Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is the go-to 3PL group that very quietly—although apparently not deliberately—has emerged in 2017 as an engaging, professional, and educational organization for the burgeoning $164 billion third-party logistics industry.
      “TIA,” says President & CEO Robert Voltmann, “represents transportation intermediaries in all disciplines of domestic and international commerce and is the voice of 3PLs to shippers, carriers, government officials, and international organizations.”
      With offices in Washington, D.C., Mr. Voltmann, who also serves as Secretary General of FIATA, leaves no doubt TIA is present and accounted for where the rubber meets the road up and down the hallways of the U.S. Congress.
      But it is the annual TIA Capital Ideas Conference & Exhibition that is scheduled for Palm Desert, California, from April 8-11, 2018, that draws our interest.
      The event is a gathering of transportation folks you might not see anywhere else.
      That fact alone may be compelling enough. Air cargo currently meets at trade events where many of the same players bump into each other time and time gain.
      “Our event is the only meeting for third-party logistics providers,” Robert Voltmann declares.
      “It is a once-a-year opportunity in various U.S. locations for attendees to interact with representatives from throughout North America and abroad,” Robert said.
      “Key decision makers with buying authority attend this meeting.
      “Most of the attendees are owners and senior managers,” Robert adds.
      “The groups that comprise our membership and attend our show include property brokers, domestic freight forwarders, intermodal marketing companies, perishable commodity brokers, motor carriers, logistics management companies, ocean forwarders and NVOCCs, air forwarders and warehouse forwarders.”
      Not your same old dog and pony show, we say.

Voltmann Sparks Change

“Look, we all attend trade events and have great expectations and later maybe even some ideas about how these affairs can work better.
      “At TIA we have built a solid, well financed organization with an active, vocal, and involved membership.
      “So the TIA 2018 Capital Ideas Conference & Exhibition next April offers exclusive exhibit hours with no competing activities.
      “Our event has also developed some top notch educational sessions to complement the show and draw more qualified attendees to our event.
      “We know that attendees can use some support keeping track, so TIA provides free registration lists, prior to and after the event, to assist conferees and exhibitors alike with pre-show promotion and follow up activities.
      “Our Final Program distributed at the event and elsewhere, includes a friendly and at-hand accessible 25-word listing that includes company profiles and contact information.”

More: Robert Voltmann President & CEO voltmann@tianet.org, or TIA Exhibit Manager | Valerie Sumner vsumner@vrsevents.com  | phone: 202-373-4174 or
Vice President, Meetings | Cindy Amos amos@tianet.org  | phone: 703-299-5710 or view the event prospectus here.
Geoffrey