Outgoing FIDI President Laura Ganon on the benefits to movers of diversifying their businesses
I hope you have all started the new year full of energy and great ideas. It sounds silly to make decisions based on the calendar… but the truth is that most of us do that. Who has never said: ‘In the new year, I will…’?
There is nothing like the start of the year to put new ideas into practice and make new commitments. But now the first months of 2023 have passed, and the important changes should still be in evidence. Have you followed up on yours?
If there is one thing that owners and CEOs have learned the hard way during the past three years it is the importance of diversifying the products and services that your company offers. This is essential, not only to ensure your company can grow in terms of its expertise, but also because you never know what will happen in any specific industry – so it is wise to have your foot in more than one. If this was not included in your new year’s decisions this time around, it is never too late to brainstorm the benefits of expansion.
I am not referring to doing things that are completely different from what you already do.
But if you are a FIDI member, you are already a specialist in the international logistics of unique items. Take the movement of fi ne art, for example. Working for museums, galleries and art collectors requires specific knowledge and know-how and it is a different industry – if you are a quality mover, you are halfway there.
Likewise, trade fairs and events logistics require similar understanding and experience offered by movers. Why not expand into this area? If you prefer to stay closer to a core business of moving people and their families, why not start offering DSP or even immigration services?
Many FIDI members already do it – and this diversification will help your company grow and protect it from potential future market changes.
Consulting the FIDI Academy for the DSP training is a good start – and take note that FIDI recently launched DSP certification module alongside FAIM.
Office moves, pet moves, sport or cultural events, record storage – there is a myriad of activities and products movers can get involved in, using the expertise of the professionals you already have in your company, all of which constitute diversification. For those who have warehouses, trucks and who hire packers, this can play an even more important part, ensuring you have a year- round spread of work.
Additionally, diversification will give your employees the opportunity to learn and grow in their careers. This major subject is the theme of the business session Moving 2.0: go big, go different or go bust during our 2023 conference. Don’t miss it!
Speaking of Bangkok, I am really looking forward to seeing you all there. The conference will be an amazing event where we will mix the pleasure and excitement of being in an incredibly special place with dear friends from around the world, with profitable business and the essential development of our networks.
As I write these words, I am approaching the end of my tenure as FIDI President and as a FIDI Board member, too. It has been an honour and a pleasure to have had the opportunity to work for you all.
I thank my fellow Board members, past and present, and the FIDI office team, with whom I have had the sincere pleasure to work. I leave the Board happy with the state of FIDI and confident about the future of our organisation: the world leader in the mobility industry, the association that has the highest regard for quality above everything else, stable, strong, responsibly growing and evolving and, most of all, tirelessly helping us, FIDI members, to do the same.
Thank you all for your support and trust.
