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Getting Your Trade Show Equipment To The Show Intact

Chances are, you’ve already noticed that freight charges are creeping up in your operations, but have you considered their impact on your trade show appearances?

Shipping has gotten a lot more expensive lately. Global manufacturing is putting a strain on shipper’s available space, drivers are becoming harder to find, and oil keeps getting more expensive. This one-two-three combination is driving up freight rates across the board, which in turn is making it more difficult for operations to mount their trade show appearances on a reasonable budget.

And it’s not like you can mount a trade show without doing some shipping.

The good news here is that there are a lot of options in shipping, more than in years past. This means that you’ve got some leeway on your freight charges, if you do some legwork. In fact, much of the time your shipping fees are a prime target for optimization. They’re controllable, to some extent, especially if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and do some haggling.

Picking the right shipping method should be about more than just cost, of course. You need to make sure the company handling your materials can deliver them safely to the show, with a minimum of wear and tear. When it’s time to set up for a trade show, there’s very little time to spare if your trade show supplies get damaged on the road.

Let’s take a look at a few options in moving your expo booth around.

Finding The Best Balance Of Price And Service When Moving Your Trade Show Equipment

I. DIY

If all else fails, do it yourself, right? If the show is small and local, it’s often cheapest to simply do the shipping yourself along with your staff. With a few company vehicles, or a few borrowed employee pickup trucks, you can get everything moved for nothing but the cost of gas and wages.

Of course, situations where you can pull this off are relatively rare, but it’s still a nice way to save money when a show is local. It also cuts out any uncertainty about whether the trade show materials will arrive on time, because they’re never really out of your possession.

On the other hand, you’ve got zero coverage for most of this unless you get extra insurance, so drive carefully.

II. Dealer Delivery

When you’re ordering trade show display equipment and supplies, especially larger items like full size display stands and truss displays, the dealer you buy from can usually take care of shipping it to where it needs to go, when the time comes. The big benefit here is that you’re working with people who truly know the hardware and how to best package it to ship safely. And, when you’re dealing with a long-time and reputable dealer, they’ll have plenty of experience in transporting the materials.

The issue is that, if you’re ordering your materials from more than one source, this can quickly become a logistical / oversight nightmare. You’re unlikely to have much of a view on how the orders are progressing, or too many updates on shipping status.

Make sure to inquire into insurance! That may or may not be included, so ask.

III. Moving Companies

On smaller scales, a traditional moving company can ship your trade show supplies around as well as anyone else, and their rates are usually low if they’re usually dealing with homeowners. This can be a good middle-ground solution if you keep your previous years’ trade show equipment in storage somewhere and need to have it all hauled to one place. You may even be able to cut a deal to have them carry it all back to storage after the show.

And any reputable moving company is going to be carrying plenty of insurance to protect your investment.

The downsides here are mostly the same as with finding a good mover for your home. There’s lots out there, so make sure to get some referrals, and find out what experience they have moving larger pieces. Companies that specialize in relocating pieces like pianos will likely be a good choice for the larger trade show supplies.

IV. Local Sourcing

As an alternative to the above, look into ordering your trade show displays from vendors close to the show. Since sales can be done online as easily as over the phone, nothing says you have to order from somewhere close to you. If you can source most of the equipment locally to the show, even if you end up paying slightly more for the expo hardware itself, you’ll make up the difference in vastly reduced shipping costs.

Plus, having the vendors deliver directly is going to be less risky if they’re only carrying the materials dozens of miles, rather than hundreds, even if you’d have the same problems with a lack of oversight.

Otherwise, the only big tradeoff here is the legwork necessary in finding reputable trade show suppliers in the area. However, given the proliferation of shopping guides online, even that’s not much of a sweat these days. So call around to local vendors – you might find some good deals on products and shipping.

V. Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

For large shows involving a lot of equipment, or you’re simply willing to pay to have someone else deal with the logistics, a 3PL firm is the natural choice. They’ll charge a pretty hefty fee – usually between 10-20% of the total costs – but they’ll be able to take everything off your hands. And for a lot of businesses, that’s worth it by itself.

Plus, they have several benefits of their own. They usually have better ties to shipping companies, and can secure better deals. A 3PL will have their choice of every shipping method available, including rail and air sources. They’ll also have vastly better itemized databases and shipment tracking procedures, meaning they’ll be able to truly keep you updated on the progress of your orders.

The chances of a mistake happening are absolutely minimal, so they also bring considerable peace of mind.

If you’ve got the money, there’s really no downside here. Most 3PLs will take better care of your equipment than your own accountant would, while leaving you free to focus on planning for the show itself, rather than dealing with the logistics.

And best news – the best trade show display suppliers offer 3PL services, storing your trade show equipment between shows and coordinating all of the shipping logistics. These services normally include a clean and inspect/repair when your display returns – and who better to handle that than the company that designed and supplied the trade show supplies?!

Get Your Trade Show Equipment There In One Piece!

Shipping is one of those things no one likes to deal with in planning, but it’s an absolute necessity when mounting a trade show. You’re going to be investing way too much money into your expo booth hardware and furniture to risk neglecting the shipping.

And even though freight charges are going up, that shouldn’t mean scaling back on your trade show operations. They’re still one of the best investments you can make into PR and outreach. Just take some time during planning to do a little homework, and investigate the shipping options available to you.

Anyone mounting a trade show can keep those shipping costs under control. It’s mostly just a matter of legwork and phone calls.

Need more advice? The experienced team at American Image Displays is here to help. Whether you’re looking for new trade show displays, just need to update graphics or add a few accessories, or are looking into 3PL services, we’re happy to help. Just reach out to one of our trade show experts to learn more.