Our Quarterly Newsletter “Collaborations”, Issue 16

Parting Thoughts

— Will Farmer

Project Spotlight: Callaway at the PGA Show

Orlando, FL
January 23 -26, 2018

Founded in 1982, Callaway is renowned for developing innovative products that help golfers hit longer and straighter shots from tee to green.

For the fourth year in a row, Creatacor had the opportunity to assist Callaway Golf at the 2018 PGA Show in January. Last year, Callaway Golf secured OGIO underneath the Callaway umbrella. This gave us the opportunity to also assist with both of the OGIO booths at this year’s show. The more than 1,100 interactive exhibits allowed guests to meet face-to-face with golf merchandise manufacturers and distributors and find the latest products for facilities or pro shops.

This year, Callaway released its new Rogue line, the first line to include Callaway’s patented Jailbreak technology which has now made them #1 in drivers.

The Specs:

• Combined total square footage of the three Callaway booths and two OGIO booths was 18,762 square feet.
• The exhibit needed to maintain a corporate identity, while highlighting each independent brand.
• Jailbreak technology is featured in the driver and all fairway woods.
• The space featured a 75′ putting green, 32 meeting stations for sales meetings, a media stage used for podcasts, two top golf hitting bays and a VIP simulator so attendees could demo the clubs.
• The space also featured a 20′ LED screen behind the putting green for the live media podcasts along with some looping video.
• The highlight of the booth was a 40′ LED tile video screen that was synced up with audio, and a custom made LED pro-tracer. This was set up so that when the golfer appeared on the large screen, it was as if he was in the tee box preparing to tee off. When the ball was hit, the LED pro-tracer light would simultaneously turn on and shoot across the booth as a span of approximately 95′. This was to mimic the pro-tracer you see when watching golf on TV that shows where the ball was hit and when it lands.
• The booth was enclosed with 25′ large format fabric banners around the perimeter of all booth spaces which enclosed the booth from all other exhibitors allowing people to be inside the Callaway experience without being distracted by the surrounding exhibitors.

High Freight Rates

Temporary Marker Shift or the New Normal?

by Roland Dubrey, Logistics Manager

Everyone is talking about the current state of freight prices in the U.S. By now, you’ve probably noticed prices are not the same as they were a year ago. How could they be? According to DAT’s RateView last year, at this time, there were approximately three loads for every available truck. In December, orders reached a record 47,000 – up 38% from last year. In January of this year, there were 14.9 loads for every available truck.

FTR, a firm providing quantitative freight market intelligence, released its latest Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) showing an October reading of -9.6. According to the firm, any reading below zero represents pessimistic conditions for shippers.

“Conditions for trucking and shipping have been diverging dramatically since the hurricanes hit in August. The hurricanes highlighted the lack of extra capacity available in the system. This has been followed by continued strong freight conditions in Q3 and into Q4,” explains Eric Starks, CEO of FTR, “Shippers are really feeling the pinch right now, and there is fear that the ELD mandate will impact capacity in the spring. There is little, if any, excess truck capacity. Add in regulations, continued freight growth or winter storms, and we could be pushing above 100%. That would leave shippers scrambling to get loads delivered. And that means paying premium rates for those deliveries. It may be a tough first half of 2018 for shippers.”

According to Freightwaves, if rates remain at the current high levels, bolstered by the continued lack of capacity, they could become the “new normal.” If so, these increased costs will be eventually passed on to customers, which could lead to inflation and cause the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sharply to keep inflation in check. Should that happen, the question will be how many of those rate increases can the current bull market tolerate before slowing?

