ERC/ESC 2021 Roundup - Two Shows in One This Year

This year the brilliant minds that have led the Electronic Reuse Conference (ERC) and E-Scrap Conference (ESC) decided to combine forces in Chicago and put on one combined show. Can I just say, yes please! 


Combining the resources of these two organizations was a great move and something that should become permanent for years to come. I attended all three days of the show (Mon/Tue/Wed.) and was able to sit in on multiple sessions and networking events while also meeting many of the exhibitors in the exhibition hall. 

First Enjoy this video overview of our visit to ERC/ESC 2021

Most of the conference sessions I would grade an A+ with experienced speakers and thoughtful moderators. The sessions were broken down into specific segments of the industry, joint sessions, and App only sessions. Like most conferences it's tough to get to everything, so it was nice that some of the sessions were recorded App only sessions you could watch later.

I got into town late Monday (thanks American) and took a Lyft to the Swissotel where the conference was held in downtown Chicago. Headed inside a VERY crowded hotel lobby and down to the registration desk for the show. First stop, Covid vaccination confirmation (vaccination & masks required). Then over to the registration desk for my badge. Registration was quick and easy! Good job ERC/ESC! Kuddos to the Swissotel staff too who were friendly & professional!

I missed the morning sessions, which were focused on tech recycling, but I noticed packed out conference rooms and lots of activity on the chat feature in the App -- which for me was a great way to judge attendee engagement.

I attended sessions in all three of the conferences tech care practice areas (repair, reuse, recycle) with a focus on my wheelhouse tech repair. ERC & ESC do an outstanding job with reuse and recycle but the repair side could use some improvement. I'll only discuss sessions I attended and since repair is my strong suit I'll focus more critique on that the rest of the way.

DAY 1: MONDAY - Opening Day

The Repair.org/Right To Repair Town Hall

After registration I headed into the Repair.org Town Hall hoping to witness changes from years past (READER NOTE: Full disclosure, I used to work for repair.org and left a very unhappy person. You can read about that in my past blog post). With that said, my best semi-unbiased opinion of this "town hall" was not good. Using my metric from above the event was not well attended, didn't have ANY questions/comments in the chat, had attendees staring at their phones most of the time, and lacked impactful speakers on the right to repair movement. I mean Louis Rossman attended the event and yet he wasn't speaking???!!!

For some reason one of the two speakers kept calling The Repair Association (repair.org) the "Right to Repair Association" which was very confusing. They then went on to say this is mainly a consumer issue for them and then criticized those in attendance for their lack of participation in the movement. One speaker started a sentence with, "no offense, but...". Friends, never, ever start a sentence at a public conference with those three words.

Lastly, this was billed as a "Town Hall", which is traditionally an event that is driven by attendee questions. NOT two people reading off of PowerPoint slides then telling a collection of business owners/operators that this is a consumer movement -- which was pushed back on in a later session (more on that below). 

Business Transformation for ITAD

I was excited to attend my next session because I think that ITAD (IT Asset Disposition - AKA, getting rid of old tech & making money reselling it) is one of the fastest and most profitable areas of the entire tech care industry. An area I believe that companies of all sizes can succeed in (repair shops too!). This session did NOT disappoint with a strong moderator and panel -- Wil Cohen of CircleIT is my new industry crush.

APP Session: 2nd Annual Repair Off Competition

This event was on the schedule at the same time as the session above but was recorded and you could watch later. Yeah, a tech repair session. Double yeah, a competition... that could have been something really cool... but wasn't.

Last years 1st annual repair off was pretty good at an all virtual event. This year's version took steps backward and was almost unwatchable. It took almost six minutes of explaining the rules just to get started on a Zoom Grid screen with only the faces of the two moderators and the hands & work spaces of the contestants. 

I believe this was recorded earlier -- no one mentioned it -- and should have been edited heavily. The contestants were billed as the best in the industry but we didn't, 1) learn how that was decided, and 2) learn much about them. They weren't even introduced until after the competition started (only four of the five were introduced to us with very little info about them, a bit awkward). 

They could have made this a 15 minute video after the first place winner and then done a wrap-up with the other finishers. But we had to painstakingly watch everyone finish and then the video ended. Did everyone get a trophy? Did anyone win the prizes? I guess they announced the winner later? Right? Maybe??? To be honest I didn't really care because I had no investment in who the techs were or where they came from or who decided they were the best of the best. It was kind of like one of THOSE YouTube videos.

