You have enough to worry about for your next trade show – don’t make logistics one of them. Let a Logistics Director handle it.
Trade show logistics are complicated, and a timely arrival is essential to your success at show. Mistakes can end up costing you precious time and a lot of money. A dedicated Logistics Director brings extensive industry experience and assurance that your property is on-time and on-budget. Their expertise can lead to money savings in areas you hadn’t considered.
The Value of an Experienced Logistics Director
Don’t make the mistake of quoting your shipments with traditional ‘Less Than Truckload Shipping’ (LTL) companies – they may be cheaper, but they’re not set up to deliver to convention centers. Additionally, LTLs can’t acquire necessary certified weight tickets, and they aren’t going to sit in line for extended periods to make your singular delivery.
A Logistics Director will know to use ‘Third Party Logistics’ (3PLs) to broker your booth transportation. Often, there will be a collaboration of 4 different companies to make your shipment happen, and the Logistics Director ensures all parameters are met within different levels of the supply chain. They also provide constant supervision of your freight movement to and from shows.
But, the biggest benefit of having a dedicated Logistics Director, lies in their industry knowledge. They’ve coordinated shipments to venues all over the world, and know each venue like the back of their hand. They know what to account for and how to tackle each unique shipment, saving you a major headache.
3 Key Elements to Remain On-Time and On-Budget
1) Shipping Date
This is the tipping point of any project. The entire production cycle revolves on this date, so it’s extremely important to remain on schedule.
2) Shipment Timing
To ensure on-time delivery, the production cycle must be started at the proper time. From the start of your project, it is critical to establish a production cycle schedule with strict deadlines to adhere to, including those for:
• Raw material procurement
• Booth build date
• Client preview
• Packing time
• Shipment from facility
3) Understanding the Shipment Destination
You know where your show is being held, so maybe this seems like a simple aspect – But this step can be surprisingly complex. The following is just a taste of what a Logistics Director will take into account:
- Will your booth be shipping to the advance warehouse or show site?
- While shipping to the show site may be cheaper because of drayage, carriers can incur a lot of wait time at show site, creating lag time between the booth delivery and set up, while extending waiting fees.
- It may be more cost effective to ship to the advance warehouse and pay higher charges to avoid labor overtime charges.
- Location Intricacies
- Each trade show location comes with a unique set of challenges that the Logistics Director has come to know very well. For example:
- Shows in Manhattan are very complex, and may require introducing a 4th layer of companies to partner with.
- Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas only has 2 dock doors, so your wait time to show site will be extremely long. A Logistics Director is aware of this and will recommend shipping to the advance warehouse to avoid this delay.
- Each trade show location comes with a unique set of challenges that the Logistics Director has come to know very well. For example:
Guaranteed Services
Wee understand that a successful event involves several moving pieces. Along with your dedicated project manager, account manager, and on-site team, you also have access to our dedicated Logistics Director. Their goal is to account for your booth property, install times, and target move in, while maintaining invaluable efficiency. After the show is over, our Logistics Director acts as your ambassador and auditor for any overcharges that occur. This high level of support is unique; We’re committed to providing you with extraordinary client service at every step of our process, and we know that logistics is an integral part of that.
REACH OUT! We’d love to tell you more about our commitment to clients and how our dedicated Logistic Director can help you achieve your goals.
