THE PARTNERSHIP CONNECTION NEWSLETTER Issue 5 ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS Tradeshow Shipping - Exercise Your Options! Whether you're a frequent tradeshow exhibitor, an occasional exhibitor, or a show organizer, you inevitably begin with a long list of "to-do's" when planning your event or exhibit. You've probably spent months carefully considering your booth design, literature, show floor strategy, and giveaways. But one thing is for certain: your plans all hinge on your show and conference materials arriving at your event - on time and in good condition! This is one part of the process that is often the most overlooked, and least considered - getting your precious cargo from Point A to Point B. When it comes to tradeshow shipping, you might believe that you can save time, money and energy by using the decorator's freight solution, shipping through a small package ground program, or bringing the materials in yourself. Some exhibitors might choose to go with a lesser-known freight carrier, hoping to find the lowest rates. If your tradeshow shipment is at least 150lbs., you will want to find a reliable shipping option that meets all of your most important criteria: 1. Use a transportation partner that has a dedicated tradeshow shipping department - Tradeshow shipping is a unique line of business in the freight transportation world, so pick a partner that specializes in getting to know the logistics of your event. Inbound and outbound shipping paperwork, and warehouse deadlines all become easier to navigate when you've picked the right partner. 2. Who's watching your shipment? - The success of your business can hinge on your success at a large tradeshow or event, so pick the partner that's going to track your shipment from the time it leaves your dock to the time it gets to the show. 3. Money isn't everything, but... - You don't want to end up spending all of your hard-earned profits from the show on freight, but you want to make sure that you don't jump at the lowest offer if it's a carrier that you've never heard of. "Bob's Trucking" may be offering you the lowest shipping rate, but make sure you won't be charged additional fees that you didn't know about, such as "wait time" and "lift gate" fees. Also, you'll want to make sure that your show materials are covered by a certain amount of liability insurance with the carrier that you've chosen. PartnerShip can help you with all of your tradeshow freight shipping, using the best national carriers, at competitive rates. When you ship to a tradeshow using PartnerShip services, you can be sure that you're getting the best service from a partner that will treat your shipment as if it were our own - daily tracking, preparing your paperwork, and providing you with the best liability insurance in the industry. Visit http://www.Tradeshowselect.com to get a free rate quote and to learn about our services. For more information, email tradeshow@PartnerShip.com or call our dedicated tradeshow team at 800-599-2902 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Want even more tradeshow info from the experts? Download our whitepaper - The 411 to Tradeshow Shipping: http://ship.partnership.com/free-epaper-on-tradeshow-shipping CONTEST OPPORTUNITY Follow-Us on Twitter for a Chance to Win a $25 Reward Card PartnerShip is now participating in a variety of different social media outlets with the goal of interacting with customers and potential customers in new and fun ways. The following social media channels are where PartnerShip participates today: * Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/partnershipllc * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PartnerShipLLC * LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/partnershipllc * YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/PartnerShipLLC?feature=mhee * Google+: https://plus.google.com/109515660342433102671/posts * SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/PartnerShipLLC Each of these channels provides unique features for interacting and communicating with our various audiences. One of our goals with social media is to share valuable and relevant content with our followers to better inform them of news and trends in the world of LTL freight, small package and tradeshow shipping. However, if you aren't following us, then you won't benefit from any of our content! As a special promotion, start following us on Twitter and earn a chance to win a FREE $25 Visa reward card*! Just visit our Twitter page at https://twitter.com/#!