This would be exciting as a live event with qualifying rounds occurring over the course of a year, otherwise it's simply a boring side show. And for God's sake introduce the contestants and show there faces next time!

The Future of Device Repair

Here's another session that I was looking forward to before the show. The title was clear the session, umm... not so much. As is often the case at repair events -- many of which I have attended personally over the last 15 years -- the topic didn't meet the content. One of the speakers even refused to answer a future related question by saying he didn't "have a crystal ball". But that's what people are looking for when you attend a session called "The Future of Device Repair". They want to know what experts on the matter think and/or see coming down the road. You know... in the future!!!

This session should have been titled Quality Control of repair parts, which is what a majority of the time was used to discuss. Pretty good attendance, with lots of attendees checking their phones, and the only chat question was about Facebook & Discord groups. I spoke to one of the speakers afterwards and commented that there was not a lot of future talk. He laughed and said yea, we decided to go another direction before the show. WTF??!!

DAY 1 APP Sessions I Watched (Quick Overview)

E-Scrap News Conversation, The Trends We're Watching: Very informative panel with future thinking info (unlike above) - Lots of good questions

Increasing Online Sales Profitability: Great Panel - Cory Farrugia is an industry all-star and this session is worth watching a couple of times!

Repair Networking Dinner

This was offsite at a loud arcade/bar and not really worth the time or money. As is often the case the best networking events happened organically. These just need to go away or simply open them up to everyone with the sponsor(s) picking up the tab.

DAY 2: TUESDAY - Joint Sessions to Start

How We Navigated the Pandemic

Great Session. Great Panel. This session brought in insightful speakers from every aspect of the tech care industry who shared how their businesses navigated the pandemic and came out even stronger on the other side of it (many in tech care saw boom times during the pandemic).

Each speaker had a unique story that really hit home and made me proud to be a part of the industry. A special shoutout to Rod McDaniel who shared his story of humble beginnings, building a profitable business, and then giving back to the community he started in. Loved this session!

I had to miss most of the 2nd joint session, Diving into today's Material Markets to meet with a few people. But it was well attended and had good questions

Dangers (and Opportunities) in Battery Processing

I can't think of a more important issue facing our industry as a whole. This session had a great panel and moderator that where able to share a lot of information on the topic. The only thing lacking was someone from a true repair operation (retail or depot) where companies are on the frontlines of battery disposal and often have no clue as to how to handle them safely.

It was fascinating to hear how facilities handle the many different types of batteries and the measures they take to keep themselves safe. Insurance and safety measures are important to consider in how these mini explosive devices can be handled in all areas of the industry. My 2 cents is that all three aspects of the industry could be working more closely together for better solutions.

An Update: Microsoft TPR Program

Amanda & Jennifer were fabulous in this session. Giving lots of great information and then taking live questions from the audience!

APP Session: LinkedIn Masterclass

Here's another session I was looking forward to. Brian "TheMacMan" Burke is one of my favorite connections on LinkedIn and I knew he would have some great tips for attendees. HE. DID. NOT. DISAPPOINT!

LinkedIn is often overlooked by many in our industry but it offers a tremendous opportunity to network and find more business for you and your company. For instance, some weeks I focus on setting meetings using LinkedIn and usually fill my calendar in a matter of a couple of hours. SIDE NOTE: If you use LinkedIn at all be sure to check & respond to messages!

Watch this session and then watch it a few more times!

What's Next on Right to Repair

Let me preface my thoughts here by telling you that I spoke to one of the panelists beforehand who told me they weren't sure why they were asked to speak on this panel. Enough said.

As I have said many times before, messaging for the R2R movement is severely lacking. This session was true to that point. You had a good audience in the room who wanted to hear about the movement and how they can help. Seemed like a wasted opportunity. If it were me I would have had Louis Rossman -- who was sitting in the back of the room and left early -- speak to the group to get them charged up for what you said was "a make or break year" for R2R.The lack of passion here does not bode well for this critical year ahead!

Instead the moderator spoke too much and the panelists were NOT on the same page. When both of the panelists said they didn't want consumers fixing their own tech the moderator then decided to "push-back" on what one of the panelists said and push-forward the idea of consumers fixing their own stuff. Once again READ THE ROOM your talking to people who make their living on repair. Consumers fixing their own stuff is not in their best interest even if its in yours.

