Trade shows are a massive industry globally, reaching around $34 billion in 2019 globally and expected to pass $40 billion USD over the next few years. Trade shows represent a major aspect of many firms marketing plans and are crucial for networking and building customer relationships.
With over 10,000 tradeshows per year just in the United States, expo centers across the country are constantly seeing trade shows and come and go, and with many trade shows having hundreds of exhibitors, that’s a lot of booths to move in and out!
Trade show logistics can be tricky, with oddly signed crates, complex assembly requirements, quickly shifting from domestic to international convention center locations and a hectic show schedule. Moving large booths across the country with limited setup and tear-down time can get quite complex.
Here are some of the challenges and important considerations to think about when planning your next trade show season!
Booth Storage and Assembly
Displays and booths can be stored at the exhibitor’s location, but many times exhibitors work with trade show moving companies to arrange storage in addition to the movement and setup of the booths. Keep in mind that all trade show booths require assembly and tear down to and from containers or specially designed storage crates for the displays. For larger booths, the assembly can be quite complicated in addition to the lighting setup, including tables, chairs, etc. Many trade show transportation firms also offer installation and dismantling services which can make life for your team much easier.
International Trade Show Moving
Trade show moving can be even more complex as often international transportation is required. While ocean freight is much more cost-effective, just like with traditional supply chain management and logistics planning, ocean freight is not always fast enough to maintain the tradeshow schedule required. Airfreight is used in these circumstances, whether domestic or international, to provide quick transportation of booth materials to anywhere needed. While much more costly than ocean freight, sometimes it’s the only option due to scheduling constraints.
If you need a quick turnaround make sure to work with a tradeshow moving company that is well versed in air freight, particularly if international!
Most commonly in the US, trucking freight whether LTL or FTL is used as the backbone of the trade show logistics capacity. And ultimately even if you used airfreight or ocean freight for your international expo, a truck will be the first and the last mile of the trip.
Expo halls generally have a loading dock area where trucks are loaded and unloaded, then the freight is moved by cart to a staging area where the containers and crates are arranged and organized to then be moved to the proper event floor space.
Many expo halls have scheduling requirements for the loading dock use, so make sure your logistics partner is well aware of the
Trade Show Booth Storage Location
Depending on your tradeshow schedule, your booth setup could be “on the road” for a portion of the year, then in storage for another portion of the year. Often it can make more financial sense to keep your trade show materials and booth at your own facility, however, there are situations that make it more economically feasible to keep it a warehouse location. For example, if your trade shows are mostly based in the NorthEast, yet your company location is in Kansas, then it might make more sense to store it in a central location that will minimize transportation cost.
Typically the company that makes your booths will also create custom shipping crates for them, to prevent damage during transit and handling. Talk with your boost design and construction firm about specific travel requirements, if they know in advance, they can design the moving crates to be optimized for certain types of transportation.
Trade Show Booth Moving Costs
Trade shows are expensive for exhibitors, often sending a dozen or more employees to represent the company, along with the booth itself. Depending on the level of service, required storage, and set up or tear down help, trade show costs can vary quite a bit.
Many small booths can be moved and set up with relatively little expense, while massive booths, often taller, with larger parts, much more assembly is required along with more physical storage and transportation space.
Our recommendation would be to start small, instead of starting your tradeshow marketing plan with one of the largest booths, start with a smaller booth and get a feel for the cost, effort, and time required to set up and move your booth to tradeshows. Over time you can grow the size of your tradeshow booth.
Booths that feature lots of large TV screens, heavy machinery on display, or other more specialized equipment, etc will take more time to set up and unload in addition to requiring more care to avoid damage throughout the process.
Some of the larger booths have air-operated robotics equipment on display, and everything from assembly line demo setups, to major construction equipment, we’ve even seen railway locomotives on display!
It goes without saying that the more complex your booth is, especially if it involved heavy machinery that can’t be created, you’ll need to spend more time planning how to safely transport and set up your booth display.
How to pick a trade show moving company
Any trade show moving company you select to help with your trade show logistics should be well versed in the procedures necessary to safely move your booth, provide storage and if needed facilitate international travel.
Often these are specialized teams within larger logistics firms or even specialized companies.
Don’t hesitate to ask for referrals and case studies, in general, the more questions you ask, the more you will become familiar with the differences and strengths of the different trade show moving companies. Talk through your trade show schedule and ask several trade show moving companies to provide proposals. If there are going to be certain trade shows that are tightly spaced, make sure to be upfront with your trade show logistics if air freight or expedited over the road trucking will be required.
Technology is another consideration, does the company offer tracking? Any sort of shipment dashboard?
Pay special attention if you will be requiring storage, that’s a much longer commitment with a company than trialing them on a single tradeshow.
While it will be more costly to have the tradeshow logistics firm help set up your booth and display, this is often worth it as the hassle of having your team do all that is avoided.
Communication is extremely important with trade show logistics planning, as delays can happen, as can dock mistakes at the expo center, so you want to make sure that the trade show logistics firm you partner with has the manpower and support you require.
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