Those who say the industry is doomed are wrong, says Juan Guillermo Díaz, FIDI 39 Club President, but we have to lean into change and accept that we must reinvent how we do business – and what we mean by moving.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard that our industry is doomed to disappear. Someone says it at every conference or dinner I go to – sometimes jokingly, sometimes with resignation.
It’s not an entirely crazy thought, because, let’s face it, the world in which our industry was founded no longer exists. Political instability has shaken global economies. Corporate accounts are tightening budgets. Private clients have changed their priorities and younger generations see the concept of personal belongings differently. Add this to unstoppable technological revolution, where our world is getting faster, smarter and less human, and it often feels as if we are standing in the eye of a perfect storm.
As movers, we are proud of our ability to manage chaos in the form of logistics, paperwork, customs and deadlines – but have we been so busy managing that we have forgotten to question the way we do things. Our business models are still built for a world that valued ownership, corporate relocation packages and long-term assignments. Yet today’s client moves lighter, faster and more independently. They rent furnished apartments, live remotely and store their memories in the cloud. Meanwhile, technology is transforming customer experience in ways we never imagined. Algorithms are replacing empathy and artificial intelligence is replacing entire departments. But we should know better than to fear movement – change is quite literally our business.
Adapting is necessary, even though it’s painful. Transformation isn’t romantic. It’s tough. It hurts. It challenges how we think, charge and operate. When our companies have spent decades building credibility, the idea of reinventing them feels almost disrespectful. However, not changing would be the greatest act of disrespect to ourselves, our teams and the future of the craft we love.
We can’t stop technology, demographic shifts or the pace of innovation, but we can choose how we respond. Rather than a threat, we should see tech as a tool, amplifying what we already do best: caring for people in transition. Because that’s what moving has always been about: people’s lives.
We need to rediscover our human advantage. If there’s one bright side to the current feeling of chaos, it’s that our core advantage has never been clearer. Technology can predict, calculate and optimise, but it can’t reassure. It cannot look a client in the eye when their shipment is delayed, or when their life feels suspended between two worlds. The emotional intelligence of humans is not a ‘nice to have’; it’s our most valuable currency.
The next generation of movers will be bridges between human emotion and digital precision. They’ll use data and automation, but without giving up empathy and storytelling, and focusing on how to make a family feel seen. Technology is there to do what we really don’t want to do, so that we focus on what really matters: strategy, profitability, customer satisfaction and sustainability.
The first step towards understanding a future for the industry is brutally simple: accept that the change has already happened. Stop debating whether it’s coming. It’s here. The question now is who will overcome change faster? Who will be left behind and who will take action?
We can’t cling to ‘how we used to do things.’ We have to be curious again, uncomfortable again, and brave again. Diversification, mergers and acquisitions should be on our board agendas in every meeting, to prevent our deepest fears about extinction from becoming a reality. For the first time in decades, we have a chance to rebuild what moving means for our clients and for ourselves.
I don’t think the industry is dying; it’s waking up – but with every rebirth come contractions, noise and fear. And that’s OK. Having this conversation will bring discomfort, chaos and uncertainty, but also creativity, evolution and even a more certain future. We movers know better than anyone else: nothing truly moves without a little pressure.