You Can’t Fix Stupid — Material Handling at Trade Shows

Trade Show Blog

Special Handling Charges? Really!

Special Handling Charges? Really!

Rising Drayage and Material Handling Costs

If you are a fan of the comedian Ron White, you know his signature line, “You Can’t Fix Stupid.” I was reminded of this line three weeks ago while attending a material handling session by Amanda Helgemoe from NuVista and Sue Huff from Medtronic at a conference in Chicago. The presentation was based on a 2013 study endorsed by the Exhibit and Event Marketers Association Advocacy Committee.

In Short, It’s Disturbing

The presentation consists of 50 informative slides, mostly case studies between 1996 and 2007, and an analysis of rising, comparative costs. I won’t summarize the full presentation because:  a) the summary would be longer than the study, and b) You’re not stupid. You can read it and draw your own conclusions. That said . . . I strongly encourage you to devote 20-30 minutes to reviewing it. Secondly, you need to share your concerns, opinions, and solutions with industry associations and show management.

Finally, if you work directly with exhibitors regularly, you need to encourage them to speak to the associations sponsoring the trade shows. I believe, and I’m going to be a little naive here, that they don’t fully understand the ramifications of their no-cost contracts with the General Show Contractors or Show Management. Costs are rising, in particular drayage, at a rate that’s unsustainable to our industry. Whatever your political bent, the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the foundational middle is crumbling in the trade show industry. This tainted concentration of power is doing what power always does – corrupts.

Advocacy_2

Some Highlights:

  1. Exhibitors are downsizing or cancelling programs, not because face-to-face marketing is ineffective, but because rising costs are squeezing their exhibit budgets.
  2. Exhibitors DO NOT KNOW 30% of their final costs headed into a show. No other marketing medium has the same cost uncertainty/surprises.
  3. Don’t blame labor. I&D costs have increased, but those costs pale in comparison to exclusive services such as material handling.
  4. At one show material handling increased 307% between 1997 and 2009. And there were two recessions during this time.
  5. Show Organizers are not doing their homework. There is often a wide variance in costs between similar shows in the same city within 6 months.

More Highlights

  1. Here’s how crazy it’s gotten (example): Drayage: $116.70/cwt, One crate = 1100 lbs., Drayage cost = $1,283.70, Associated GSC labor cost = 37 hours ($35.00/hour), NOW HOLD YOUR BREATH – That equals 1 person, working 4 ½ days for one crate.
  2. From 2009-2013, the Consumer Price Index increased 8.2%. General Contractor Labor Costs increased 12.56%. Drayage increased 121%.
  3. Material Handling has (purposely) gotten more opaque. In some situations, there are 24 material handling categories. Opacity makes it much harder for exhibitors to challenge drayage charges or make fiscally sound decisions when scheduling freight. This is not an accident.
  4. General Service Contractors are shifting costs to exhibitors who do not use them for non-exclusive services, resulting in uneven application of exclusive service charges. All too often, exhibitors are paying the drayage for the exhibitor right next to them when the GSC shifts expenses.
  5. Growing use of bundling by GSCs by offering discounts/rebates to win the entire corporate program, such as waiving material handling if client rents from the GSC. EDPA has gone on record as stating this practice (bundling) is unethical and anti-competitive.


The study proposes solutions beginning on slide 44, which I strongly encourage you to review. Those include Best Practices on slide 49. On a personal note, I cannot emphasize enough how much your voice matters to trade show industry associations, such as E2MA and EDPA. Let them hear from you. In addition, if you are an exhibitor, please voice your concerns directly with the association sponsoring the show and show management. I believe that associations do not understand how existing contracts undermine their ability to grow the shows they sponsor. Show management, however, does understand the impact of rising material handling costs, but (many) have not felt enough financial pain to recommend changes.

Thank you for your time, and I hope you share my passion and concern for our industry. Collectively, I believe we can fix stupid. We have no other choice.

Picture3

–Mel White
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

About Classic Exhibits

Classic Exhibits has been designing and building trade show exhibit solutions since 1993. We’ve been honored as an Exhibitor Magazine Find-It Top 40 Exhibit Producers and an Event Marketer Fab 50 Exhibit Builders multiple times. Along with numerous Portable Modular Awards. With over 250 Distributor Partners throughout North America, there’s a Classic representative near you.

