In Broadcast - July/August 2011 - 54

Shipping Securely
By Neil Goatcher, Exhibition Freighting
One of the quirks of the broadcast technology industry is that it has traditionally spent a large part of its marketing budget on exhibitions. There are the global events like IBC and NAB, regional events like Cabsat and Broadcast Asia, and national events. It is probably safe to say that no manufacturer attends every exhibition in the calendar, but even supporting the key ones can be a big burden on time. But more importantly, it can cause a great deal of pressure on equipment. Another characteristic of our industry is that virtually all exhibitors have working demonstrations on their stands, which means shipping often high-value equipment around the world. That equipment represents capital out of the business, so it is really important that, firstly, it gets to the stand in excellent condition, and secondly that it is returned – or delivered to the next exhibition – as quickly as possible. You may consider that shipping by land, sea or air is now a commodity, and so feel that you can organise it yourself. You would, of course, be right. But I would argue that, even if it appears you are paying a little more, you should use a specialist like Exhibition Freighting. I say that you appear to be paying a little more – and it is a very little – but in practice any additional cost quickly disappears. If you use an exhibition specialist then you only have one call to make the booking. On your instruction we collect from

Arrive safely and on time with Exhibition Freighting

your premises, handling all the transport, customs clearances and other paperwork, and deliver to your stand. At the end of the show we do the same thing in reverse. Of course, 99% of shipping movements go without a hitch. But when you are putting your business on show – and committing a large chunk of marketing money – the potential for disaster is high, so it is reassuring to have someone on your side who knows what to do should a problem arise. At NAB we have staff in the drayage warehouse in Las Vegas weeks before the event opens, to receive each shipment as it arrives. That means we can spot any damage in time for you to organise a replacement. Without that service, the first you would know would be when you turned up on site to collect it, by which time it would be too late to do anything. Because we specialise in the broadcast industry, and have a critical mass of customers behind us, we can work with the airlines to ensure there is sufficient space to get equipment home quickly. At Broadcast Asia this year, for example, the show finished on Friday night. All our consignments were packed, transported and through customs for a Sunday night flight. Even allowing for clearing customs in London, we will still have returned all the equipment to exhibitors within less than seven days. You would not be able to achieve that speed doing it yourself or with a general purpose freight forwarder. As a shipper who specialises in your industry, we work on the same events, we have the same rhythms. We track

every piece of freight at every stage and when something might become a problem, we suggest a way to solve it. While you are on the exhibition stand during show hours, that is the time we work with our agents and set up all the systems so that, come closing time, our customers get their boxes first and can be confident we will get the gear back when we promised. If you need us, we are on site to help. Managing the risk of shipping your exhibition stand and equipment is our role in life, but we do offer some related services. Most obvious is insurance. Larger companies are now realising that corporate policies sometimes have huge excesses – $15k is not uncommon – so a policy to cover an exhibition (with a nominal excess) may be a worthwhile investment. We rent lockable steel cages to protect your freight during transit and on site. And as we have a travel agency, we ship people as well as freight, specifically to broadcast shows. None of this is to say that we want to become a one-stop shop, but if it involves the logistics around an exhibition – and particularly ensuring that your stand and equipment arrive in good shape and on time – the chances are we can help.

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In Broadcast - July/August 2011

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