Trade shows are commonplace for just about every industry you can name. Millions of attendees flock to trade shows each and every year, and, for the exhibitors, trade shows provide a unique opportunity for face-to-face interaction with their customer base. However, before an exhibitor can get in front of customers, they need to get their exhibit materials to the show.

Shipping to a trade show comes with its fair share of pitfalls that could leave you high and dry at an event. Learn from other’s mistakes and shy away from the following top trade show shipping blunders:

1. Using the decorator – Most shows will use a third-party partner to manage the specifics of their show. Shipping falls under these specifics and the decorator will often times offer shipping solutions to exhibitors at a hefty mark-up. However, it’s important for all exhibitors to know that they have options and are under no obligation to use the decorator’s shipping rates. Shop around and find a great rate with a shipping partner you trust. You’ll be glad you did and most likely positively impact the show’s overall ROI for your company.
2. Paying extra drayage – Drayage is the charge for moving your exhibit materials from the dock to your booth space before the show. As well as moving your materials back to the dock at the end of the show. Drayage fees will vary based on the type of shipment, the amount of handling, the time of day, and other factors. Avoid paying extra by consolidating to one pallet/shipment and paying close attention to shipping deadline dates.
3. Mistakes in documentation and labeling – Properly documenting your shipping preferences are important before and after the show. On your shipment to the show, abide by the same methodology and rules you would on any freight shipment you send – accuracy in your freight class (trade show shipments are typically class 125), on the shipment weight, billing information, and consignee information is key. Also, provide ample labeling on the items contained on your pallet to guard against lost pieces in transit. After the show, fill out your material handling form carefully. List the shipment information provided by your carrier partner and pay extra attention to the “Bill To” section of the form. Leaving the "Bill To" blank could jeopardize previously agreed on pricing and leave you on the hook for a larger bill.
4. Not using the advanced warehouse - You have two options to ship your trade show shipment to your show: the advance warehouse or directly to the show site. Shipping to the advance warehouse gives you the ability to track your freight and ensure that it has been received, with time to double-check. Your freight will already be in place when you arrive for setup. Although some show decorators may charge slightly higher drayage for a shipment sent to the advance warehouse, the pros generally outweigh this cost.
5. Not planning for weather – If you do not ship early to the advanced warehouse and decide to go to the show site, be sure to build in a least an extra day or two for shipping. As we all know, weather in most parts of the country is unpredictable and doesn’t care if you’re left without a booth at your show. Plan ahead, give yourself extra time, and have your exhibit materials ready to go at the show when you are.

Avoid making these rookie mistakes and you’ll be shipping to trade shows efficiently and worry-free!

We attend and exhibit at over 50 trade shows a year and we’ve accumulated a great deal of knowledge, tips, and tricks to make your trade show experience a smooth one. Download our white paper, the 411 on Trade Show Shipping, or email us at sales@PartnerShip.com for more information or with any questions! 

The National Truck Driving Championships are here again and the country’s top truckers are ready to compete for the right to be crowned the Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion! More than 400 top professional truck drivers from across the country will head to St. Louis for the 78th annual “Super Bowl of Safety,” the 2015 National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships, hosted by American Trucking Associations.

“Safety is the trucking industry’s top priority,” said ATA Chairman Duane Long, chairman of Longistics, Raleigh, N.C., “and each year, the industry’s commitment to safety is displayed at the NTDCs. The competitors here are the safest drivers on the highway and an example for us all.”

Over three days, 431 competitors from all 50 states, including 39 first-time participants, representing 85 different companies will vie for honors in one of eight different classes and the title of Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion.

The festivities begin on August 13 with the Breakfast of Champions, followed by three days of competition behind the wheel on a challenging driving course and other tests of their knowledge of safety and of the industry.

Competition concludes on August 15 with the crowning of the Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion, as well as with awards for drivers in every vehicle class and for the top state delegation.

The Allied Committee for the Trucking Industry is premiere sponsor of the 2015 National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships, taking place August 11-15 at the America’s Center Convention Complex and Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Many of the PartnerShip core carrier partners have drivers competing this week and PartnerShip is proud to maintain alliances with some of the most safe and reliable carriers in the industry!

Thinking about checking out the competition first-hand? Click here to take a look at the schedule of events for the competition. We’ve also included the video below of highlights from the 2014 National Truck Driving Championships in Pittsburgh to give you a better idea of the competition makeup and what to expect.

