First Things First: Before the Set Starts

There are a number of things you can do when you first arrive at a set up. In fact, it can set the tone for the whole show.

When you first show up, a quick visit to the site and your space can put at ease and get you started.

I usually arrive mid- to late-afternoon the day before we are scheduled to start set up. Some of the things I do, if I have time are:

• Confirm electrical order and/or placement
• Make sure a hanging sign is in place or ready to be hung
• Spot freight for easy installation or confirm freight is to be unloaded
• If the service center is open, check n your orders
• Check out the hall location with reference to the hotel and meeting rooms
• Pick up or change badges
• Say hello to the association staff and get an schedule changes

There are other things. But the fact you are there early gives you a slight edge to your start of work on Day 1.

TTSG

Returning Shipments

OK, the show is over, and all of the freight has been packed and the bills turned in.

Now what?

Well, the stuff (freight, goods, graphics, exhibits, demo equipment) is going back somewhere (or multiple somewheres). What are you going to do with it when it gets there? And what if things are damaged?

Make a list, a plan, to make sure all of these things get done upon return. But also be prepared for the worst: do you have a detailed manifest of each skid, roll and crate including contents and weights?

What this will save you is being able to recover the cost of lost goods if you have the details. You also have ammo if your weight differs from what the trucker and the general contractor at the show have, which could save you lotsa bucks.

Be prepared on the out and the back and you won't lose things or money.

TTSG

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

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

Crating

It's one of the forgotten things of exhibits--crating and exhibit packaging.

This topic comes up as I work with a client who is making an addition to her exhibit. However, when the add is done, the panels the graphic is being put on to may not fit into the original crate. To top it all off, the crate the panels came out of is not holding up all that well and needs repair.

Rule #1: investment in a good crate will prolong and protect your exhibit investment.

Let's say you pay $1,000 for a good quality exhibit crate, gusseted 3/4-inch plywood, custom fitted to the pieces going inside. You could pay that extra amount for the crates or save the amount and pad-wrap and skid ship your exhibit. What you save in the crate cost, you may pay in drayage (pad-wrapped skids may be charged for differently that crated freight in your material handling bills) and in on-going damage to the exhibit.

From personal experience, I've seen a custom exhibit last only three years when it was shipped as a pad-wrapped shipment; a second exhibit I used lasted 5 years (or longer) because it was crated.

Lesson Learned: proper crating, while expensive initially, could prolong the life of your exhibit.

TTSG

Drivers

With the NRF show breaking today in New York City and the IBS show going in this week in Las Vegas, it is time to remember an important part of the in-and-out of a show:

Do you know where and who your driver is?

Make sure before you leave for your show and before you leave the show floor at the end, check in with your driver. You should have their cell phone number and be sure to ask whomever made the arrangements (exhibit house, van line, freight company, your traffic manager) to provide you with their numbers, name and when you are to expect them.

When you first arrive on site (or the day before), contact your driver so their ETA is clear. Meet them on the dock and supervise the load out. Work with the forklift driver and your driver to spot your freight around your booth space to maximize your set up. Work with the driver and the freight manager at the show site to ensure paperwork is correct and if you can get copies.

On the down, call your freight contact or driver the day before load out. Usually the driver is scheduled to show up at show site at the show close and remain to help with some packing and labeling of the shipment. Turn in the bill of lading (BOL) and keep a copy. The freight manager will ask (and they will on the BOL, too) if you have contacted your freight company. Get the crate count right and make sure all is secure.

Lesson Learned: you can't know too many people in the freight process.

TTSG

Make a list, check it twice

I know, I know, Christmas is past and Santa's gig of checking on good little girls and boys is done. However, today I was reminded by a friend of the importance of correct (and checked) manifests.

Make sure what you want at the show in time for set up is shipped. And you have a list to prove it.

When your exhibit house (or whomever is packing and shipping your display) sends you a manifest to review--DO IT! The more eyes that look at something, the less chance you will have counter tops or the wrong graphics shipped to show site. And, if at all possible, visit the exhibit house and physically review the shipment.

In my reminder talk today, my friend told me of the wrong graphics being shipped--well, supposedly. The portable display has two sets of graphics and one frame. When the one shipped graphic set arrived on show site, the set up guy opened the box and saw a photo of the other set (the incorrect set) of graphics. He didn't check the contents of the container, but called and asked (and received) the second set in a counter-to-counter shipment. This needs to be looked at from two points of view: always check the actual contents (don't assume) and double check the shipment before it leaves the warehouse. Kudos, however, to the exhibit company for the quick response to save this show, regardless.

Lesson Learned: check, recheck and receive and recheck.

TTSG