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RLA 2025: A New Era of Opportunity for Tech Repair

RLA 2025: A New Era of Opportunity for Tech Repair

RLA 2025 & the TCA: A New Era of Opportunity for Tech Repair

The 21st Annual Reverse Logistics Association (RLA) Conference and Expo, held at the World of Hyatt Rio in Las Vegas from March 11-13, brought together industry leaders for three days of powerful discussions about the future of sustainable technology, repair, and reuse. As your representative in this space, I was excited to participate in content-driven panel discussions, keynotes, and the RL Masterclass that directly impact our tech repair community.

Understanding the Reverse Logistics Ecosystem

RL Masterclass

The conference kicked off with an engaging three-hour RL Masterclass led by Rich Bulger, Peter Evans, and Deborah Dull. This essential session focused on transforming reverse logistics into business innovation, helping attendees understand how to maximize product lifecycles profitably while minimizing environmental impact.

Right to Repair Progress
During the Industry Partner Forum, Gay Gordon-Byrne from Repair.org delivered encouraging news about the right-to-repair movement. “We’re hearing less and less in opposition from manufacturers,” she noted, highlighting that five states have now passed consumer electronics repair bills. While cell phone repair has become “low-hanging fruit” due to increasing OEM support, challenges remain in data center equipment repair – an area where The Repair Association is actively seeking industry collaboration.

Innovation and Future Trends
Brian Comiskey, Senior Director of Innovation and Trends at the Consumer Technology Association, shared compelling insights about CES 2025 trends and their implications for returns. A particularly striking statistic revealed that Gen Z consumers own an average of 13 tech-enabled devices each – representing an unprecedented opportunity for our industry. This demographic’s significant device ownership, combined with their strong interest in sustainability, creates a perfect storm of opportunity for tech repair businesses.

Circular Economy Champions
The Circular Economy session featured powerful insights from industry leaders including Jennifer Foxworthy (HP’s Head of Certified Renew Partner Program), Joyce Cruts (VP Supply Chain at ACER), and Stephen Beard (Global Head of Sales, GSS at Flex). A striking moment came when Jennifer asked attendees about unused devices at home – the overwhelming response highlighted the massive opportunity for our industry in device reuse and repair.

Automation and Efficiency
Rebecca Latson (Dell), Rob Lawson-Shanks (Molg), and Sean Magann (Sims Lifecycle Services) led an enlightening session on how automation is revolutionizing the industry. Their discussion revealed how new technologies are making device reuse more cost-effective and efficient – crucial for our members, as our recent survey shows 56.5% cite parts availability as their primary challenge.

Customer Service Excellence
Corinne Copello and Jason Bell from Nordstrom delivered a compelling keynote about returns capabilities. Their message about accepting returns without exception to build lifetime customer loyalty resonated strongly with our industry’s focus on customer service.

Innovation Spotlight: RLA 2025 Startup Competition

RL STARTUP CONTENDERS:

RL STARTUP CONTENDERS:

The conference’s startup competition showcased five innovative companies revolutionizing reverse logistics:

– In the Loop (intheloopai.com)
Leveraging AI to optimize reverse logistics processes

– Patturn (patturn.io)
Using advanced pattern recognition to streamline returns management

– SendBack (sendbackreturns.com)
Simplifying the returns process through innovative technology

– Sotira (sotira.co)
Developing comprehensive reverse logistics solutions

– Verae (verae.com)
Creating technology-driven returns management systems

In an inspiring outcome, two women-owned businesses took top honors: Sotira won the Judges’ Award, while SendBack secured the Audience Award. Read more about the startup competition here.

Strategic Position in Reverse Logistics

What became crystal clear throughout the conference is that our industry’s extensive network of physical locations across communities nationwide positions us perfectly within the reverse logistics ecosystem. With repair shops in virtually every community, we represent an existing infrastructure that could revolutionize how returns, repairs, and device recycling are handled.

