Westset Logistics is a Southern California 3PL facility based in La Mirada. Founder Guy Dominguez has always focused the company on providing top notch customer service alongside keeping up with industry expectations and as previously mentioned back in March 2015, Westset a leading Southern California 3PL is now a proud member of the IWLA. Mr. Dominguez, recently attended the 2015 International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) conference and expo, an annual gathering of warehouse operators and logistics specialists from all over the country, at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa.
The IWLA has been serving warehouse logistics organizations since the late 1800s under the name American Warehouse Association, and merged with the Canadian Association of Warehousing and Distribution in 1997. Since then, the IWLA has represented the interests of companies ranging from 10,000 square-foot single-city warehouses to international companies with more than 25 million square feet in warehouse space.
The IWLA provides a valuable source of logistics-specific education and support; helping Westset Logistics better serve its client base by staying at the forefront of advancements in the logistics industry.
Here are some highlights from the 2015 conference:
Networking with warehouse operators
The IWLA member base is made up of warehouse professionals from all over North America, and the annual conference serves as a valuable networking opportunity to meet other leaders in the industry. We spoke to operators that handle every type of account imaginable, giving us a network of advisors for various accounts that may come our way.
Mergers and Acquisitions session
One of the many seminars at the IWLA conference covered the ins and outs of expanding your business through mergers or acquisition. Westset’s recent doubling of its warehouse space has marked an enormous milestone for our own evolution as a company, so it was interesting to hear how other warehouses are expanding through acquisition. This session covered a particular case study, and analyzed the benefits and downsides of that case, and concluded by providing specific information about what to look for when considering an acquisition.
Warehouse Legal Update session
This session was led by an industry lawyer, and he discussed many recent cases affecting other 3PL partners. Learning about these cases is a valuable step toward avoiding similar pitfalls, and the lawyer leading this session shared in-depth analysis on how these situations could have been avoided in the first place. Also discussed was the importance of Terms and Conditions in contracts, and how they can protect the parties involved.
Transportation Law Update session
Like the Warehouse Legal Update, this session provided information on recent and current cases involving transportation law, and common pitfalls transportation companies may run into. Since Westset Logistics is partnered with Total Transportation, this session was particularly interesting to us, and will hopefully help us protect the promise made to our clients by eliminating legal vulnerabilities in our transportation chain.
California Chapter Committee
Part of the goal of the IWLA is to represent the business interests of warehouse logistics companies in California through identifying legislative issues early and proactively building coalitions. Compliance and diligence is an essential element in the logistics business, and this session allowed us to discuss how other logistics leaders in California are staying on top of recent changes, and how we can be more active in influencing regulations affecting our industry.
With the steady growth of the 3PL industry, as well as the unique challenges offered in the eCommerce subset, it’s been incredibly beneficial to use other industry leaders and experts as a resource and a benchmark. We look forward to putting this education to use serving our client base.