The guy who has raised the most money and motivated the most people (Louis Rossman who has 1.69 million followers on YouTube) was strikingly absent from this event. Based on what I've seen and the enthusiasm he brings to the topic HE should be the only person speaking about R2R in a public setting until you can find someone equally as dynamic. 

NOTE: Before you attack me for going after them so hard, let me say this, I support right to repair and I care about it moving forward. But any movement needs to be looked at in the light of day to see where it is failing. This was another failure in a long line from a group who needs better leadership. It's time to let Louis take the ball and run with it! If you're going to give your time and money to someone give it Louis' organization at www.fighttorepair.org

Networking And Awards Reception

This was held in the exhibit hall while lots of people were drinking (FREE Booze), doing business, and trying to carry on conversations. So, yea, I'm not even sure who won what. But congratulations to all the winners!

DAY 3: WEDNESDAY - A Half Day & Then Home

Strategies to Find and Retain Employees

One of the best sessions of the entire show! The panel had representatives of all three areas of the tech care industry and they all had valuable experience to share. I thought Justin Carrol stood out a little above the rest but both Neil Peters-Michaud and Ken Thomas were great too!

Tricia Conroy was by far the best moderator of any of the sessions I attended and should be giving an award for it -- maybe at a quieter Awards Reception next year. She was able to fit almost every question the attendees asked in the chat and managed them so well that it seemed like these random questioned were rehearsed.

My only regret here is that this session wasn't recorded and can't be watched again. I guess that's why you pay to come to these shows!

More sessions like this one that includes repair, reuse & recycle people please!

What Else Should We Be Fixing

I found it interesting that this panel was moderated by an Amazon employee, Demi Marsh, who did a great job! This was my favorite repair focused panel which took on a different perspective by being moderated by an employee of the worlds largest seller of tech -- the more big tech companies we can get to participate in these conferences the better!

Once again I felt the panel had some good information that was valuable in this session but they didn't seem to get into the future much, only a few side notes. And, once again the "crystal ball" was mentioned. Listen there are some industry experts have ideas on what the future holds. Maybe we'll hear from them in the... future.

NOTE ON THE FUTURE: Ironically enough there were a few speakers talk briefly about the future of the industry but not in the sessions you would have thought/expected it in. Most of the mentions were about automobiles and how even the companies that make them are referring to them as "tech". As an industry we need to be forward thinking to work with these companies BEFORE their products hit the streets so they can plan for REPAIR, REUSE, & RECYCLE!

That's It Folks - Shows Over

Like most shows this one ended pretty quickly. By the time I made my way down to the exhibit floor most of the booths were coming down and folks were headed out the door.

Overall this was a great show and one that everyone in the industry should attend. It would be great to keep the combined ERC/ESC going forward with on simple request. Let's get some new faces on the repair side of the industry that can deliver some top notch content. And if the show is going to focus so much attention on the right to repair issue then bring in the best of the best to speak about it.

Here are the websites of the two shows:

https://www.ereuseconference.com/

https://www.e-scrapconference.com/

My Closing Thoughts

My desire is to help the industry move forward and to BE BETTER! That might mean being critical of a few things while working with people in the industry to move the industry forward.

That's why I founded the TECH CARE ASSOCIATION. To help the industry get better organized and find more success. My promise to you is that I will work hard every day to accomplish that goal. I'll work with different organizations to make changes and be their best and if they decide to settle on mediocre then I'll call them out on it. Our main desire is to partner with existing organizations and events to hep make them better for the entire industry.

The combined ERC/ESC in 2021 is a quality show with quality people that I hope will take into account a few of my thoughts on the show to help make it even better next year. I'm happy to work with either organization to help them make improvements where needed and promote the shows to even more people going forward.

Let's all work together to make our industry even better than it is today!

The TECH CARE ASSOCIATION is committed to three main tenents:

  1. Raising Public Awareness so that when someone breaks their tech they get it repaired, when they need a device they consider refurbished, and when they are done with their tech the recycle it as soon as possible.
  2. Educate, Network & Raise Standards the industry so that we can find more ways to work together and create partnerships to help everyone find more success.
  3. Advocate with Big Tech & Governmental Bodies to help find new opportunities, resolve conflicts, and negotiate fair practices for every aspect of the industry.
Join us to help make a difference at: www.TechCareAssociation.org

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