Skyline Exhibits

A no-brainer, when it comes to saving on shipping costs, is to consolidate your exhibit and other needs, such as collateral, in one shipment. Planning ahead is your best bet to saving both time and money when shipping your exhibit assets to trade shows. Some more tips:

Know your limitations

Not all freight travels how, when, or where we want it. Specialized trucks, such as those with lift-gates, can be hard to come by. Common carriers haul only floor-loaded pallets and crates. They won't handle blanket-wrapped shipments. Most van lines can handle stacked loads and pad-wrapped items on their air-ride trailers, but they need to know if your crates can be stacked, laid on their sides, or tipped.

Save with pallets

If your exhibit components are not crated and need to be wrapped in moving pads, you can realize shipping and drayage savings by shipping them on pallets. You can purchase your own pads, either disposable paper ones or fabric moving blankets. Pallets will reduce your shipping costs and your chance of damage. Pallet items can also be received at the advance warehouse - where as loose items cannot. Pallets also qualify for a lower drayage rate.

Label your shipment

Bad labeling is the most frequent error in losing shipments. Remove old shipping labels from your crates. New labels should be positioned on at least two sides of each piece of freight. Bright colored labels can help identify your freight on the show floor. If you have pallets of loose cartons that must not be broken down by the carrier, mark DO NOT BREAK DOWN. Mark breakable items as FRAGILE. Have your exhibit builder permanently mark how your crates need to be shipped - for example, on their side or on end.

Name your carrier

Always complete your outbound bill of lading with an accurate piece count, destination and, most importantly, the name of your carrier. After turning in your completed bill of lading to the general contractor's service desk wait to get your shipper's copy back. This is a receipt showing that you transferred custody of your freight to the general contractor to pass to your carrier of choice. If you do not name your selected carrier on the form, the general contractor can assign your shipment to any carrier and the fee is out of your control. In addition, your freight could be held hostage in their warehouse. That scenario could double your cost and result in lost time.