There are many stress-causing challenges that can come along with shipping freight and, as Your Shipping Connection, we've put together a new, detailed white paper designed to ease your mind and have you shipping like a pro! The subject of the white paper is based on information gathered directly from shippers about their challenges and concerns when sending freight. We identify your main shipping concerns and then provide tips and best practices to off-set the stress of those concerns.

Click here to download this free white paper!

Visit PartnerShip.com/WhitePapers for a number of PartnerShip white papers on various shipping topics. Be sure to check back periodically as we continue to add new content! As always, the freight shipping experts at PartnerShip are here to lend a helping hand. Give us a call at 800-599-2902 or email sales@PartnerShip.com.

PITT OHIO, one of the PartnerShip carrier alliances, plans to expand service to Kentucky, specifically the Louisville market, starting Monday, August 17^th.

PITT OHIO is headquarted in Pittsburgh, PA and services the mid-Atlantic and Mid-West regions. PITT OHIO has continuously grown over the last 35 years and is expanding into the Louisville market to increase their services and direct coverage area.

"Our focus on providing customer-centric solutions to shippers has lead PITT OHIO to expand our core service area to include the metro Louisville market," said Geoffrey Muessig, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President. "Customers tell us that we can enhance their supply chains by providing reliable and dependable LTL service between the Mid-Atlantic states and Louisville."

"Current PITT OHIO clients and new customers can anticipate the same level of performance in Louisville expected from PITT OHIO elsewhere," Brad Caven, Vice President of Operations remarked. "Our Cincinnati terminal is well-equipped to exceed expectations to and from these markets in Kentucky."

Standard service times will be 1-2 days in most areas of PITT OHIO’s direct service area. Service to Louisville Kentucky will start Monday, August 17. Customers with freight in PITT OHIO´s current direct coverage area destined for Louisville can begin scheduling pickups on Friday, August 14.

If you are interested in receiving a PITT OHIO rate quote for an upcoming freight shipment, log on to PartnerShip.com, or create a web account if you haven't already done so.

We’ve all seen and heard the lost and/or damaged shipment horror stories. Whether it’s a friend’s incident, a YouTube video of a not so careful delivery, or a firsthand experience - there is a definite stigma of damages and losses in shipping. Unsurprisingly, when we asked a group of customers about their greatest shipping concerns and challenges, shipment damages and losses were fourth behind price, “no shipping”, and transit times. However, shipment damages and losses can be preventable if the correct steps are taken to ensure a properly packaged shipment. Believe it or not, there is a large portion of damaged and lost shipments that can be attributed to packaging error rather than freight mistreatment. Below are some tips to keep your shipment in its desired condition: 

1. Packaging – Shipments must be properly packed to ensure damage-free transportation. While there are many nuances to different items that may be shipped, the overall advice we give is to use common sense with packing your specific commodity. You wouldn’t package ball-bearings the same as you would package glassware. Don’t be afraid to spend an extra couple bucks on packaging to ensure you’re not spending more after the fact. Be conscious of your chosen container’s maximum weight capacity, choose quality materials, leave enough room in boxes/containers for cushioning, and properly seal boxes with enough tape. Be mindful of these basic practices and your shipment will be well packaged and protected from normal shipping and handling.
2. Palletizing - The pallet will give the shipment a solid base to sit on and make movement on and off the truck easy and safe. When stacking your pallet, be sure your items sit squarely on the skid with no overhang. Box flaps and corrugations should face up. Make the top surface as flat as possible and secure cartons to the skid with banding, stretch-wrap, or breakaway adhesive.
3. Labeling - To ensure correct and timely delivery, freight needs to be labeled appropriately. Always follow these guidelines:
   • Remove or completely cover old labels.
   • Place labels on each box and each side of the overall shipment.
   • Do not place labels over a seam or closure on top of sealing tape.
   • Place a duplicate form of address information inside the container for added protection.
   • You should always be able to locate a full return address on the shipping label.

Even the best laid plans can go awry, that’s why it’s always a good idea to be well versed in the steps to take if a shipment happens to be damaged or lost. Submitting claims may sound scary, but keeping your cool and following the basic steps of taking pictures, saving the damaged freight, identifying the shipment value, and contacting your carrier or 3PL partner to begin the claims process will keep you ahead of the curb.

