These days, it’s hard to find anything that isn’t being digitized or put online.  In the Meetings industry, services such as registration, lead retrieval, floor mapping, and almost everything imaginable have become available through the web.  One important service that can be offered online is the exhibitor manual.  Traditionally, the exhibitor manual is a bulky document filled with the various forms, directories, and information exhibitors need when planning and constructing their booths.  While most shows provide all of this information on their website, very few employ a system that allows the exhibitors to deal directly with the tradeshow contractors and vendors.

After registering for a show, exhibitors must endure the tedious process of planning and managing the logistics surrounding the construction of their booth.  Exhibitors have to purchase power and internet access, rent equipment, coordinate labor and shipping, and negotiate insurance contracts long before the doors open to the show floor.  Typically, all of these transactions are completed through paper forms, faxes and phone calls.  However, the technology exists to manage this process entirely online. 

“This kind of software is a service for exhibitors provided by show management,” says Lee Haggan, Vice President of Global Sales for Event Management Communication, Inc.  EMC has been providing an online exhibitor kit since 1999 to a diverse clientele of international tradeshows.  Accessible through any web browser, it allows exhibitors to communicate with and purchase the services of decorators, facility managers, and specialty contractors with the ease and convenience of shopping online. Conducting these transactions electronically greatly improves the efficiency of the entire show through saving time and paperwork for staff, as well as reducing input errors and miscommunications.

“It facilitates the buying and setup process for exhibitors by giving them direct access to what they need from the general contractors and vendors,” continues Haggan.  “The benefit for exhibitors is that they only have to go to one place to prepare for the event.”  Since the service is offered through the internet, there is no software to distribute or install.  It also provides an online account with budgeting information that allows exhibitors to keep track of what has been bought, how much has been spent, what they still need, and how much they have left to spend.  It can also send alerts as important deadlines approach.  For show organizers with multiple events, this service allows their exhibitors to keep active accounts and plan ahead for their booths year-round. 

“The idea is to bring the whole community of event suppliers and exhibitor services together through a central portal,” says Haggan.  Like other meetings technologies, offering an exhibitor kit can help shows attract a bigger and broader range of exhibitors.  Just as online registration and online lead retrieval have become commonplace in the industry over the last decade, the adoption of this kind of exhibitor service will only continue to grow.