Outbound shipments

It's usually the last thing on your mind, but you have to be clear thinking all the way to the end.

When you are packing up to leave the floor, be sure and have all of your boxes, crates, skids, bags and cartons accounted for and assigned to an outbound shipment.

Make sure that there is a bill of lading (BOL) for each outbound shipment (depending on the hall and the general contractor, this may also include FedEx and package deliveries).

In the case of the recent show we produced, there was a local shipment. Be sure and be clear to the I&D crew, your show house contact, the driver and anybody else who needs to know--where and when does this package/shipment have to be where it is promised to go.

Then, and only then, can you leave the show floor. It's always a good idea, if you can, to be on the floor from move-in to move-out, to be there from bare concrete to bare concrete.

TTSG

Laying and labeling cable

At the recent NACStech show, my first task was laying cables for the in-booth network. While at first, this seems like an easy task, it can be complicated.

Trust me.

While I could just as easily had the cables lay down next to electrical cables, the CAT 5's were needed in specific places. Several rules are to be applied in this process:

• Have a clear map of where cables are to go.
• Label each cable on each end (1A, 2B, et al).
• Run redundant cables in case of failure.
• Tape the cable flat to the floor so that are flat under the pad.
• Lay the pad directly over the cables. Notch if they are too bulky.
• Be sure and pull all cables through the pad and carpet as it is cut.
• Be sure and pass all cable ends through cabinet access holes.

If you do all of this beforehand, you are less likely to have to "fish" a cable after the carpet is laid or have a cable fail during the show.

TTSG

On with the show: NACStech in Texas

The word from NACS (the National Association of Convenience Stores) is that their event in Texas will proceed.

After contacting show management on behalf of our client, Retalix, I learned that NACStech, set for May 18 to 21 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, will happen.

"At this time NACStech is moving forward as planned," said my contact at the association to me in an e-mail dated Friday, May 1. The FMI-Marketechnics Show, set to open this week in Dallas, was postponed by its organizers last week amid concerns for public health around large gatherings.

Given the NACStech show is much smaller in scale than the Marketechnics show, I am curious as to how these decisions were made.

Any comments out there?

TTSG

At this time NACStech is moving forward as planned.