/partnershipllc and then click the follow button. That's it! Not only will you be entered to win a $25 Visa reward card, but you'll also receive relevant content, more contest and rebate opportunities, new service offerings, and much more to help your business operate more efficiently. We look forward to seeing you on Twitter and our other social media channels in the future! *One of four $25 Visa prepaid debit cards will be randomly awarded to four lucky winners. Contest applies to new followers between the dates of 8/14/2012 and 9/13/2012. One entry per person. PartnerShip will contact winner via Twitter direct message on 9/14/2012 to verify shipping address for the Visa reward card. SHIPPING & TRANSPORTATION NEWS Retailers Getting Lean with PartnerShip PartnerShip recently had the opportunity to co-facilitate a webinar with our sister company, NACSCORP. The webinar, 99% Fat-Free Business: Get Lean by Reducing Sourcing & Logistics Costs, was for the benefit of college stores and retailers looking to get more efficient with their inbound and outbound sourcing and logistics. Polly Myers, Program Manager with PartnerShip, and Kevin McNamara, Sales Manager with NACSCORP were the "dietary consultants" presenting the material. On the sourcing side, Kevin talked about getting on the scale to assess where opportunities exist for sourcing efficiencies. These include determining time spent per purchase order, investigating labor costs, estimating average order sizes, analyzing inbound freight expenses, and understanding the impact of returns and credits. Some good lean sourcing practices discussed by Kevin include: * Effectively deploy and use POS systems * Consolidate inbound orders to ease store burden * Analyze returns to improve buying habits On the logistics side, Polly talked about reducing shipping expenses by using a number of lean logistics techniques. Supported with numerous real-life examples, Polly discussed each of these techniques in some detail: * Determine your current freight rates * Use PartnerShip to negotiate better LTL freight pricing * Consolidate your orders for lower shipping rates * Select the correct mode and service level * Optimize your inbound shipping with vendors * Consolidate invoicing to reduce administration While the webinar focused on college stores, PartnerShip can help all retailers with their sourcing and logistics needs. Our customized solutions are built to reduce your costs and help your business succeed. If you're interested in a replay of this webinar, or in any of the topics discussed, just let us know at http://ship.PartnerShip.com/learnmore. DID YOU KNOW...? Did you know...? The savings you receive from PartnerShip could potentially offset your annual association dues? If you're wondering if you should renew your association membership, think about this - many PartnerShip customers save more money annually on their shipping costs than it costs them to be a member of their association. The more you ship with PartnerShip, the more you save. PartnerShip offers an on-time guarantee for all tradeshow shipping? We know that finding a cost-effective way to get your exhibit materials to a tradeshow on time is important to you. That's why PartnerShip offers you peace-of-mind with our On-Time Performance Guarantee. When you ship your tradeshow shipment through us—if your shipment doesn't arrive in time, you don't pay a dime! PartnerShip offers a completely free LTL freight analysis? As Your Shipping Connection, PartnerShip is here to help you determine the best way to save significant money on LTL shipping. We'll provide you with a free, no-obligation LTL freight analysis, https://www.partnership.com/pages/ContactUs/SelectServices.aspx comparing rates from your current shipping invoices to PartnerShip rates and services. CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS "We have been a part of the PartnerShip program for quite a few years now and the service has been awesome. I would highly recommend other Bookstores to be a partner as well." Jane Richardson, Manager Bluefield State College Bookstore "We stopped arranging our own shipping two years ago and gave our business to PartnerShip - one of the best financial and logistical decisions we've ever made! Not only do we save time arranging the shipping, our shipping costs have been cut significantly. Since then, we have moved all of our trade show shipping to PartnerShip and once again, it has proved to be an extremely wise move." Tami Murphy The Haywire Group, Inc. SHIPPING TIP In an effort to help small businesses save even more money, PartnerShip will soon be adding another Specialized Solution - discounts on Shipping Supplies! The main goal of PartnerShip service offerings is to help small businesses operate more efficiently, and with our new Shipping Supplies service PartnerShip customers can: * Reduce shipping and packaging costs with affordable shipping supplies * Place low-volume orders for shipping supplies, but receive big-volume discounts * Order shipping supplies online with our easy-to-use website Visit http://ship.partnership.com/learnmore for more information on this soon-to-be PartnerShip service, or contact PartnerShip at 800-599-2902 or email sales@PartnerShip.com. PARTNERSHIP WHITEPAPERS The 411 to Tradeshow Shipping http://www.partnership.com/pages/learning/default.aspx?DirectPDFRequest=411.pdf 5 Key Strategies to Control Shipping Costs http://www.partnership.com/pages/learning/default.aspx?DirectPDFRequest=5KeyStrategies.pdf Advantages of using a 3PL http://www.partnership.com/pages/learning/default.aspx?DirectPDFRequest=3PL.pdf Freight Classification and Routing Management http://www.partnership.com/pages/learning/default.aspx?DirectPDFRequest=FreightClassification.pdf Copyright 2012 PartnerShip. All rights reserved.