When can shipping to a trade show venue become a nightmare? Andrea Bianchi from I-Sped tells us about it.

Goods lost, never to be found again. Damaged or destroyed. Held up in a US port, or standing by in a customs office, baking under the scorching sun of Dubai.

Delayed ships, planes or trucks, lost in a sort of Bermuda Triangle toward which freight forwarders seem to be inevitably drawn.

These are the scenarios Andrea Bianchi has faced in the course of his 25 years in the world of freight forwarding. The entrepreneur originally from the city of Prato, in Tuscany, who in 2011 decided to focus his energies on trade show shipping by founding I-Sped, provides us with a unique tool to assess the world of freight forwarding, helping us to recognize were the risks of “messing up” a trade show for the reasons above lie.

But why are many small and medium-sized Italian companies (and not only) still today forced to put up with poor service when it comes to trade show shipments? Poor service that intensifies (and worsens) when delivery is outside the EU?

“In almost 30 years, too many times I have witnessed the whining of exhibitors who had entrusted their goods to others and had not received their products to exhibit, throwing away tens of thousands of euro. And all just to save a few cents on shipping.” But the problem almost never lies in the entrepreneur’s pockets, continues Andrea: “The true problem is the exhibitor’s awareness of how the world of shipping works, and of the existence of players more or less capable of meeting their needs as far as their presence at the trade show is concerned. The exhibitor must be aware of the risks of low-cost shipping when taking part in prestigious trade shows such as Premiere Vision in New York.”  

For the most part, explains Bianchi, shipping forwarders are generalist, meaning that they handle any and all types of shipping, from the private individual who needs to send a package, to the company who needs to ship to a trade show venue. For structural reasons (and for the amount of time they can dedicate to a specific type of service), “generalists” are not able to cope with the needs of companies shipping to an international fair and who require guarantees as far as delivery times and goods traceability.

“Companies sign annual contracts with freight forwarders who, as a contractual BONUS, offer free shipping to the show venue. And then they find themselves with an empty stand on the first day of the show – the most important! Bianchi feels that shipping to a trade fair is too often left to chance, or “it is the last item of the budget that one worries about – erroneously.”

In this period of the year, many companies are getting ready for Premiere Vision in Paris, one of the major world trade fairs. Many others have participated in the New York edition in mid-January, and still others will take part in this year’s July edition.

For trade shows as important as these, shipping cannot be a service that the freight forwarder offers free of charge because “as a consequence of this savings, the exhibitor will not only have to put up with the anger they feel because the goods are damaged or even lost and their stand is empty. They will also have to deal with endless minutes of anxiety and fear while waiting for a message or a call from the freight forwarder for the slightest news on their goods. I’ve seen this more often that you can imagine – entrepreneurs and managers glued to their telephones desperately seeking updates that never come.”

And the fundamental difference between any generalist freight forwarder who is not structured to ship overseas and companies like I-Sped who instead have decided to focus on trade shows, is the certainty of receiving the goods on time.

And how do we do this? “We let our customers know where their goods are, at which point of the journey at any time also through a simple SMS or an email, monitoring their every move.” And this also thanks to that technological, refined innovation designed especially for the needs of trade shows. The one that a generalist freight forwarder cannot afford. A tracking system managed through bar codes, allowing the exhibitor to live the days their goods are traveling in total relaxation and tranquility, from the time the goods are taken over until they are unloaded at destination.

“The anxiety and worried looks  I saw on the faces of trade show participants – those who did not entrust their delivery to us – made me realize that in addition to the main problem (the economic one, the loss of money deriving from missing out on show days) there was also an important emotional aspect involved: the entrepreneur is subjected to an immense stress during those days, and the problem of the freight forwarder is just one of a thousand others. And all because of lack of foresight.”

But it is not only with Active Track that Andrea Bianchi guarantees prompt delivery of the goods in perfect condition. It is also thanks to a team of expert customs consultants who know well the measures to take in order to safeguard shipments based on the place of destination, and how to tackle any customs issues to prevent the goods from being detained.

“Perhaps the most common problem is actually customs hold-ups. And this because every country has its own laws, and they may be more or less restrictive. If a company is not a true expert on customs issues, it is very easy for the goods to be held up. For the USA, there are many documents to draft both on entry and afterwards. While for Dubai, correct weights are very important… All this to say that a specialized freight forwarder is also a good consultant, one used to dealing with customs and hence more prepared to draft all the documents required.”

Another differentiating aspect is the presence of a reference person on site: “Once they reach the trade show venue, the exhibitor has no one to turn to in the event of problems. Calls go unanswered, updates are few and far between. With I-Sped, you always have a person to contact directly at the show venue. For you, this means much less anxiety and less stress.”

So can we say that  I-Sped is the company to turn to in order to prevent even the tiniest risk of looking bad in a place where all your competitors are and where everyone is vying with one another for who has the biggest stand? “Many of our customers choose us because they know that by paying a higher price compared to ordinary freight forwarders, the return is an immeasurable value: the value of your company’s image and of exclusivity. False modesty aside, showing your competitors that you can avail yourself of the best in the field when speaking about trade show shipping is a source of pride for you and for us.”

In conclusion: once the difference between professional freight forwarders and ordinary shipping companies is clear, if you are organizing a shipment to a national or international trade show, attentively assess whether it is worth it to risk ruining your image in a context like Premiere Vision, or other luxury trade shows.

To know about how I-Sped works, click here: https://www.i-sped.com/contatti/