It’s always a carrier’s goal to deliver a shipment in perfect condition - no one wants to go through the claims process. But, as shown in this post, a well-cared for shipment while in transit is only half the battle. Packaging and labeling your shipment correctly will help ensure a smooth shipping operation for you and your company.

Dealing with a damaged shipment? Find out what you need to know about filing a freight claim.

Technology innovations, like in every industry, play a huge part in pushing the trucking industry forward and keeping efficiencies for customers and carriers at the forefront. From pallets to packaging and everything in between, there are always improvements to be made and a better way to operate. So what’s the next big innovation for transportation? It may very well be something that Peterbilt Motors Company has been working on and recently showcased at the ITS World Congress in Detroit – self-driving trucks, or an “advanced driver-assist system” as Peterbilt refers to the technology. This innovation reduces active driver steering by 80-85% and requires a well-marked highway so cameras can read road lines and position the vehicle.

Among other technologies, the vehicle uses:

• Radar-based adaptive cruise control (ACC) which automatically accelerates and decelerates, maintaining safe distances.
• Lane departure warning systems (LDWS) that uses cameras to detect lane edges and striping to alert drivers when the vehicle is drifting.

At the bottom of this post is a brief video (of a video) that was taken at the 2015 Mid-America Trucking Show. The video, while not the greatest quality, gives a very nice visual of the self-driving technology in action.

As you may be able to guess, there is still a lot of testing to be done and red tape to navigate before you should expect to see an unmanned semi on the highway. Even if/when this technology does come into use, you can still expect to see a driver, but more as a spectator rather than a primary operator.

There is technology that you may see on the road sooner rather than later and it’s called “platoon” trucking. A platoon is described as a convoy of trucks linked electronically to a lead truck with an active driver. This practice is said to increase fuel efficiencies up to 15% by limiting wind resistance. Producers and purveyors of this technology estimate that it could be on United States roadways in as little as a few years (click here to see a video of platoon trucking demonstrated by Volvo Trucks taking place in Spain a few years back).

There are many truck producers working to perfect these technologies and change the future of the trucking industry. As with most big ideas, it’s just a matter of time.

From fantasy football leagues to Super Bowl squares to NCAA brackets, there seems to be additional gaming around every major sporting event. Most of these games have a potential payday that makes the added stress all worth while, but those winnings often end up parlayed into other sports bets...so why not play for something with true meaning that you'll treasure forever - like a carefully decorated Styrofoam plate? 

That's right, a plate has been the sole object of many PartnerShip employee's greatest desires over these past 2 months or so (right behind an NBA championship, of course). With our Cleveland Cavaliers in the midst of a historic postseason, we guess scores of each game and award the plate to the employee with the closest guess. The employee then proudly displays the plate outside of his or her workspace as a constant reminder of how much smarter they are than everyone else. In the event of a tie, the “PPGB - PartnerShip Plate Governing Board” has full authority to determine the winner via foosball match, rock-paper-scissors, or other measures. As you'd expect, the competition is fierce with this kind of prize at stake.

You may be asking yourself how such a sophisticated contest came about. Like many honored traditions, it had humble beginnings. The playoff plates were started back in 2007 when both the Cavs and Indians made postseason runs. Employees began guessing scores and, with a need to keep track of those scores, a plate was the only item to write on in reaching distance. From then on, the plate became a coveted and indispensable part of Cleveland playoff life at PartnerShip. 

The next question you're probably asking yourself is how the fantastic plate designs (like the one pictured in the upper right corner) are achieved. We caught up with Harry Centa (which was no easy task during "plate season" as he refers to this time of year), who holds the title of Playoff Plate Creative Director, and we asked about his artistic process when designing the plates.

"The keys to a good plate are symmetry, style, and symbolism, also known as the 3 S's of plate design." Harry went on to say, "I can't take all the credit, though. I receive help and input from many plate enthusiasts in the office."

Harry also made note of another important aspect of making a plate, saying "Very careful consideration must be lent to the player theme of each plate. We’ve had a Kyrie Irving tribute plate, a Kevin Love tribute plate, Tristan Thompson, and even whole team themes. The office favorite has to be the Matthew Dellavedova (Delly) plates, he’s a cult hero and there are a number of great directions and subtleties you can apply to the overall design of a Delly themed plate."

