Joining up for the Sweets and Snacks tradeshow is an exciting opportunity. Showcasing your organic and healthy products to hundreds or even thousands of curious attendees allows you to put your knowledge and creativity to work in a meaningful way. Setting up your trade show booth requires significant time, money, and effort, including managing the logistics of shipping your materials to the event.
While you may be experienced with standard freight shipping, transporting items for Sweets and Snacks comes with its unique challenges, especially for first-time exhibitors. If you're preparing to ship your trade show booth, here’s everything you need to know about navigating Sweets and Snacks trade show shipping.
When getting ready to ship to Sweets and Snacks, it's important to understand the key players involved, including the general contractor, the convention center, and the trade show shipping companies.
Freeman is typically the general contractor for the Sweets and Snacks tradeshow, overseeing everything from setup to teardown and serving as the event’s "official carrier." As an exhibitor, you have the option to ship your materials through Freeman, but you can also choose a specialized trade show shipping company like Diversified Transportation Services.
This refers to the venue hosting the trade show and the destination for your shipped materials. Sweets and Snacks is held at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
Trade show shipping companies are logistics providers specializing in transporting exhibition materials to and from Sweets and Snacks. They manage both inbound and outbound shipping, serving as your primary point of contact to help ensure your materials arrive on or before the time of the event.
As you get ready for Sweets and Snacks, it's important to focus on key tasks such as securing proper packaging, updating trade show shipping labels, and carefully reviewing the exhibit manual for essential shipping details.
As you organize your freight shipment for Sweets and Snacks, it's important to inspect the condition of your pallets and crates. Keeping them in good shape ensures they can withstand the demands of shipping and protect your products.
Additionally, it's easy to overlook small yet essential items that may become crucial once you arrive at the event. To avoid this, consider creating a checklist of items to bring with you, such as:
When creating trade show shipping labels, be sure to include the following information:
To generate Sweets and Snacks shipping labels, you can visit either of the following:
Before attaching your labels to your exhibition materials, make sure to remove any old labels and place the new ones on each side of your freight for clear identification.
You can access the Sweets and Snacks exhibit manual by searching for the event on Freeman's website.
When it comes to shipping, the exhibitor manual typically includes several key details, such as:
As you carefully plan for Sweets and Snacks and prepare your trade show booth for shipping, it's important to determine whether you'll send your shipment to the advance warehouse or directly to the event.
For those new to trade show shipping, the advance warehouse is a storage facility provided by the event organizer about 6–8 weeks before the show. When move-in begins, the organizer will transport your exhibition materials to your booth, where you and your team can set them up.
Shipping direct-to-show is just as it sounds—you'll send your products a few days before the event begins. This option is often preferred by exhibitors looking to reduce transit time or accommodate last-minute additions and changes to their booth setup.
To compare the advantages and drawbacks of each shipping method, refer to the image below.
Within this guide, we’ve covered key steps to successfully prepare for the Sweets and Snacks Expo. At DTS, we specialize in trade show logistics and can manage your shipments to and from any location in the United States. Our team will assist with move-in planning, move-out paperwork, and provide dedicated customer support at every stage.
If you’d like to learn more about trade show shipping, check out our Guide to Trade Show Shipping.
Give us a call at (310) 521-1200 or click the button below to request a trade show shipping quote for Sweets and Snacks.
Whether you're a company looking to improve one facet of your supply chain, your entire supply chain, or simply looking for a transportation and logistics consultation, we can help.
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