|
 After the driver has made his journey from your pick-up location to the trade show venue, (which could span several days) his delivery day has just begun. The first order of business is to locate the marshaling yard where all the inbound trucks will park and wait to be called to the loading docks. Once the driver has a found a spot to park his rig, he will then check in with the drayage dispatcher... usually at an office trailer parked at or near the marshaling yard. The dispatchers job is to direct which particular trucks to send to the loading docks at the show venue. They typically decide based upon where on the show floor the exhibitor has their space reserved and also the size of their exhibit space. Typically the freight is brought into show floor starting from the front working their way to the rear where the freight dooris are located. This makes it easier for the forklift drivers to navigate through the isles until all of the crates have been brought in. Scott Mahfouz
Once the driver gets his call to the loading docs at the venue, he will relinquish his responsibility for the load to the drayage contractor and his bill of lading will be signed off by the dock supervisor once the truck is unloaded for each particular exhibitor. If there is damage to any crates the dock supervisor will note exceptions on the bill of lading and the damage will be the responsibility of the carrier, otherwise the supervisor will sign for the shipment and the driver will be sent on his way. In some cases, if a driver is carrying more than one exhibitor, and the drayage contractor is not ready to receive the freight for the second exhibitor, the driver could end up back at the marshaling yard to wait again to be called. This is a rare occurrence, more often than not... the drayage contractor will off-load the freight to a staging area and allow the driver to leave. This is provided that there is available space for staging. Once the exhibitors crates have been unloaded, the drayage forklift operators will deliver the crates to the asile area suroanding the exhibitors space. The exhibitor's designated I & D (installation and dismantle) contractor will begin to unload the crates and construct and assemble the exhibit. Once the crates are empty, an "Empty" label is adhered to the crates and the drayage forklift operators make their way around the show floor and remove the empty crates to a special holding area for storage until the show is over. The whole process is reversed when the show closes. |
|
|
 There is one huge looming deadline that comes just before the trade show. It's when the truck arrives to pickup your exhibit properties and show materials. Of course, this shipment is very time sensitive and absolutely must deliver to the show on schedule. Besides all of the things that can go wrong once the shipment has left your docks, what's worse than incurring additional costs because the shipment wasn't ready when the driver arrived. Scott Mahfouz
At TLC-Expo we offer our experience and expertise and coach our customers as to the best way to prepare their shipment. We provide the necessary labels, the shipping paperwork and we also make sure that the carrier and driver are on the same team. This initial preparation will save money, time and very costly mishaps. So.. it's important to make sure that all the crates, skids, palettes, and cases are all secured and sealed up ready to go. All of the contents are ready for a rough ride with plenty of packing material to cushion the bumps and jars of riding in a freight trailer even with air-ride suspension. The shipping labels are secured to at least 3 sides of each crate, box and pallet. Caution labels, ie: "This side Up", "Do Not Stack", "Glass" etc., are all affixed appropriately to each item. It's also a very good idea to label each crate with a "1 of 5", "2 of 5", "3 of 5", you get the idea. This makes checking of the items off on the Manifest that much easier. Then the Bill of Lading with a Manifest have been prepared and are ready for the driver to "take possession" of the goods. It's very helpful to the driver when he/she knows exactly which items are okay to stack and also which items should not be stacked because they might be top heavy. Giving the driver a heads-up and designating on each crate, or case its best shipping disposition will make you a hero in the eyes of the driver. He might have other pickups to make on journey to the show venue. The information you provide will help him to properly balance the load and prevent avoidable damage claims. Last but not least... Take some pictures of all the crates before they get loaded. If a crate is ever lost, having a few pictures of lost items is better than a thousand desccriptive words. It will also help you to make a bullet proof case should you ever have to file a damage claim. Putting these suggestions into practice will make for a nice smooth pickup. Just be sure to give yourself enough time to properply prepare so that you are not pressed for time and having to cut corners. |
|
 Someone once said... a man that chooses to represent himself in court, has a fool for a client. You use a CPA to figure your taxes and you hire an electrician to install a breaker panel. We know it's best to call on these professionals simply because they are experts at what they do, and it would make no sense to have them on your staff. You have the convenience of calling them when you need them and they work hard to maintain their professional reputation, your repeat business and referrals. Scott Mahfouz
Now consider using a professional tradeshow shipping consultant. Can a third party service actually save you money? Is it really worthwhile to allocate your internal resources? Can your company afford to absorb a costly mishap? In our name we refer to ourselves as "Tradeshow Logistics Consulting". TLC-Expo is not a freight carrier. We are a forwarder specializing in the handling of exhibit materials for the Trade Show Industry. We shop for transportation services among several carriers that are knowledgeable in the process and procedures of moving exhibit properties in and out of a tradeshow. We work with both, exhibit builders and exhibiting companies, to provide a value-added full service resource. We do our best to achieve an investment return by saving our clients money in the way of prevention. A carrier will provide a quote for shipping goods in and out of the show and the exhibitor will often use their figures to establish cost budgets. However, they do not factor into their budget the cost of late deliveries, items lost, damage, and the time involved in preparing the shipping paperwork prior to the show, and at the close of show. It is not uncommon for one mishap to double or triple the transportation cost. We add value to the basic transportation services by providing to our clients a full-service resource that will utilize its expertise in procuring the proper equipment, develop workable time-tables, and assist our clients in measures to prevent lost articles and damage. Finally, when the show is over, there are no surprises. We provide a single invoice that reasonably compares to the original quote and shipping budget. |
|
|
 When your business has a new product or service to introduce to the world, making the introduction at a trade show is an ideal forum. In one place, you have an entire gathering of very key people where everyone attending or exhibiting is involved in your industry in some particular role. You also have to consider that even though your customers and prospective customers will be on hand to see the introduction of your new product or service, your competition will also be watching as you attempt to take additional market share. With all of these factors in mind, it is very important to have a carefully constructed marketing plan that outlines the precise posturing for the introduction of the new product or service. Scott Mahfouz
Set a goal to have everyone on your team armed with a general understanding of the critical details as well as being able to envision the big picture and the purpose of exhibiting at a trade show. Often a company will spend over half of its annual marketing budget at one trade show event. Therefore, everyone needs to be aware of the potential runaway costs and strive to maximize the return on investment. Our staff at TLC-Expo have committed to not only knowing all the intricacies of the shipping business, but also to concern ourselves with the big picture of trade show marketing. We train our associates on the marketing aspects of exhibiting at show and also our critical role of cost and risk management. Mishaps such as missed deadlines, delays, or damage to the exhibit properties are very costly and can greatly distort the projected return. We do our best to apply our expertise to find the best way to transport your exhibit properties, consider time restraints, procure the proper equipment for the job and provide accurate pricing, and when possible, choices for alternative plans. The bottom line is... We want to help to maximize your ROI. That is what exhibiting at a trade show is all about. If you can come away from the show and see the benefits of participating on paper in the way of profits, it's all worthwhile. We want to be part of your team and prove that we ship "CORPORATE IMAGES" not just freight. |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 2 |
|
Testimonials
"When TLC picks up our booth we never worry whether or not it will be at the show when we arrive. They have never missed yet and that’s makes our lives so much easier". Jerry C - Vision3 Lighting |
|
EDPA - Exhibit Designers and Producers Association
Corporate Event Channel - "Our Recommended Featured National Trade Show Exhibit Freight Service"