Contact us today whether you need a durable hand sanitizer stand built to last, a rental display guaranteed to attract trade show attendees, or a custom 30 x 40 exhibit with all the bells and whistles. We’re not just different. We’re better.

Filter by Category

Filter by Year

Recent Posts

What You Should Know as a New Exhibit Buyer

For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that exhibit marketing is a new experience. Exhibit marketing is certainly not rocket science. You don’t need a marketing degree to be successful at exhibit marketing. However, it helps to get advice so you make the right decisions.

10 Tips for Designing Large Format Graphics for Trade Shows

Most designers rarely design a layout larger than a corporate booklet or perhaps a 20″ x 30″ poster. Designing for large format, like trade show graphics, is actually quite simple once you know the basic steps. All it takes is a leap of faith… and trust in my advice.

Reflections on Trade Shows and Events

Are trade shows are relevant? Is there a future for industry trade shows? Are companies willing to spend their valuable marketing dollars building a temporary structure just to attract new customers or meet with existing ones?

A Trade Show Exhibitor Walks into a Bar

A Trade Show Exhibitor walks into a bar and says to the bartender, “I’ve never been in a bar before, but a friend suggested I try the 20 x 20 Booth Space.” “That’s a very popular drink,” says the bartender, “especially with my regular customers.

Buying a Trade Show Exhibit? 10 “Must Ask” Questions

It’s common to express remorse after a big ticket purchase. Typically when the purchase is infrequent, such as a home, car, or expensive equipment. Buying a trade show exhibit is that type of purchase, especially an inline or island exhibit for a large trade show. .

An Honest Conversation about Trade Show Rentals

Recently, what I thought would be a simple, straight-forward conversation left me scratching my head. I was meeting with exhibit industry colleagues, and the topic turned to rentals. Admittedly, rentals shouldn’t be puzzling. Rentals have exploded at a rate 3 to 4 times faster than exhibit purchases. What surprised me was the perception and the language used to define the exhibit rental landscape.

What’s Your Trade Show Kryptonite?

We shouldn’t but we do. We hope hope hope that the next attendee who walks in our booth is Superman. Not Superman Superman, but the sales equivalent of Superman. Faster to sign a contract than a speeding bullet. More powerful than the VP of Purchasing.

How To Make Your Trade Show Backdrop Stand Out!

Many exhibitors assume a backdrop is a simple two-dimensional graphic along the backwall of an exhibit. But it can be so much more. A backdrop in a 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 booth space doesn’t have to be basic. Modern inline displays come in various shapes, heights, and configurations.

Is Your Trade Show Display an Oreo or a Fig Newton?

As an adult I can rate just about everything on a cookie scale. For brevity, I’ll limit this article to Oreos, Fig Newtons, and Nilla Wafers, but be assured that the “science” behind my methodology includes Frosted Animal Cookies, Pepperidge Farms (as a collective group), Girl Scout Thin Mints, and Chips Ahoy.

Does Your Trade Show Exhibit Have To Be Clever?

That’s not to say your trade show exhibit shouldn’t be attractive. It should, but I would encourage you to focus on more practical matters the next time you design or rebrand your display. What do you need in the booth space to conduct business? Make it less about showmanship and more about conversations and information.

What Cats Can Teach Us About Trade Shows

We are a nation devoted to pets, whether they’re on the farm or in a purse. They learn from us, but we learn from them as well. The other day while watching Animal Planet with a cat in my lap, one on the sofa, and another puking upstairs ( it sounded like the world’s worst ventriloquist), I realized that we could learn a thing or two about trade show marketing from our feline companions.

Gravitee One Step — The World’s Easiest Modular Wall System

Gravitee — The World’s Easiest Modular Wall System. Unlike traditional modular wall systems, Gravitee has no loose connectors. The frames are constructed with durable engineered aluminum extrusion and the system uses time-tested patented technology.

Who is Our Biggest Trade Show Competitor?

Recently, I’ve been on the road, visiting Classic Distributors in the Midwest and South. We chat about industry trends, new products, and challenges in their market. Occasionally, they will ask me about competitors. That’s a topic, to be honest, that makes me uncomfortable.

3 Essential Trade Show Marketing Questions

These are questions every designer should ask their client before designing the ideal trade show display. If the client walks in just thinking about the nuts and bolts of the project, they may miss an informed conversation on why they are exhibiting in the first place and that can fundamentally affect the design of a booth. The Why can greatly impact the How in Exhibit Design.