Nimlok News On Display:
Get me to the show on time — An international perspective

International shows can be exciting and bring new business opportunities for your organization. They can also be challenging with different languages, customs, and government regulations.

Designing your booth with portable display materials, such as Nimlok products, can be beneficial to your international exhibit marketing program:

• You can save shipping costs due to smaller size and lighter weights.
• The exhibit materials are generally accepted by all countries and meet all fire regulations.
• Instead of shipping, you can rent your hardware and have your graphics produced from international locations.

A few years ago, I did a show in Brazil. Instead of shipping my portable display or checking it as luggage, it was quicker and cheaper to rent the booth hardware in Brazil and to have the graphics produced there. Another advantage of working with a local agent was that she spoke Portuguese and English, was familiar with the exposition site, and was able to advise me on local suppliers and business customs.

However, about a month before the show opened, the show organizer sent a letter advising that the Brazilian government had placed an embargo on all wooden crates and materials made of wood due to a recent insect infestation.

You can imagine my relief that I had decided not to send our "custom" booth in its wooden crates! While these last minute embargos are rare, you have to plan for the unexpected.

Nimlok has international renting and production facilities in both Canada and the UK. If you are exhibiting in Europe, you might want to consider having your graphics designed here in the US and then produced in and shipped from the UK.

Shipping to international shows is an important and critical factor to your success at these shows. If the booth doesn't get there on time, you're in a lot of trouble! Generally, you need more time and proper paperwork to take your booth into and out of each country in which you are exhibiting. Not all shipping companies can do this well.

Beware of the importing restrictions for each country. These can change from time to time and at a moment's notice. Restrictions can apply to food, electronics, origin of goods being shipped, etc. That's why you need to be careful when choosing your international shipper and customs broker. Be sure they have extensive experience with the countries to which you are shipping. Your company may have a broker of record. That doesn't necessarily mean they have international expertise for the countries you are shipping to or expertise in getting exhibit materials in and out of each country quickly.

Mike Lamoreaux, Senior Director, Exhibit Services at Yellow Transportation, offers this advice: "Since 9/11, there is new and increased paperwork involved in shipping via commercial and freight airlines. All shipments must be verified as known shipper."

What is a "Known Shipper"?

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) "a Known Shipper is a company that meets TSA's criteria. The air carrier collects pertinent information from the shipper, and once the carrier has ensured the shipper has met the specific regulatory requirements, that shipper is considered "known" to the carrier.

Later this year TSA will shift to an automated Known Shipper Management System that will use commercial databases to verify the legitimacy of shippers. TSA has 300 dedicated cargo inspectors, supplemented by more than 650 additional inspectors, who ensure compliance with known shipper and other cargo security requirements on a daily basis."

It is more important now, than ever before, that exhibitors establish and maintain a strong "personal" relationship with their carrier of choice. Select a transportation company with well established working relationships with brokers, intermodal transportation firms including ships, commercial and freight airlines."

Many exhibitors assume that their two or three fiber shipping cases weighing a few hundred pounds can be shipped overnight to any destination in the world. That is no longer the case. "Only a small percent of packages actually make it onto an airplane. An even smaller amount gets to board a passenger-carrying plane. Of the hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo that is shipped from coast to coast every day, only about 50,000 tons is classified as air cargo. And of that amount, about one quarter is shipped via domestic passenger air carriers.

Lamoreaux indicates that exhibitors "need to ship as early as they can" to international destinations. Take advantage of shipping to the advance warehouse. At most shows you can save money and time by shipping to the warehouse instead of directly to the show site.

Another tip that Lamoreaux offers is to use permanent label sleeves for shipping labels. Some labels have difficulty sticking to the fiber case and need to be taped on with shipping tape to ensure a secure seal. Other labels are virtually impossible to remove! A permanent shipping label will keep your cases neat and clearly indicate the next destination to all the organizations involved in processing your international shipments.

You could also permanently stencil onto each case your return corporate address, e.g., "RETURN TO:….."

Being aware of the intricacies of international shipping and the various options to rent and produce graphics at international destinations will ensure that you and your exhibit get to the show on time.

Anne Barron, CME, is President of ABComm Ltd., a strategic exhibit and event management firm. ABComm manages international exhibit marketing programs for several of its clients.

Web site: www.ab-comm.com

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