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.

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.

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.

Wouldn’t you love to have a great show crate that will hold up under most conditions? When you order crates they’re often cheap and may only last you a show or two. Due to the extensiveness of the movement and exposure that crates have to endure during shipping and delivery, it is inevitable that they will suffer damage. But if you could extend the life of your crate in a simple and cost efficient way, wouldn’t you want to know how?

Here are some helpful hints that will help in this crate crisis:

• First, make your crates standout above the rest. Give them a coat of paint instead of bare wood. A coat of paint is a cheap and efficient way of making your crates waterproof and damage noticeable. Let’s face it, if the forklift driver can’t see a big 8 ft painted crate then I think it might be time for him to retire. I am sure that when the drage companies get enough complaints of damaged crates they will start to take notice. Painting the bottom foot of the crate a bright color would also help the forklift driver identify where his forks need to be.

• Adding silicone in the joints of the crate would help keep moisture from getting inside. Also, adding weather stripping around the door can have a similar effect. If you like the natural look, a good wood sealer would work as well. Doing this will allow you to store your crates outside and open up space indoors where it counts.

All of these supplies can be purchased at your local hardware store and require simple application that can be done in most warehouses or many outdoor locations. Don’t be afraid to put your ideas into action, this can save you a lot of money in the end. Please share with us any other ideas that you may have in increasing the life of a show crate. We will gladly post your ideas and a link to your company’s website on our website for the benefit of the tradeshow industry.