Atlantic Blog Drayage Anyone?

by James C. Morris, July 24, 2015Show-to-Show: Thoughts from the Show Floor by James MorrisThough I have written about the topic before, I thought it might be a good time to provide a few refreshers on everyone's favorite topic: drayage.The Definition of Drayage (aka Material Handling) by the show contractor is the process of unloading exhibit properties from the shipping company. This can happen two ways, shipping direct to show (showing up on a targeted day just before install) or shipping to the advanced warehouse (storing up to 30 days at a warehouse contracted by the show contractor). Drayage also includes delivering properties to the booth, the handling of empties to and from the show floor, and removing of material from the booth for reloading onto outbound carriers.How you should control drayage costs:Know your target dates to avoid overtime charges.Warehouses accept freight between certain hours. After "normal hours", the charges are typically considered overtime (either 1.5 or 2.0 times the cost of regular hours). Additionally, each trade show has arrival dates to accept freight at the warehouse. If you miss these dates, you will predictably be charged an additional 25%. Assuming that you can plan ahead, shipping to the advanced warehouse is your best option. The materials will be waiting for your labor crew the morning of set; however, be cautious of the delivery window. If your materials are small, consider shipping the items to your hotel and hand-carry them to your booth.Know your material handling rates.Determine if your drayage is included in the purchase of your booth space. Many times you must ship direct to the show site if drayage is included. It can be more cost effective to ship to the warehouse. Check your show kit and compare the various rates. Also, check on any special handling fees. FedEx and UPS shipments can be assessed special handling fees along with oversized equipment. Understanding these special handling fees will help you build your trade show marketing budget.Scheduled move in and move out dates.Each trade show has scheduled move in and move out dates. A good exhibit house will plan the labor to fit the best window possible and schedule your exhibit set up on a non-overtime day and time. The show move in may indicate Sunday and Monday with the show opening on Tuesday. If you can move in on normal time on Monday and have enough time to set up your booth, you can save the Sunday overtime charges. This doesn't just go for the move in, when auditing past performances, I notice many exhibit houses pay attention to the overtime days/times for move-in, but often miss the opportunity to plan the move out as effectively. So don't forget the move out!Have a pre-show meeting one month before the event.I preach this all of the time, yet I am so often surprised at the lack of pre-show meetings. I have posted countless blogs on the importance of the pre-show meeting. Even those customers who adhere to a strong pre-show timeline will often overlook the significance of discussing shipping with vendors. Your exhibit house should be answering the following questions in your pre-show calls:Can you avoid the multiple FedEx and UPS overnight packages going to show site?Can you crate or palletize those loose items to ship within the minimum drayage amount?Having a pre-show meeting well before the event date and having an Account Manager who understands your goals will help you stay within, or beat, budgets.James C. Morris is Atlantic's VP of Client Strategy and is a regular contributor to Atlantic's blog. Follow him on Twitter (@atlantic_james).