Tradeoffs

When trying to work within your budget, always consider every item:

• Do I really need an internet connection?
• How many days do I need someone on site to support me?
• Do I have to set (or tear down) the exhibit on Saturday, Sunday or after hours (can I do this on straight time?)?
• Can I reduce my shipment to lower drayage and shipping costs?
• Is renting a booth cheaper than buying one?
• Do I really need to continue to go to this show (that's a whole other topic).

Look at the list and be prepared to cut or make trades.

TTSG

Ship dates

Don't forget that the beauty of trade shows is that they happen on a fixed date.

That means you need to honor and obey the Ship Date.

This is the day that all of your stuff--exhibit, collateral, giveaways and all other things that are destined for the show floor will be shipped out to the show site. A few things to remember about this shipment:

• Try and make it one shipment: it will save money since you will only have one shipment going to the site (easier to track), thereby reducing drayage and handling costs.
• It will all arrive at one time.
• Only one carrier to worry about.
• Make sure it arrives at the time designated (either to advance warehouse or your targeted date on the show floor).

Make sure that you don't forget anything.

TTSG

Sharpening the pencil

At this point in our business history, we are really all being asked to do more with less. We have to know when to draw the line, but it all about saving and not spending to excess in these tight time.

I had a client ask me, for example, if I had to charge for the middle day of a three-day show on-site because the $600 was valuable to them. When I explained to them that that was cheaper than sending me home from Vegas for one day, the got that being cheap is not the same as being cost effective or efficient.

However, most requests are reasonable. If you can save a few hundred pounds to reduce the CWT of material handling and freight, that translates to hundreds of dollars. Be sure to make the mke-buy on rentals versus shipping/drayage on everything from chairs and tables to carpet. Depending on the location, it might be worth a few hundred bucks.

Keep in mind, too, if your exhibit house is amenable to it, that a firm-fixed price for a show (or series of shows) will not only save you money, it will make your budget predictable. However, don't get greedy: your exhibit company has earned the right to make a profit over the life of your show program. If they go under on a few shows and over on others, that means they are really breaking even. Don't expect FFPs and actuals in the same show year--it really isn't fair to the supplier.

TTSG

Drayage

Drayage....even if you haven't heard the word before, it seems a bit ominous by it's sound.

Drayage, or material handling, is the cost the general contractor of a trade show charges exhibitors to move goods from the dock to the exhibit space on the show floor. Charged by the hundred weight (CWT), it is a fee that grows as the weight and size of your exhibit grows.

To calculate CWT, take the total weight of your shipment and divide by 100. Multiply that number by the rate. For example, 4,200 pounds of a shipment equals 42 CWT. At a rate of $40/CWT, that works out to $1,680. Be aware that there are minimums, so that even the smallest FedEx box dropped at your booth counts as a shipment and will be charged. Note that there are different rates for show-site deliveries versus advanced warehouse shipments and crated versus skidded shipments.

If you are a company growing from a small, in-line portable exhibit (say, in a 10x10) to a 20x20 or larger, you need to be aware of these charges. If you are handling it for your company, be sure you understand the material handling form in your show packet and can describe your incoming shipments on those forms.

If your exhibit company is handling this for you, be sure and have them disclose the cost to you prior to the show, so that there are no surprises when the final bill comes and/or you can plan your pre-show budget appropriately.

Even better, if you are new to using a custom exhibit, have your exhibit company do a "total cost of program" estimate for all of your shows for the year so that you realize what the increased expense will be. Be sure and go through this exercise when you are building a new booth as it may impact how many and at what size you do shows.

Lesson learned: be wary and aware of the Drayage Monster.

TTSG

Arranging freight

Getting the exhibit to the show is one of the last links in the chain, but a critical one: the show has to go on and it can't (effectively) without your goods being at the show.

When arranging a truck or van to pick up and drop off your shipment, remember:

1. What are the size, shape, weight and number of pieces you are transporting?
2. When will the be ready to pick up and returned and who is the contact person?
3. Where are they going and who pays the bill?

Sizes and shapes. A trucker or shipping company/broker needs to know how many pieces and how much each weighs before they can give you a quote or estimate of the cost. You need to differentiate between crates, shrink-wrapped pallets or skids and loose items, like carpet rolls and rolls of pad. Since you have to calculate this anyway for your drayage (material handling) estimate and bill, it's best to know this (or estimate it) as early as possible.

Pick up times and locations. Let the carrier know when they can pick up your shipment (for example, between Noon and 4 on Friday the 2nd). If the show has a "quick facts" page (as Freeman does with their shows), fax it or e-mail it to your carrier's contact well in advance of the ship date. Be sure and designate a contact person on both ends of the shipment and be sure to include phone numbers (preferably cell phone numbers).

Destination. Be sure all pieces in the shipment are labeled clearly. If you are working with a van line, they will supply you with outbound and return labels as well as blank Bills of Lading for the return shipment from the show. Be sure that it is clear to the general contractor at the show who is to be billed for the shipment.

Lesson learned: know your shipment's condition, character and destinations and all will go well. Time is on your side, if you think ahead.

TTSG

(thanks to my friends at Freeman Decorating and San Diego Mayflower for their input)