In early August, Georgia Angell from Trellis Vine Consulting in Florida, Maarten van Zutphen from Cani Consulting in the Netherlands and Mark Oakeshott from Mark Oakeshott Consulting based in Chicago, launched The Movers Consulting Group, with a mission to bring high-quality, industry-specific consulting to everyone in the industry, at an affordable price.

The Movers Consulting Group will charge companies of any size an annual fee of just over US$500 which gives them the opportunity of asking the team of consultants up to three questions a month on any industry or business-related topic.  As Mark Oakeshott puts it: “That gives companies access to 120 years of industry experience for little more than US$40 a month.”

Mark explained that running a moving company is often challenging with owners having to make difficult decisions every day and that making a wrong decision can cost money.  Having access to a team of experts should make those decisions easier and reduce the risk of a poor outcome.

“As a group we have a wide range of experience.  I specialise in mergers and acquisitions, Maarten in compliance and Georgia in operations, particularly relating to military and government work.”  He also points out, of course, that they also know a great many people in the industry so, if a question falls outside their sphere of expertise, they know who to ask. “If a question leads on to a requirement for more in-depth project work, the customer is free to retain the consultant independently under the usual terms.”

For Maarten it’s important that the service provided through The Movers Consulting Group provides real value with every question asked. “We don’t want people to see this as a 30-minute sales call.  We will aim to provide constructive advice and help people to solve their problem themselves.  But we’ll always be there to help further if that’s what they want.”

Georgia said that the service is available to any company, worldwide. “I don't think the geography makes too much of a difference,” she explained. “There might be occasions where we need to be on site, for example when streamlining processes, but most of the time we will be working by phone or video link.”  Mark added that some issues might need local knowledge to resolve, but they would be rare.

There is also an opportunity with The Movers Consulting Group for consultants.  Although Mark, Maarten and Georgia jointly provide a wide spread of experience, the Group is looking for other consultants with specialist knowledge, or those wishing to embark on a career in consulting, to join them. “It will work as a lead funnel for consultants and a valuable resource for movers,” explained Georgia. “We want to make sure this works well for everybody.”

Mark said that any consultant wishing to join the Group should have ‘real life’ experience of the industry.  “It’s important that we all talk the same industry language.”

More information for movers and consultants is available on The Movers Consulting Group website.

Photos: Georgia Angell; Maarten van Zutphen; Mark Oakeshott.