Putting the show on the road!
When it comes to transporting goods to and from an event, timing and pre-planning is crucial. However, all the hard work done in advance means nothing if you don’t have a stand, display-support material and – most importantly – your product!
Some exhibitors play with fire wanting to utilise their regular contract carrier, but the exhibition venue, loading dock and unloading procedures is the world of the specialist forwarder. And, the appointed event carrier is definitely the most cost-effective specialist forwarder.
Not using your carrier may seem costly at first, yet when you look at how they unload on site -using forklifts, their own personnel and individual plans of how to get it all to your stand location in the hall – using the appointed event carrier makes sense in the end.
Most specialist exhibition transporters move goods based on the pallet rather than weight, which also helps considerably.
Carriers can be highly unreliable; the number of times they drive off on a half-completed job is higher than you think. They also tend to turn up with a pallet, become daunted by the queue to get up onto the loading dock and, when they finally manage it, they are too frustrated to bother looking for exhibitors’ stands at the front of the hall or in the middle. Consequently, they have been known to just dump the load and drive away.
The official contractor, however, has a number of responsibilities and the expense of having a forklift on site and the legislated labour required to comply with moving goods through the hall makes their overall cost quite reasonable. In addition, they can take empty pallets or crates to storage for you and return them at the end of the event, saving you backache and a lot of running around.
Some points for you to consider if you are freighting material:
- Use the appointed carrier; they understand the exhibition environment and what is expected, and can also communicate all requirements to all parties.
- Allow time in advance to ensure goods arrive and coordinate with other deliveries. For example, if you’re transporting to Western Australia it is more likely to go by train, so even more time should be allowed.
- Think about what you are packing and spare a thought for the person lifting or moving them at the other end.
- Do not take shortcuts when packing – use strong boxes, consolidate where possible and use appropriate packaging to ensure it all arrives intact as intended, rather than in pieces!
- Label your goods with your exhibiting name, venue, exhibition name, hall number, aisle and stand number. Take labels for packaging going into storage that clearly states your name and ‘DO NOT THROW ME OUT BEING REUSED’ and, of course, pack a return label for goods to go back to your home destination.
- Know who your carrier is, along with any relevant shipment numbers, and always have an after-hours/emergency number for contacting them. If using the official onsite carrier, make sure you get the site contact number as well.
- Disclose everything to the carrier up front so they can transport the goods appropriately – including sending a truck the right size for collection and return.
- Identify clearly if any aspect is fragile or has to stand upright, etc.
- Ensure you have the time and date – in writing – that the transported goods are required, and call a few days beforehand to check that it is all on schedule.
- If you are sending goods locked up, ensure that the staff going onsite have the appropriate keys or tools to unlock them and unload them onto the stand.
- Pack what you need to return the goods after the event, like spare packaging etc. Think green – if you can reuse what you ship to the event even better.
IN A NUT SHELL:
In some cases, you can spend more money trying to save money – and freight is one of them!
By planning and working out the essentials early, it is not only more likely everything will turn up on time, but the set-up process will also go more smoothly.
