Is the Moving Industry Tech-Averse or Underserved?

Wonjun Jeong, Founder and CEO of Supermove, explains why he believes movers are happy to adopt new technology, if they can.

(Covery story originally appeared on Mover Magazine. Click here for original article.)

While medicine becomes tele-medicine and driving becomes self-driving, moving is still moving. It still has a lot of catching up to do. So why hasn’t it changed yet - are moving companies just against technology?

I’d moved 14 times growing up until I graduated college. During a terrible moving experience in 2019, I saw it first-hand while scratching my credit card into carbon paper to pay for my move. I saw how badly this industry was falling behind the pace of digitisation that swept across other sectors such as healthcare, finance and retail.

Harvard Business Review published a list of industries that are the most digitally advanced, and moving, categorized under transportation, shows low digitization.

In an era where we can summon a ride with a few taps on our smartphones and have groceries delivered to our doorsteps within hours, the moving industry has yet to experience a similar transformation. I recall every one of my moves, and each time, I had no awareness or understanding of when to expect the truck at my new location. I kept calling the main office to get an estimated time of arrival.

The reasons behind this lag are complex and multifaceted, but it did not take me long to realise what was causing the big tech gap. To the customer, like myself, it seemed like movers were rooted in a historical reliance on traditional methods, but there were unique industry challenges that aren’t known to most.

It was after multiple moving experiences that left me disappointed, Mark Miyashita and I started building Supermove: specialised software for the moving industry. The most common belief from skeptics was ‘the moving industry does not want to change’, and that ‘you will struggle to build tech in an industry that isn’t digitally savvy’.

One of the primary reasons I’ve seen the industry grapple with resistance to any technology-driven change is the deeply ingrained nature of its processes. Moving companies, often family-owned and steeped in tradition, have been carrying out relocations for decades using methods that have proven effective over time. While this experience is invaluable, it can sometimes lead to a reluctance to embrace new technologies that could streamline operations and improve the overall customer experience.

However, this is not a challenge unique to moving. You can argue that this applies to construction, restaurants, and other industries that present physical tasks that cannot be entirely automated. Packing delicate items, navigating narrow staircases, and ensuring the safe transportation of belongings require a human touch that technology cannot fully replace—at least for a long time to come. 

What I learned quickly while building Supermove was that there were already a few older, legacy tech solutions on the market, with frustrated, but real and very, very large customers. The challenge here was not adoption. The existing solutions on the market had not changed or innovated their products in years. As the world changes around us, technology providers also need to evolve solutions to keep up with customer expectations. Some of those frustrated customers I met with early on had even taped together tools such as Google sheets, Airtable and Twilio to run multi-million dollar businesses. So clearly, there was a problem worth trying to solve.

But are they against tech to solve their problems? The 2023 State of Moving & Storage Report revealed that 91% of moving companies said they use at least one piece of software within their business. So no, I don’t think they’re tech averse. This means that many movers are actually tech-friendly, but perhaps just lacking the right solutions on the market.

In recent years, we have witnessed a gradual shift towards integrating technology into various aspects of the moving process. From online booking platforms that simplify the quoting and scheduling process to virtual surveys that allow for accurate assessments without an in-person visit, the industry is beginning to recognize the benefits of technological innovation.

You’ll also see emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, real-time GPS routing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are starting to find applications in logistics and supply chain management, which could revolutionize how moving companies track and secure shipments. These advancements have the potential to reduce the risk of loss or damage during the moving process and provide customers with real-time updates on the status of their belongings.

And after all these years of speaking to incredible movers and industry leaders such as Pink Zebra, JK Moving, Meathead Movers, who make it their mission to stay ahead of the curve, I’ve seen first hand that movers are not resistant to technology. I think that the moving industry has simply struggled to find great software designed for its intricate challenges. Coordinating crews, surveying for estimates, dispatching trucks, managing inventory, tariffs, storage, labor planning, and handling customer interactions are complex tasks that demand specialized solutions, often missing from generic logistics systems.

As someone that is working everyday to transform the moving industry, I believe movers deserve the same or better tech propelling other sectors. This is no easy feat due to the complexity of moving operations, but it’s why at Supermove, we’re on a mission to modernize the moving industry by building and delivering great software so movers can run their business easier every day.

Our recent announcement of how we’re building AI into moving sales is just another step in this direction. You can watch that sneak peek here.

We are proud to say that Supermove stands at the forefront of innovation in the moving industry. We are building an operating system for moving companies in which they can manage multiple areas of their business in one single place. From the crews to office staff, the teams remain connected in real-time, providing the owner with end-to-end information to make decisions on the go. You can learn more about how we are differentiated in the market through this detailed guide.

We are continually winning the hearts of crews for our user-friendly app coupled with how easy it enables customers to tip the crews right at payment, similar to how we can easily tip at restaurants or on ridesharing apps. Besides, happier crews lead to happier customers and more five-star reviews.

At its core, Supermove seeks to reduce the cost of business, increase sales, and modernize the customer experience. It was designed to adapt to the way a mover runs their business, and keep up with the changing times and customer expectations.

The speed of innovation through our AI and automation capabilities more recently are up-leveling movers' digital chops to run more modern, efficient businesses. Movers no longer need to complete every manual, redundant task on their to-do list because automation takes care of it all. A set it and forget it motion that gives movers time back to focus on enhancing the customer experience and driving more revenue through other services.

In the end, it's not about “not being digitally savvy”; it's about software makers like us constantly driving the pace of innovation forward and bringing new tech into the industry every day. 

I know moving business owners are hungry to grow, to learn and have their business excel in our ever-evolving digital landscape. This is our pledge to bridge the tech gap and empower them, so we can both shape the future of this industry together.

As one of the software makers for the industry, I hold responsibility and accountability to help progress the industry forward by continuing to deliver solutions that keep up with the market changes and consumer expectations.

Movers — it’s just getting started. Let’s rip off that label and be proud of the advancements we’ve made thus far. 

Want to help us? Reach out to me at wj@supermove.com for partnerships, industry conversations, or anything technology-related you want to learn more about.

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