Liz Richards is the chief executive officer of MHEDA, the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association. She initially joined MHEDA—a North American trade association whose 600 member companies sell, service, manufacture, and install material handling equipment, systems, and related technologies—as executive vice president in 1995 and was named CEO in 2015. In that post, Richards manages a staff of nine people with an operating budget of $4 million. Last November, she announced that she would step down at the end of this year.
Richards recently spoke with Group Editorial Director David Maloney on DC Velocity’s “Logistics Matters” podcast about her time at MHEDA, the changes she’s seen during her tenure, and how someone with no background in material handling ended up working in this industry—never mind staying for almost three decades.
Q: Liz, for those not familiar with MHEDA, could you talk about the organization and the role it plays in our industry?
A: The Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association was founded in 1954 by nine forklift distributors and grew pretty quickly from there. It was created to serve as the voice of the distributor and to promote manufacturer-distributor relations. Those relations are just as important today as they were back then.
MHEDA provides distributors with information, education, benchmarking reports, and other resources to help them excel in their business, with the aim of giving them the tools they need to grow and strengthen their own distributorship. But it’s equally important for the manufacturers and the suppliers in the industry to be part of MHEDA. They need to know what challenges distributors are facing so they can help them succeed—which will ultimately enable the manufacturers and the end-users to succeed as well.
Q: You’ve been with MHEDA now for almost 29 years. How did you get into this industry?
A: Well, I think that like many people I’ve run into over the years, it kind of just fell into my lap. I was not at all familiar with the material handling industry, and frankly, I was not familiar with associations either. I worked for a trade publishing company, Cahners Publishing, right out of college, which became a big part of this industry as well. When I left there, I went to work for a retirement community, where I spent eight years as a building director. Our attorney there left private law and eventually found his way to MHEDA. When he decided to move on to other things, he encouraged me to meet with the MHEDA search committee, as he thought I had the skill sets necessary. And lo and behold, they hired me.
I remember going to my first ProMat Show and thinking, What in the world is all this stuff? And here I am 28 years later, so it definitely fell into my lap. But it’s been just life-changing. It’s a wonderful industry filled with really great people. And I’ve heard other people say it’s a life sentence—but in a good way. Once you get into this industry, you stay. Working with the association’s board of directors over the years has just been a tremendous experience. I’ve learned so much from these amazing leaders.
Q: I agree. It’s an industry that I fell into as well. And once you get the bug, it is tough to leave. And here we both are more than 25 years later. In your time in the industry, what are the biggest changes you’ve seen?
A: Interestingly, back in 1995 [when I joined MHEDA], we didn’t have email. We’d fax everything, and the pace of change was so different then. Now we have all this technology to make things more efficient. And frankly, I think it’s made us all so much busier. Everybody expects an instant response. And, of course, we want to give everybody an instant response. So just from a pure office-environment perspective, that’s been a big change.
But as far as the changes in the industry, obviously automation. That demand has continued to grow over the last 10 years, especially during Covid and with the rise of e-commerce. That has probably been the biggest thing, along with just the pace of change. I mean, it has gotten crazy, where you can work 24 hours a day and still probably not keep up.
Q: Are there particular material handling technologies that your members have seized upon or view as an important part of the industry’s future?
A: There are a lot of member companies who are seeing escalating demands from customers. They’re not in the automation field just yet, but they’re really trying to learn it. So, we’ve organized automation solutions conferences in the past. And what we realized is that our target audience is those who want to get better-versed in the automation industry. They’re trying to capture as much information as they can in order to understand the risks and the investments required.
Equipment-wise, there are always so many new things coming on the market. There is so much now with robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). I think everybody’s trying to wrap their arms around what makes the most sense and what’s going to help their customers the most. Interestingly, I think there’s been a shift from being an “equipment distributor” to being an “integrated solution provider.” That means different things for different companies, and people are grappling with that right now.
Q: You mentioned AI and other new technologies. Where do you see the industry going in the future?
A: Oh, you know, if I had a crystal ball, I’d tell you, Dave. I just think that it’s going to continue to put a lot of demands on our industry. Those who are willing to make the investment and stay focused on what the customers will demand in the future … I think they’re the ones that are going to be the most successful.
I also think data will play a huge role. Our members need to really understand what the most important data points are for their customers so that they can provide the best solution.
Q: You noted earlier that your members have expanded their focus beyond simply distributing equipment to providing “solutions” for their customers. How important is establishing a relationship with a dealership to someone who’s looking to launch an automation project or even just conduct day-to-day business as a distributor?
A: There are some integrators that are way ahead of the curve, where they can provide everything from the controls to the installation, the wiring, the equipment—everything. But there are not that many that can do all of that. And so, a lot of alliances and partnerships have been created, which I think is a really important part of the future. I think people need to understand that they have to work with one another. And they have to find the right partners in order to meet their customers’ demands and solve their challenges.
Q: Liz, you will be retiring at the end of the year, after almost 29 years. What one thing are you most proud of achieving during your tenure at MHEDA?
A: I think our biggest strength has been taking time out each year to identify trends in the industry and the major challenges facing our members. We go through a strategic planning process every year, which I refer to as our “organizational engine.” We really focus on the future while executing the current year’s plans.
And so, when we define these trends, we’re able to provide our members with information, resources, educational programs, white papers, and various services to help them address those trends. I think over the years, that has been a big part of MHEDA’s success.
We have a team of 10 individuals who work at MHEDA. And combined, we have a tenure of 164 years at the organization. And that’s without two recent retirees with a combined 40-year tenure. So, to me, that just speaks volumes. We’ve all come to really love the material handling industry and its members.
The other really big achievement is we’ve hired my successor, Jeanette Walker, who comes with over 20 years of experience in the industry. She started in July, and the knowledge-transfer process and transition have been absolutely seamless. She’s got great plans for the future. And to me, that’s a big achievement because MHEDA is near and dear to my heart. I wanted to make sure we had the right person in place—we went through a very long search process, and Jeanette rose to the top. I’m super excited for her and for MHEDA’s future with her at the helm.
Q: As you mentioned, this industry is one big family. A lot of us know each other and have known each other for decades. On behalf of all of us, I want to thank you for the work you’ve done for almost three decades in serving MHEDA and the material handling industry.
A: Thank you, Dave. It’s been a real pleasure. I’m definitely going to miss it. I am looking forward to retirement. But the thing that I’ll miss the most are the people. The people in this industry are just phenomenal, and I count so many of them as friends, and hopefully, we’ll stay in touch.