Consider the advantages:
– Local Presence: Our members operate in communities where consumers live and work
– Technical Expertise: We already possess the skills needed for device assessment and repair
– Established Infrastructure: Our physical locations can serve as community tech care hubs
– Community Trust: We’ve built relationships with local customers and businesses

This hyperlocal approach to tech care isn’t just convenient for consumers – it’s essential for making our industry more profitable while supporting sustainable practices. By integrating more deeply into reverse logistics operations, repair shops can:
– Create new revenue streams through returns processing
– Partner with manufacturers and retailers for warranty repairs
– Serve as local recycling collection points
– Provide refurbishment services for returned devices

Looking Ahead: Opportunities for TCA Members

The conference reinforced several key opportunities for our members:

1. Automation Integration
New automated solutions could help address parts availability challenges, which our recent survey shows affects 56.5% of our members.

2. Strategic Partnerships
With 38.5% of our members seeking insurance and warranty partnerships, the connections made at RLA open new possibilities for collaboration.

3. Sustainability Leadership
As Dr. Pinar Martin from Amazon highlighted in her keynote on consumer electronics reverse supply chains, sustainability is becoming increasingly crucial in our industry.

4. Innovation Adoption
The startup competition demonstrated how new technologies could help our members streamline operations and improve customer service.

Call to Action

The opportunities in reverse logistics are clear, and our industry is uniquely positioned to capitalize on them. With Gen Z’s growing device ownership and our established presence in communities nationwide, the potential for growth is tremendous. Want to learn more about how your repair business can benefit from these emerging opportunities? Contact us at TCA to discuss how you can get involved in shaping the future of tech repair and reverse logistics.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue building partnerships and creating opportunities for our members in the reverse logistics ecosystem.

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We Care For Tech A New Look For Your TCA

Take a Look at the TCA Rebrand & Learn About Our Non-Profit Status

The Tech Care Association is a mouth full to say the least, so we often refer to ourself as the TCA. As we enter into our fourth year of serving the Tech Care Industry we are rebranding and making the shortened version of our name official. So we have legally updated our name to a dba and will be called the ‘TCA’ from this day forward.

In doing so we thought it would be nice to redesign our logo as well (see it above) and clean things up a bit. We chose a circle to represent circulatory/sustainability while incorporating the segments of Tech Care Industry that we serve: REPAIR, SUPPORT, REUSE, & RECYCLE (see more below). Each of which are vital to keeping tech out of landfills and reducing e-waste.

We also wanted to shorten our motto to make clear what we do and who we represent. So we chose, We Care For Tech as the brand new TCA motto. The TCA is a non-profit trade association that represents companies that “take care” of tech after it’s sold. Any company that is in the tech care space is welcome to join our trade association here.

The Four Pillars of our Membership

REPAIR – The TCA believes that repair is the most important aspect of the tech care industry. These professionals are on the front lines of our industry and help people extend the life of tech each and every day by performing critical repairs to keep tech running. As such a majority of our members are in the tech repair space. The TCA operates a consumer facing directory for people to find our members at www.WhereToRepair.org. We seek to help repair people thrive while helping people find the best that repair has to offer.

SUPPORT – Much like tech repair tech support serves on the front lines of our industry. One of the biggest challenges for tech support companies is their battle with fraudsters who are are common across the internet. The TCA seeks to help people identify and use legitimate companies that serve in communities everywhere.

RESUSE – Over the last ten years companies that refurbish tech have exploded into the marketplace. And companies that buy and sell used tech have too. The TCA seeks to find more ways to partner with these companies in our network of tech repair companies who often buy and sell used products.

RECYCLE – Too much tech ends up in landfills or forever suspended in time in peoples junk drawers. By working with recyclers the TCA hopes to get more tech back into the marketplace and then make sure it ends up in the proper recycling streams when it is actually at end-of-life.

Companies that work in these four areas of tech care are welcome to join the TCA and participate in TCA governance. Because we believe tech repair is the most important aspect of the industry we have special membership packages for these professionals that allow them to join the association for a reduced rate. Those packages for tech repair companies can be found here.

Companies that are in Tech Support, Tech Reuse, Tech Recycle, and related companies can join as industry partners here.

