The small stuff: staging freight

From time to time there are small, detail items that help save us time, money, effort or all three. One of those small things we should sweat is staging freight.

If you arrive at show site before your work starts and before your freight is unloaded, you have a great opportunity to stage your crates and your shipment. By placing the crates and goods around your space before you start set up, you'll be putting hings where they can be unloaded with the most efficiency. Be sure to think about:

• Your detailed manifest and floor plan
• Where the no-freight aisles are
  
• Where your electrical and internet connections will surface in the booth

By having the manifest, you will know what crate (by number) has which items (walls, headers, workstations). Couple this list with your floor plan and you'll know where to place them so the I&D team can move things with the least effort. Make sure you know which way doors open and swing.

Don't put things in no-freight aisles. You'll just end up moving them.

Knowing where electrical and internet terminate in your booth will make rolling out the pad and carpet that much more efficient. Bring a market and tape measure and work with your lead person and electrician to make sure it is clear where things are.

Lesson learned: plan ahead to save your head.

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)

Closing out AWMA

Closing a show can be tough--but it can be fun and relatively painless, too. The Rule of Thumb that it takes half the time to tear down that it took to set it up really does work. If we hadn't to have waited for crates we would have been finished in 3 hours (it took 6 hours to set the booth).

Things to remember on the down:

1. Call the driver before he or she gets to the hall to pick up your shipment.
2. When filling out the Bill of Lading (BOL) be sure to be literal--stick labels as you pack and count (and count again) as you fill out the bill. Be sure to note if the shipment is prepaid and, if it gets forced (your driver doesn't show up before it has to be moved off the show floor), whether you want it held or shipped by the general contractor on their carrier.
3. Fill out and sign the I&D time card with the lead. If you use general contractor labor, be sure and walk the lead to the desk to close out.
4. Don't forget to turn in your lead machine.

Oh, that was 4, not 3. I thought I thought in 3s?

A good show with some solid leads for the client.

TTSG