Recently, Creatacor conducted a business review with one of our best customers within the healthcare market. The results were amazing. Based on their 3 year objectives to: better manage their total spend for trade show participation by operating in a process efficient environment, and optimizing opportunities for enhanced market exposure through trade shows, Creatacor was able to report significant savings for their trade show participation when it all started back in January of 2007 though today.
This major player within the Pharmaceutical Industry needed to make a change in the way they attended trade shows. Their strategy back in late 2006 was to…
• Reduce the number of exhibit suppliers from four to one single source tradeshow partner
• Consolidate all exhibit properties under one roof
• Consolidate the tradeshow calendars of their 3 product groups
• Develop a web-integrated solution that provides detailed project based management information for all events and meetings – accessible by all stakeholders via their web browser
• Select a partner who could provide complete turnkey tradeshow program management services including:
– Exhibit design and construction
– Ordering & auditing of all tradeshow services such as: space reservations, housing
reservations, badge registration, show site services, shipping and logistics
– Field services management and installation & dismantle labor
– Inventory management & storage
– Web integrated management systems
After a long and thorough RFP process, Creatacor was selected from a field of 13 different recipients of the original RFP and thus, the transition began.
Creatacor made arrangements for transporting over 12,000 cubic feet of exhibit material to our facility in Clifton Park, New York (from 4 locations around the U.S.), which included; 10 trailer loads consisting of over 250 crates, cases and boxes, along with nearly 600 graphic elements. Every single item was inventoried and cataloged into the Creatacor asset management database, which by the way, is all available for customer viewing via a web integrated system exclusively design in-house at Creatacor known as OnCor™. From start to finish, everything was completed in 40 business days.
Next came the design and production of a new 1,500 sqft “corporate exhibit”, which made it’s debut in August of 2007. It has become the foundation of trade show participation for all 3 product groups and is being utilized in spaces from 200 sqft on up to 4,000 sqft major events.
But to truly understand the success of this program you need to know the details. We are talking 319 trade shows with spaces from 100 sqft to 4,000 sqft over a 31 month time span, totaling nearly 60,000 square feet of reserved exhibit space…. All done for a complete, turnkey price of less than $67.00 per square foot. That includes; Exhibit Design & Production, Graphic Design & Production, Pre-Show and Post-Show Setup & Inspection, Packing and Handling, All Show Site Services including I&D, and Shipping & Drayage. When comparing industry average labor rates and markups published by Exhibitor Magazine in their “Budget Basics” article and Creatacor rates, based on actual expenses, the savings was astounding. The bottom line… our customer saved over $540,000.00 in 31 months by working with Creatacor. And it won’t stop there. With continued process efficiencies designed to streamline their trade show activities even more, the savings is anticipated to top $600,000 by years end.
This illustrates the great things that can be accomplished when the Exhibitor and the supplier work hand-in-hand as partners for a common goal. And most importantly, both parties understand that in order for this to continue to work, the exhibitor must achieve the desired results within their budget and the supplier must be able to turn a reasonable profit. Hmmm… Sounds like a healthy partnership plan to me.