The TCA is an IRS Approved Non-Profit Trade Association

The TCA was approved by the IRS to operate as a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade association. This is an important designation from the IRS that allows the TCA which can lead to thousands of dollars of resources that can be put back into the organization, which would have otherwise gone straight to the U.S. government. We took this important step to serve our community for many reasons and it will allow us to serve you better in the years to come.

It should be noted that the TCA is the only not for profit trade association that serves the tech care industry.

The TCA is always to happy to work with other organizations in the industry to help the tech care industry thrive! We know we don’t everything and we can’t possible do everything. This is one of the reasons we operate the industries ONLY complete tech care industry events directory on our website AND the TCA we have links to other organizations listed in the TCA resource hub. We are always happy to partner with other organizations to help everyone in the industry succeed.

Let’s all work together to reduce eWaste by keeping tech in the market longer with repair, support, reuse, and proper recycling!

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A Trade Association For Serious Tech Repair People

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The TCA is a Member Based Group for Serious Tech Repair People

The TCA (Tech Care Association) launched in November of 2000 with the primary goal of helping to unite the tech care industry — those that take care of tech after it’s sold. In other words, people in: tech repair, tech reuse/refurbishing. tech support, and tech recycle. The vital businesses in tech circularity that care for tech from the cradle to the grave and keep it in the market longer.

Organized as a not-for-profit corporation in the state of Virginia and recently recertified by the IRS as a 501(c)(6) organization. Founded by Rob Link who got into the industry in 2000 after a successful career in the wireless industry. He was inspired to start the TCA by the Auto Care Association, a longstanding and successful trade association for people that take care of automobiles after they are sold. The similarities of the two industries is uncanny and only separated by the price of the product (cars v. tech) and the time in market (over a century v. decades).

One of the biggest similarities in the two industries is the common cause of fighting for Right To Repair legislation across the country. The Auto Care Association fought and won its first battle in 2012 and they have been fighting the OEMs ever since. The other similarities in the two industries are the number of products that they support in the market (288M cars v. 310M phones). Repair and reuse is a major part of both industries, as well as recycling. Aftermarket accessories are a big part of each industry as well.

In addition, other similarities are the distribution model: cars are serviced mainly by independent community based shops and so is tech repair. The industry structure: cars have parts distributors that offer various types of parts – so does tech repair. As with most repair industries the repair techs that work in these two industries are, to quote a friend, “fiercely independent”.

What Sets Apart The TCA from Other Organizations?

First of all, we support anyone and everyone who is serious about helping tech repair people. In fact, we even list other organizations on the TCA website and invite them to partner with us to help further the industry. We don’t see any of these groups as competition to our mission and goals. Our industry can support multiple groups. Additionally we invite our members to join and support other organizations. We work closely with many of them and hope to work with more.

So in no particular order, here are some of the ways we help the industry:

  • The TCA www.WhereToRepair.org is the only nationwide directory of community based tech repair businesses that anyone can join.
  • We offer FREE resources in the TCA Resource Hub that are available to anyone.
  • Your TCA works daily to promote the industry to more people in order to help you get more business.
  • We are actively seeking unique partnerships that will drive business into your shops.
  • The TCA works on matchmaking companies within the industry to help everyone get better and more productive outcomes.
  • We help support and promote Right To Repair legislation so that we can all have an even playing field to succeed.
  • Your TCA is working on software products in collaboration with other companies to help further the industry.
  • The TCA is zealously searching for companies outside of the traditional phones, tablets, and computers that need and want our member services.
  • We invite you to visit our website for more information at www.TechCareAssociation.org

Why is it The Tech Care Association and Not the Tech REPAIR Association?

This is a question we get a lot and one of the reasons we have grown so slowly. People get confused and we’ve had to work on raising awareness in the industry itself.

To complicate things even more, others use different names to refer to the industry. Some still call it the “cell phone” repair industry — which is outdated and simplistic. Others want to refer to it as the “wireless” repair industry — kind of limits what we do to just wireless devices. And there are other names too. We believe our industry is complex can can serve many areas that includes smartphones/wireless devices and so much more. Consumer electronics is a great place to start but if it has a cord and a board then consider it TECH!

