12
ANNUAL MEETING RECAP
R E CO R D
NUMBERS
ANNUAL MEETING BRINGS TOGETHER SHIPPERS AND CARRIERS
By Andrea Obston
Director of Public Relations, CLDA
The CLDA Annual Meeting in
La s Vegas was marked as one of the
association’s largest gathering of
decision makers in its history. Over
420 attendees, including a record
number of first-time attendees (120)
were joined by more than 25 ship-
pers. All left the three-day meeting
with new business, new ideas and
new connections.
“This year we made it a priority to
set the stage for shippers looking to
find the providers to help them tackle
the last mile. Some of the country’s
biggest shippers took part in this
conference. Throughout the confer-
ence they were telling us that they
were finding solutions to help them
deliver on the last and toughest mile
in the supply chain,” says conference
chair Jason Burns. ”They were par-
ticularly excited about the new CLDA
Exchange which gave shippers and
LTL carriers the opportunity to meet
face-to-face with last-mile providers.
There were three CLDA Exchange
sessions that helped pair up ship-
pers with carriers that could provide
solutions. In our post-conference
survey, 94 percent of conference par-
ticipants said they wanted these ses-
sions to be part of next year’s confer-
ence and 84 percent said they found
new business opportunities for their
companies. We’re calling that a win
all around.”
On the first day of the confer-
ence, Burn’s set the tone when he
told participants: “We want you to
leave this show with business oppor-
tunities. Everything at this meeting
was designed to bring business to
you. We want you to leave here with
business and learn from your indus-
try colleagues.”
Another new feature at this
year’s meeting was the addition of
Carriers Row. This section of the
exhibit hall was dedicated to regional
carriers looking to find local provid-
ers. Participants were enthusiastic
about it. Over 95 percent of post-
event survey participants said they
wanted it to be a part of next year’s
show in Orlando.
The third innovation that met
with enthusiastic response was
the Shipper Focus Groups. These
90-minute sessions were designed
to give carriers access to ship-
pers in specific verticals. During
three separate rounds, participants
“
I CAME TO the meeting
from Australia and I have to
say it was well worth the trip!“
First-time attendee Brett Arthur, Capital Transport,
Clayton, Australia
Customized Logistics and Delivery Association | Fall 2016