What a year it’s been so far! After a series of recent grim old days, weather-wise that is, suddenly the sun shone and our spirits lifted. No more rain on the horizon and we were allowed out for exercise.

An interview with Jim Petzel of GetStored, as the company sets out its stall in competition with self storage.

Neftaly Rodriguez has been a familiar face on the household goods conference circuit for many years. But back in February 2019 he left his old company La Rose del Monte in Puerto Rico and made a short hop and a skip over the Caribbean to The Dominican Republic to launch Mega Movers.

Joleen Lauffer is executive vice president at Aires in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Aires is a Relocation Management Company (RMC) with its roots firmly planted in the moving industry. Steve Jordan talked to her about COVID-19 and the long-term outlook for the industry.

Charles White, President of IAM, was centre stage (if that’s the right expression) for his traditional ‘State of IAM’ address during the virtual IAM conference in October. It was a somewhat strange environment for Chuck, to be speaking without an audience, but he carried it off well.

I was there … were you? By Editor Steve Jordan.

Steve Jordan interviews Anne Bradley and Simon Kirby from Agility as the MOD contract turns 10 years old and COVID-19 takes its toll.

Can this be right? Steve Jordan asks whether the practice of RMCs paying movers only after they have been paid by their corporate account clients is right.

The chief financial officer (CFO) will emerge as one of the C-suite’s most critical roles in reframing the future of the enterprise post the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, according to the 2020 EY DNA of the CFO, a survey of more than 800 global CFOs and senior finance executives.

I’ve seen some sites …

Training companies in the UK are gradually seeing an increase in demand for courses following the almost complete shutdown of services during the spring and early summer.

Lindsay Ellis from Wright Hassall solicitors based in Warwickshire, UK, looks at legislation that may prevent a company terminating the supply of services, or demanding the payment of outstanding charges, if a customer becomes insolvent.

Steve Jordan speculates on what movers could do in the future as traditional markets change and makes a plea for more creative thinking.

Eric House from Worldwide ERC explains how research exploring global employee sentiment shows how employees are feeling about their future prospects, revealing that US employees are still interested in relocation, despite the challenges.

On Friday, 2 October, EUROMOVERS held its virtual meeting, which was a bit like a mini conference, with around 40 members taking part. This was the first time that the group had tried a meeting on this scale in a virtual setting. It was a great success.

Asia is a burgeoning market for the self storage industry with a population of over 4.6 billion people, many of whom are still to be awakened to the concept of self storage. Not surprisingly the region has been called the ‘Sleeping Giant’ by many industry pundits keen to tap into this potentially gigantic market.

AMSA (American Moving and Storage Association) is dissolving, with the membership to be given the opportunity to become part of the new Moving and Storage Conference of the ATA (American Trucking Associations).

On Thursday, 8 October, OMNI (Overseas Moving Network International) held the first of its World Series virtual meetings online.

New and flexible fuel cell technology can reduce emissions from shipping by 40 to 100%. Partners from shipping, R&D and oil and gas are now constructing a pilot system that can use different types of fuel.

Make sure you join around 800 of your industry colleagues this week, 21 – 23 October, in what will be the industry’s biggest event of 2020.