IWLA: RICH PAST, DYNAMIC FUTURE IWLA – The International Warehouse Logistics Association, headquartered just outside Chicago in Des Plaines, IL, has a long and rich history in Canada, the U.S. and throughout the world. The Association is a result of the 1997 merger of the nearly 80-year-old Canadian Association of Warehousing and Distribution Services (CAWDS) with the American Warehouse Association (AWA), which was founded in 1891 – long before most association in existence today. In fact, AWA is a founding member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These two associations, both separately and now together, have represented North America’s public and contract warehouse operators for more than 100 years. Companies represented by IWLA range in size from 10,00-square-foot, single-city warehouses to international companies with more than 25 million square feet of warehouse space in cities all over North American and the world. Our members employ nearly 100,000 people in North America and are a vital and growing component of the overall logistics industry. IWLA members include companies that provide: warehousing; fulfillment; reverse logistics; transportation, freight forwarding and brokerage services; inventory and supply chain management capabilities; and broad range of manufacturing and value-added services. Looking ahead The future of the 3PL industry, and thus our association, certainly seems to be a bright one. With well-documented trends toward outsourcing, streamlined logistics functions and corporations reverting to basic core competencies working in our favor, we expect to continue our pattern of 15% growth for the foreseeable future. To keep up with this growth and better serve its members, IWLA has redesigned its website, and is aimed at creating an information-rich, web-based organization that has the flexibility to respond to members’ changing needs. In addition to the lobbying, research, education and legal services the Association has always provided, IWLA has begun to place more emphasis on marketing the value added warehouse industry to outsiders and helping facilitate contact between members and potential customers. IWLA also is working hard to develop operational standards and best practices within the industry. The latest example of this is the recent formation of an alliance between IWLA and OSHA to help improve the safety and health of member employees.