Your company has decided to exhibit at an International tradeshow. It is taking place in Brazil, China or India, or possibly a tour of all three. It can certainly be a daunting task when faced with the various customs requirements, documentation or special handling your shipment may require such as over-time deliveries, lifting of heavy equipment, or accessible storage during your event.
How do you begin to solve these problems? Luckily, there are companies that specialize in International Events Logistics throughout the world, and they cooperate with each other in a unique way to provide exhibitors with these solutions. However, even the best of them may have difficulty when faced with a new territory or venue. They need a strong network of partners to be able to provide their services to their clients. Where do they go to access this resource?
This year from June 1 to June 3, over 170 logistics specialists from nearly 40 countries came together at the inaugural, Event Logistics Live (ELL) conference held in London. This unprecedented event took place at the Excel Centre where many other International events take place each year. This event was born from a Linked-in group known as Event Logistics Professionals Platform. This is a group of logistics people with an interest in building a central resource of knowledge, inspiration and innovation. It was immediately evident that this group had a desire to build a strong network of trustworthy partners, which generated an immense need for the ELL conference. Initially, the event planners had hoped for close to 80 participants, but within a few short months, the response more than doubled that estimation. The organizers had to accommodate the growing number of interested companies, and the event eventually sold-out completely.
Over these three days, Freight forwarders and logistics specialists engaged in a highly interactive and inspirational forum where practical issues within the industry were discussed and analyzed. The ever-evolving International business community raises specific challenges for these companies especially in the face of increased security measures and the current economic climate. The focus of the event was to provide a completely inclusive environment to facilitate collaborations, strategic partnerships, and the basic networking required to provide exhibitors world-wide with a trustworthy resource for their International events.
Not only was this event a success in strengthening the industries network and in sharing important information, but there was also great fun in store for the delegates. A dinner was held at the O2 Arena, which included a visit to the British Music Experience, and interactive journey the history of British Pop and Rock music. Another great highlight was a tour of the HMS Belfast on the final day.
The success of this conference will result in a direct benefit to exhibitors and event planners, due to the increased abilities by these Event Logistics Specialists. It is important to note that these companies already offer services well beyond the scope of work general freight forwarders can provide. They work directly at the venues in cooperation with show organizer and show management. This not only enables them to have show specific information readily available, but they also possess the knowledge and experience to prevent many of the pitfalls that can occur with customs and country specific requirements.
Obviously by coming together to share information and ideas, this will only increase their abilities to serve the tradeshow and events industry. There is no doubt that we will see this become an annual event with even more participation in the future.
Matthew Dell’Orto is a third party logistics coordinator based in Las Vegas Nevada. He assists companies in shipping their exhibits to tradeshows and events both internationally and in the United States. Matthew is a 15 plus year veteran in the shipping and events logistics industry, and has coordinated shipments to over 30 countries, for both fortune 500 companies and the newest start-ups. He can be reached at mdellorto@globexlogistics.net