Let’s start with why the word TECH. Tech is a higher category that encompasses so much more and leaves a lot of opportunity for the future. Cell phones and smartphones are tech. Tablets and computers are tech. Consumer electronics are tech. Using the word “Tech” leaves open many more opportunities than one specific category.

Now the tricky one, the word CARE. Again, let’s think big picture. Repair is a form of care for tech. So is tech support, which many of our members do each day. Reuse and refurbishment are also forms of tech care. Many of our members participate in this process, from buyback to reselling devices and the repair/refurbishment process in between. In fact, I could give you a long list of companies that started as repair shops and moved into refurbishment of devices and now process millions of devices a year.

And what about the missing word REPAIR? First off, our founder coined the phrase Tech Repair almost two decades ago when he switched the name of his “cell phone repair” company to “Tech Repair” and then continued to promote the phrase on his industry blog, The WiGoMan for years. During his time as an industry consultant he worked with companies to adopt the phrase, which culminated in Asurion renaming UBIF stores in 2021. Since that time, many other repair shops have adapted “Tech Repair” into what they name their business. And in a recent trend, Google search serves up multiple results within the industry when using the search term, “TECH REPAIR”.

While Tech Repair is a big part of what we do, Tech Care is all about device circularity, or taking care of tech after its sold — Repair, Support, Reuse, and Recycle = Tech Care.

In the End, Tech Care is All About Reducing eWaste!

Outside of our main goals of supporting the industry and helping our members thrive the TCA wants to promote the reduction of e-waste, a global crisis according to a recent UN report. We firmly believe that if more people participated in tech care we could reduce e-waste significantly.

In our industry that starts with tech repair people, who are on the front lines of the industry. These are community based repair people who take care of tech every day by fixing broken devices in their communities. Recent estimates have the number of tech repair businesses in the US alone at somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000 locations. As demand increases that number grows almost daily. These shops, stores, mobile techs, and depots often participate in all four areas of tech care (repair, support, reuse, & recycle). The TCA seeks to unite these locations to build a network marketplace to service more devices, thus reducing eWaste.

A local model works because it is community based. Easy. Simple. Convenient for the customer. When these goals are met by a network of maybe only a quarter of the total number of tech repair shops in the US they could help collect tens of millions of devices each year that could flow into the reuse market. Devices could also be mined for parts to repair more. At end of life, they could be properly recycled and kept out of local landfills — improving the lives of people in that community.

Put simply, reducing e-waste benefits our industry while saving our planet and improving life for us all!

How & Who Can Become a Part Of the TCA?

The TCA is open to anyone who wants to help move the industry forward. We welcome any business from any part of the industry (repair, support, reuse, and recycle), as well as anyone who wants to partner with our members. Let’s breakdown membership categories:

Tech Repair/Retail Businesses – Shop, Store, or Mobile

We make adding your tech repair business to our network easy and affordable. You select the plan that works best for you, starting at FREE. We hope you will find value in what we do and want to upgrade your membership to a paid plan. But we want to eliminate any second thoughts you might have and get started now.

Membership gets you listed in our consumer facing http://www.WhereToRepair.org directory that will do two things for your repair business, 1) Get you more business when someone searches for a local repair business in your area, and 2) Increase the SEO of you existing website while adding legitimacy to your business.

Click on the link above to join and find out additional benefits of membership.

Tech Care Industry Partners

This is an exciting way to support the industry while promoting your business to our members. Industry partners are listed in various categories in the TCA Resource Hub so that our members can find you and do business with you. Basic listings are free (email us for inclusion) but membership gives you a lot more exposure and opportunity to get your name in front of more potential customers.

We also can help you develop a unique program to expand your business into thousands of member locations across the country. We know our programs can help you grow!

To join click the link above and find the right investment for your business to help support our mission and grow your bottom line.