When it comes down to it, the plates add something a little extra to the already special experience of watching the hometown Cavaliers battle for a championship. Part superstition, part team-building, part bragging-rights, the playoff plate benefits are many and the fun is never-ending.

PartnerShip will be exhibiting at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition this year in Detroit, Michigan on August 8^th-11^th. As a partner to over 140 associations, the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exhibition is a date that is circled on our calendars every year. It’s a great chance to spread the word about a PartnerShip managed Shipping Program as a valuable member benefit, as well as see some current association partners.

From an association standpoint, there are many reasons to attend the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition year after year. For some, it’s the 120+ education sessions designed to generate ideas and provoke new thinking. For others, it’s access to fabulous parties and networking opportunities with over 5,000 colleagues from around the country.

We can vouch for the value of this show and encourage all association professionals to make their way up to Detroit for this once-a-year opportunity.We'll be in booth #233, so stop by and say hello!

Click here to register for the event and then visit the Schedule-at-a-Glace for information on show activities. If you need more convincing, watch the short ASAE video below with testimonials from association executives and the value they found at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition.

Keeping customers informed and improving services are two of the main focuses of PartnerShip. That’s why we regularly seek feedback from customers and tailor our offerings and content to your needs. We recently asked a group of customers about their biggest challenges when shipping freight and received "managing transit times" as the third most mentioned challenge at 14% of overall responses. We’ll address this concern and provide some best practices to keep your mind at ease when scheduling and shipping your time-sensitive freight. 

Managing the logistics for a company can be a trying task with multiple, and seemingly endless, steps along the way. Gathering materials, being sure to correctly package, and accurately completing your paperwork seemed like a lot in itself, but the most important step lies ahead – making sure it gets to where it needs to go on time. All previous work is rendered pointless if this stage is not completed. 

Before shipping your freight, here are items to keep in mind to ensure there are no hiccups in your transit:

• Accuracy on your bill of lading (BOL) is key to keeping your shipment on track and avoiding time consuming reweighs or reclassifications from carriers. Knowing your freight classes as well as accurately weighing your shipment is extremely important to getting your shipment to it’s destination on time.
• No one likes paying more for their shipping, but knowing which accessorials to add when scheduling your freight shipment will save you from situations like a refused delivery that could have been avoided by including a lift gate. Accessorials like advance notification can also help you and your company better manage your time when shipping freight.
• Considering guaranteed options from carriers will provide you with a little more insurance when scheduling a shipment where you may be unsure about the time-frame's likelihood. While the guaranteed options cost a bit more, paying a little extra when you know you need it is better than the fallout that comes from the alternatives. 

Setting yourself up for a properly timed shipment mostly occurs before the carrier is even dispatched to your location, but there are a few measures you can take during and after your freight is in transit:

• Late pickups can be frustrating, but they occasionally happen as drivers get detained with earlier pickups, encounter trailer capacity issues, are caught in heavy traffic, etc. Our customer service team at PartnerShip does a great job staying on top of pickup times and securing a time commitment from the carrier's dispatch when needed. However, often times it makes sense for you, the customer, to call the carrier directly in the event you need to work out a new time or solution.
• Stay on top of your shipment by using our track shipment tool to check the status of your shipment and get an estimated time of delivery (ETA). All you will need is the tracking, pro, or BOL number and the carrier you used for your shipment. 
• If you find yourself sending multiple shipments of similar specifications to the same consignee, as many companies do, making notes and keeping a close eye on your shipping history can help you effectively prepare for the future. Track your experiences with certain carriers as they use different lanes to transport shipments. PartnerShip also works with many regional and local carriers that specialize in certain geographical regions. 

When all is said and done, planning still only amounts to a portion of the battle. It’s important to remember that freight carrier transit times are estimations and can vary due to weather, traffic, and mechanical issues. Yes, a carrier’s goal is to stick as closely as possible to the transit times provided and deliver to a happy consignee. However, we live in an imperfect world and things don’t always work out that way. Plan ahead and give yourself the best chance possible of a timely shipping operation.

As always, PartnerShip is here to help manage your company's logistics and keep your shipping operation a smooth running process. Feel free to contact PartnerShip with any questions or concerns.