Reduce Trade Show Costs

By Mark Brousseau

Potential recession aside, exhibitors always are on the lookout for ways to get more bang out of their trade show buck. One strategy may be to minimize costs and avoid unnecessary charges on their material-handling bill. In the February issue of Exhibitor Magazine, exhibit-management consultant Candy Adams provides the following six ways to save money on material handling:

Stop shipping unnecessary items. Think: massive quantities of literature.

Consolidate small shipments. General services contractors typically charge exhibitors a weight minimum for each shipment they handle, which can add up.

Choose your shipping method carefully. Palletizing your pad-wrapped pieces can mean significant savings, for example.

Meet the inbound target dates and times. If your carrier misses the targeted window of time for its truck to arrive in the marshalling yard to unload your freight, you’ll be saddled with additional material-handling surcharges or penalties, Adams notes.

Verify weight slips. Adams recommends stopping at the service desk the day after your freight arrives on site and ask to see your inbound certified weight slips.

Audit your material-handling invoice. Review every line item of your general services contractor’s invoice to make sure your have been billed correctly.

Do you have any tips to pass along? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.