mark Lopata (ML Intl Expo Logistics).

#TeamVendor

Team Vendor will focus on providing IELA Members a resource to find prescreened and approved companies that can supply the needed services and products that are a necessity to our industry (CRM Systems, Cargo Insurance, Equipment, etc.). In achieving this goal the team is going to create an “IELA Approved” Vendor List. The Vendors on this list will be vetted by the IELA Secretariat and will offer special services and exclusive deals to IELA Members. Through this list, the team will also create a “Vendor Showcase,” where members can meet face to face with these companies to find the best fit with service options to suite their individual needs. Through this showcase, IELA can also create another revenue stream by selling space and sponsorship packages to these vendors in order for them to present their product at the “IELA Vendor Showcase.” This showcase could possibly run every other year with the “Partnering Event.”

#TeamMillennial

Team Millennial will focus on the “Millennial Gap” in the Logistics / Freight Forwarding Industry. IELA Members have voiced having trouble, attracting, and/or retaining Gen Y to work in their companies; stating our industry is not “Sexy or Glamorous” enough and that it is hard to keep that generation motivated. Therefore Team Millennial will be working on a set of projects to help educate IELA Members about Gen Y and also educate Millennials on how “Sexy” the Logistics/Freight Forwarding Industry can be. One project that the team hope to complete by the next Congress in San Francisco is a “Millennial Forum” where Experts in Millennial Behavior and an actual Professional Millennial can help IELA Members get a better insight into what it takes to keep and motivate Gen Y employees. Another project proposed is creating an IELA Internship Program where IELA can recruit candidates from Universities that have an interest in our Industry. From there IELA Members can volunteer to take these Interns and enroll them in an intensive training program.

This will provide a more skilled workforce pool for IELA Members

to hire from. Neil Goatcher (Exhibition Freighting UK) has already taken the initiative to reach out to local Universities that have good Business Programs. The final project proposed that will take the most effort is a “Logistics is Sexy” IELA Ad Campaign. The Ad will be able to showcase the Lifestyle of an IELA Member and/or a Logistics/Events Professional. We are looking into inexpensive distribution and filming options such as Snapchat and Instagram.

I am happy to report that one project that was proposed during the working session in Prague, “The Organiser Portal” on the IELA Website has been approved and is currently in process of implementation. This Portal will help educate Organisers about appointed freight forwarder shipping instructions; the “do’s and don’ts” for exhibitors in regards to freight forwarding, as well as the advantages on appointing an IELA Member over a courier services. Madame Chairwoman, Ms. Mariane Ewbank (Fulstanding) has already started the conversation amongst the other Working Group Chairs/Vice Chairs to complete this project. Suggestions from fellow members are always welcome, if you would like to share your input please contact myself or Alexandra with your ideas.

We hope to at least complete two to three of these projects by the San Francisco Conference. As of now we wait for some approvals to move forward with the proposed plans and we will hit the ground running to ensure implementation when approved. Sky’s the Limit with the “Think Tank” Working Group, IELA Member’s should look forward to the positive and innovative changes coming from this team. Once again, if any of these topics and/or the purpose of the “Think Tank” WG interest you please feel free to reach out to myself to join the group and/or share a suggestion. Thank you for your continued support.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again in San Francisco and accomplishing greatness for the IELA Organization!

Cheers to our Continued Success,

Tania Khodayar t