A whopping 2.5 billion packages were shipped during the 2018 holiday season. With the 2019 holiday shopping season right around the corner, now is the time to make sure that you’re prepared for any shipping challenges associated with preparing for your vendor or tradeshow events. Here are a few things you can do to make sure your event materials arrive on time and within budget throughout the holiday season and into the new year.
1. Make Sure to Keep Your Materials and Supplies Well-Stocked
One way to minimize the amount of time it takes your tradeshow materials to arrive at their final destination is to check that you have the materials on-hand. If you don’t, you’ll have to re-order supplies and wait for them to arrive before you can even prepare them for tradeshow freight forwarding.
Not only does this add to the total time it takes to send your materials to your intended destination, but your incoming shipments may potentially be delayed due to high holiday shipping volumes. Instead, try to anticipate what items you’ll need throughout the holiday season, and order them ahead of time.
2. Increase Your Shipping Budget for the Holidays
Not only does a higher than normal package volume potentially delay your tradeshow shipments, but you also have to account for the days package and tradeshow freight forwarding companies might be closed around the holidays. If a company closes its operations for a day or two, this will impact the arrival time for your materials.
One workaround for this potential problem is to increase your shipping budget for the holidays. Often, the cheapest shipping options are the first affected by holiday shipping woes. If you have extra funds to upgrade your event shipments to a quicker delivery option, this will help you ensure your materials arrive on time during periods where standard shipping options may be too slow for your needs.
3. Utilize a Company That Specializes in Handling Tradeshow Shipments
Consider utilizing a company, like AMR Group, that specializes in handling tradeshow shipments to see your event necessities make it on-time to their intended destinations. AMR Group has a variety of shipping options that can help your items arrive on time.
4. Overseas Holiday Schedules May be Very Different from those in the U.S.
Of course, we all understand that Christmas is not a holiday in most Middle Eastern countries so there may be limited delays due to closures. But in Europe for example many countries take many more days off for to celebrate the holidays. Some countries may include days off that Americans are not familiar with. An example of this is Boxing Day celebrated the day after Christmas in the UK and other Commonwealth countries.
AMR Group has ample experience shipping tradeshow materials and also knows how increases in holiday shipping volumes have historically impacted delivery times for events around the holidays. We can provide recommendations that will help your materials arrive on time and within your budget. Please contact us at 702-800-6385 or request a rate.