Tech Care Alliance Organizations

Alliance organization membership is designed for organizations that want to participate in the Tech Association and are aligned with the TCA mission. Membership is restricted in each of these categories to organizations that are described below. All applicants must be approved before becoming members.

Click the link above to find the right membership for your organization.

Let’s all work together to make the a difference!

~~ Unity without Conformity ~~

Join the TCA Today and we can change the world!!!

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All Tech Repair People Are Welcome Here

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The TCA Welcomes Former Members of the Now Defunct ACRBO

While the ACRBO website is still live it appears as if they have stopped all operations sometime in the last 3-4 years. The site was last copyrighted in 2014, but the last blog post was in 2019. We reached out to all of the ACRBO board members and only got a response from two of them. One said he knew for sure they shut down and the other said they had not heard anything in years.

For those of you who are not familiar with the ACRBO, it stands for the Association of Computer Repair Business Owners and was founded in 2009. The site states, that “the Association was formed by Daniel Hand owner of Computer Medics of Northern Virginia LLC after realizing that there were no professional Associations for the smaller computer business owner to become part of. With the increase in membership the Association created a “Leadership” team to help maintain the site and promote the industry.” At one point serving more than 2,000 members.

By all accounts ACRBO was successful in its efforts to help its members during it’s time in operation. We would like to thank Daniel Hand and the other folks at ACRBO who moved the industry forward and welcome any former members to join the TCA to help us carry on the legacy of the ACRBO.

WHO SHOULD JOIN THE TCA?

The Tech Care Association (TCA) is non-profit 501(c)(6) trade association founded in 2020 by Rob Link that is designed for professionals in the tech care industry. Tech Care is defined as any one who “takes care” of tech after it’s sold or people who repair, support, refurbish, and recycle tech. “Tech” is loosely defined as any consumer electronics with a (mother) board and a (power) cord — the tip of the spear here are phones, tablets and computers. It is our belief that more consumer electronics need to be taken care of to reduce and eliminate e-waste in the world.

TCA members are made up of small businesses across the country that help take care of tech in their communities. These small business people are on the frontlines of the industry and, although small in size (mainly mom & pop type shops), they number in the tens of thousands across the country. Making them our largest and most important resource for tech care.

What was once considered the cell phone and computer repair industry is now the Tech Repair Industry, which falls under the larger Tech Care Industry. The TCA seeks to serve any business interested in furthering the industry to moving it forward for greater success for all. The TCA welcomes any and all companies that operate in this space into its body of members.

WHY CALL IT TECH?

In our modern society all things are becoming tech. More and more of the products we buy each and every day are becoming infused with technology. From IOT connected appliances and personal electronics (toothbrushes & sex toys) to furniture and electric vehicles. Everything is becoming TECH!

Those that learned to take care of cell phones and computers are leading the way in this new and vital industry of tech care. These community based helpers are changing the way we look at the world and the products we buy. They help keep this massive wave of new products in the market longer, which again reduces the amount of waste that enters our ecosystem.

Tech Repair People have learned — in most cases — how to service and repair tech without the help of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), as the Right to Repair Movement has pointed out for more than ten years now. These are brilliant people who have learned to reverse engineer tech and even fix it on a board level — a process called micro-soldering.

WHY IS TECH CARE SO IMPORTANT?

As our society relies more and more on tech these community based tech care people become even more important to our world. Our world only has so many resources to make new tech and if and when supply chains are disrupted they will be relied upon even more so.

The other main reason to support and use tech care professionals is the looming e-waste disaster that our planet is facing. An ecological nightmare is looming form all of the electronic waste our world is producing. In 2024 the United Nations declared e-waste to be a world wide crisis.

Consumer electronics make up most of this waste. E-waste can leak harmful chemicals like lead, mercury, and cadmium into the soil, which then contaminate ground and surface water. This contamination can lead to serious ecological problems, affecting not only land but also nearby water sources.

JOIN THE TCA AND SUPPORT OUR MEMBERS!

If you are a Tech Care professional please join us at: https://techcareassociation.org/become-a-tca-member/

Support our members and get you tech taken care of at: https://wheretorepair.org/

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