IWLA is on a membership roll! In 2015, the IWLA Board set forth membership growth goals in its strategic plan: 4 percent growth year-over-year for the next 10 years.

“The first half of 2016 has been strong for welcoming new warehouse and partner members,” says IWLA Chairman Mark DeFabis. “We are at 55 percent of our goal of 60 new warehouse members and two-thirds of the way to our goal of 30 new partner members.”

The first half of 2016 has also brought in strong member retention, with more than 90 percent of members with first-quarter renewals received. “Much of the success in retention comes directly from the efforts of volunteers on the Warehouse Membership Retention Committee,” DeFabis says. “These members are excellent at telling the IWLA story and illustrating the benefits of active participation as part of membership.” In fact, the 2016 IWLA Convention & Expo brought 150 first-timer-attendees to Orlando, Fla.

How has IWLA been so successful in membership this year?

There are a couple of reasons for our success. First, IWLA member companies are growing and profitable as more and more clients look to outsource warehousing and logistics. This is a great indicator of the warehouse industry’s health. IWLA programs and education are addressing the needs of the warehouse logistics industry and networking is increasingly valuable to members.

“The membership committee has many dedicated volunteers,” says Leslie Ajlouny, Evans Distribution, committee co-chairman. “They believe in IWLA and they call and email other members whose renewals are pending. Their spirit is catching.”

The committee has refined the process for onboarding new members to ensure they understand the opportunities and receive the most member benefit during the critical first years as members.

On the recruitment side, fellow members are also a great resource for leads – whether they be partners or warehouses. In addition, the IWLA website brings many inquiries. All of these leads are handled by  a dedicated sales. IWLA Membership Director Jennifer Rezny and Sales Support Coordinator Pam Harkness make personal contact with every lead – and work to identify members that may be at risk.

To support these efforts, IWLA is producing marketing materials to give prospects a basic overview of value benefits of membership and education. These new marketing pieces will be widely distributed at tradeshows and in prospect packages.

If you know of a company that can benefit from IWLA please email Jennifer Rezny (847.813.0103) the company name and any contact information.

Membership growth is a positive and critical thing for associations. It strengthens IWLA revenues and allows the association to increase its service offerings to members while continuing to improve our core programs. Please help us welcome new members during IWLA events and invite them to benefit from this 125-year-old association.