Now that we’ve clearly identified the issue, what can you, the shipper, do to ease the burden of a capacity crunch? For trade show and event industry shippers, your options are limited due to the irregular nature of your shipments. Therefore, it’s imperative that you take action around what you can control:

1. Schedule shipments in advance: Give your carriers as much lead time with orders as possible. Carriers will often schedule OTR drivers as far out as 7-10 days. Be clear with your company and staff that there is a new need to schedule shows with your carriers as early as possible.
2. Create contingency plans: Be sure to have a relationship established with an expedited carrier in the event of a sudden extreme capacity issue in your area. Have a “rescue” carrier. Time Logistics has all expedited options available – hot shot, teams, expedited ground and air.
3. Diversify sourcing: Have a backup carrier relationship.
4. Be hyper vigilant: Monitor specific signs of trouble within your operation that may alter your pick up or target delivery times. Your goal should be to detect potential problems before they mushroom into a major disruption or cause a service failure. Remember, during a tight market your carriers may not have their usual flexibility.
5. Be open to options: In a capacity crunch there may be times the only way freight will move is with a little creativity. Be open when your carrier presents alternative solutions not previously utilized.
6. Employ a major third-party logistics provider with broad resources to optimize transportation costs and/or to deal with contingencies. With their enormous volumes they have some ability to ease demand volatility.

The Wall That Heals

Creatacor is feeling a sense of accomplishment after partnering with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to create a 144-panel, 8,000-pound mobile version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, “The Wall That Heals.” Made of solid surface material and at 75 percent scale of The Wall in Washington, D.C., the replica is now the largest in existence.

The Wall That Heals tours the country from coast-to-coast via a 53-foot trailer that also serves as a mobile Education Center. Visitors can see their “Hometown Heroes,” a photo display of service members whose names are on The Wall that list their home of record within the area of a tour visit. Visitors can also view the “In Memory Honor Roll,” which includes photos of Vietnam veterans from the state of the current tour stop who died as a result of their service in Vietnam after the conflict ended.

The Wall That Heals departed Creatacor’s headquarters in Clifton Park, N.Y. on Friday, February 23, with a ceremonial sendoff as veterans from all U.S. armed services were invited to attend and line the roadway as The Wall That Heals headed out on its nationwide journey. Its first stop was Portland, Texas, followed by 40 additional stops across the country. For additional information on The Wall That Heals, or to view a 2018 schedule, visit thewallthatheals.org.

This month, as a part of their 40^th Anniversary, SEDC began its year-long CEO Tours & Connections series with a visit to Creatacor. We had the opportunity to share the history of Creatacor, industry insights, workforce development strategies and current and future goals.

Following November’s visit with teachers from Shenendehowa High School, Creatacor recently visited the school to speak to some of the business classes during their Business Week. We spoke about the basics of the industry and the different ways that students can begin to prepare to land an entry level position at a company like Creatacor.

We’re grabbing headlines again…

Creatacor Builds Largest Scale Replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Local Company Designs Largest Vietnam Memorial Wall Replica

World’s Biggest Vietnam Memorial War Memorial Debuts Here

Creatacor Partners With Vietnam Memorial Fund to Build Largest Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica

Creatacor Continues to Grow Team with the Addition of Four New Hires

Creatacor Growing; Adds Staff

Creatacor Hires Two Graphic Designers

“Where in the World” is Creatacor…

(4/14) ASCRS ASOA 2018, Washington D.C.
(4/18) Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention 2018, Las Vegas, NV
(4/22) AAN 2018, Los Angeles, CA
(4/23) Petfood Forum 2018, Kansas City, MO
(4/24) CPhi North America, Philadelphia, PA
(4/25) SCAI Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions, San Diego, CA
(4/26) FDIC 2018, Indianapolis, IN
(4/28) America’s Beauty Show, Chicago, IL
(4/29) ARVO 2018, Honolulu, HI
(4/30) Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, TX
(5/1) Ceramics Expo 2018, Cleveland, OH
(5/2) PHAS Innovating a Healthier Future Summit, Washington, D.C.
(5/4) National Rifle Association Annual Meeting 2018, Dallas, TX
(5/7) NPE 2018: The Plastics Show, Orlando, FL
(5/8) Lightfair International 2018, Chicago, IL
(5/8) AWEA Windpower 2018, Chicago, IL
(5/15) BIO-IT World 2018, Boston, MA
(5/20) INTA 2018, Seattle, WA
(5/30) New Cardiovascular Horizons, New Orleans, LA
(6/6) World Pork Expo 2018, Des Moines, IA
(6/25) ISTE 2018, Chicago, IL
(6/26) SuperZoo 2018, Las Vegas, NV

Approximately three million visitors visit McCormick Place Chicago each year.