Before you begin thinking about shipping your tradeshow essentials, begin here.
WHERE TO BEGIN
As soon as a tradeshow information booklet/packet arrives we should begin planning how we will ship our goods to the booth and how we will get the goods back from the show.
Certain key information is needed to make that determination and it may not always be the same freight carrier into a show that we will utilize back from a show. The Sales Ops Specialist who is handling the particular show should get answers to the Critical Criteria below to make the determination.
CRITICAL CRITERIA
- Where is the show being held?
- Name of Show
- Name of Convention center
- Full address of show
- Telephone number of convention center
- Is the convention center a union carrier only facility?
Meaning, will they allow FedEx Freight or AAACooper to deliver or pickup to and from their facility. This can be determined by calling the facility directly as soon as the show packet arrives. The Sales Ops Specialist should call the show and the person at the facility giving an answer should email the answer in case we need to prove what they said later. Keep a copy of that email with the trade show packet/binder. If they say AAACooper and/or FedEx Freight are not allowed to deliver then we will have to use UPS Freight if it is an LTL shipment
- Ship method—LTL truck or FTL truck.
If we are shipping 6 pallets or less the method of shipment will be LTL (FedEx Freight, AAACooper, UPS Freight). The particular LTL carrier will be decided based on the location of the show and the possible union issues listed above. If we are shipping more than 6 pallets we need to determine how we will ship, normally there is only one trade show that Advantus does over 6 pallets and that is Shot Show for Mercury.
- What is the ship window for the various arrival times for freight to the show?
Meaning, dates the goods must arrive to go to the staging (often called advanced receiving) area or same day (direct to show—this is very risky, more expensive and should be avoided). The decision on how to do this should be determined by Sales Ops based on what is shipping and the costs for the various options.
THE RETURN
Once the shipping method to the show is determined, the shipping method to bring the freight back to Advantus must be determined.
If out via truckload carrier, the likely method to ship back will be by truckload carrier as well. Shipping will obtain the best possible truckload rates (in writing by email) to and from the show. The written quotes for the truckloads should be forwarded to Sales Ops by Shipping so that they know what trucker will be coming to get the goods when the show ends.
The appointment for getting the freight removed from the show must be made when the truckloads are being quoted. It is critical that the carrier quote us a price for returning the truckload to Jacksonville AND THAT MUST INCLUDE TELLING THEM, AND THEY MUST UNDERSTAND, THE PARAMETERS OF THE PARTICULAR TRADE SHOW. Many shows end on weekends and this must be communicated when getting the quotes and when the actual freight is booked for pickup. The email from the freight broker/carrier setting up the return appointment must show the date and time of the pickup that is scheduled.
If the goods are going to ship back to Jacksonville via an LTL carrier there are some critical questions to ask for the return trip
When does the show end?
Meaning what is the move out time. Typically Sales Ops will have a good feel for how long after the official show hours end they can have the booth packed up. For example, Floating Luxuries shows usually take 1 hour to pack up. Sales Ops must tell Shipping when the booth will be ready for pickup so that Shipping can arrange a pickup in advance. This pickup must be scheduled no later than 1 week prior to the show beginning. A confirmation in writing (email) of the pickup appointment with the pickup # and date of pickup must be given to Sales Ops to put in the trade show packet along with a contact phone # that can be called if the pickup does not occur properly. THIS IS CRITICAL.
If the show ends on a Friday or Saturday or Sunday there may be issues with some truckers being able to pick up the freight properly
It must be determined when the earliest Sales Ops will be ready to ship and the availability of the LTL carriers. For example, FedEx Freight and AAACooper and UPS Freight all refused to pickup on Saturday from the Orlando Convention Center for a Floating Luxuries show so the goods had to be FedEx Package shipped back to Jacksonville to avoid having the show throw the goods out and also avoided having to use the show carrier at 5x the normal cost. They would not allow any pickups after Saturday night and would not allow any pickups prior to 5PM on Saturday.
When the goods ship to the trade show Sales Ops must receive a written copy of the signed bill(s) of lading for the shipment so that they have evidence of the shipment. Shipping must track the shipment the following day and provide to Sales Ops an actual copy of the bill of lading the goods are shipping on. Remember, our Bill Of Lading that we fill out is discarded by the trucking company once they enter the shipment into their system. The bill of lading for the goods going to the show must show the following:
TO:
ADVANTUS CORP.
NAME OF SHOW AND BOOTH #
ADDRESS OF SHOW(including name of convention center)
CITY/STATE/ZIP
SHIP VIA (For example FedEx Freight LTL etc)
FROM:
ADVANTUS CORP.
3331 WEST 12TH STREET
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32254
Sales Ops must track the progress of the shipment of all trade show materials each day— a minimum of once per day. Any evidence that the goods have not moved in the prior 24 hours should raise a red flag and the Sales Operations Specialist handling the show must call Shipping to find out what is going on. If no answer is received by Sales Ops by 4PM of the day an answer is requested, they should elevate the matter to Charlie Frohman
Return labels (pallet labels or FedEx ground labels) for shipping the goods back to Advantus in Jacksonville should be given to the Sales Ops Speciaslist handling the particular show either created by Sales Ops or Shipping. At least 8 labels should be included for every pallet in the shipment. Labels should be addressed as follows with the FROM section at the top of the label and preferably to the left side of the label, the TO section should be lower and to the right side of the label. Further, Shipping must create the Bill Of Lading to use for shipping the booth materials back to Jacksonville and give 3 copies of this Bill Of Lading to Sales Ops. The Bill Of Lading must include the weight of the shipment and # of pallets and should show trade show materials as the NMFC for the items on it.
FROM:
ADVANTUS CORP.
NAME OF SHOW AND BOOTH #
ADDRESS OF SHOW(including name of convention center)
CITY/STATE/ZIP
SHIP VIA (For example FedEx Freight LTL etc)
TO:
ADVANTUS CORP.
ATTN: RECEIVING—TRADE SHOW MATERIALS
3331 WEST 12TH STREET
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32254
Sales Ops must select who will track the shipment of the show materials back to Jacksonville as well as prepare to inspect the goods when they come back.