Events and trade shows

Events and trade shows operate on a timeline that does not flex. The doors open at a fixed time and every exhibitor's booth needs to be fully built and stocked before that moment. When freight is delayed, misplaced, or unaccounted for somewhere between the loading dock and the show floor, the consequences are immediate and visible. An exhibitor cannot present their products. A stand looks unfinished. The reputation of the venue and the event organiser takes the hit.

The problem is rarely the physical handling. It is the absence of a digital record across all the handovers. At a typical trade show, freight changes hands four or five times before it reaches the booth: from the carrier to the dock, from the dock to the advance warehouse, from the warehouse to the staging area, and finally out to the show floor. Each of those moves happens under time pressure, across a large venue, with dozens of different exhibitors' freight moving simultaneously. Without a system logging each step, there is no way to locate a specific item in transit, no way to prove it was delivered to the correct booth, and no basis for resolving a dispute when one arises.

For venues and general contractors who charge exhibitors for drayage and material handling, the documentation gap creates a direct revenue problem. Without per-exhibitor handling data, invoices are estimates. Exhibitors receive charges they cannot verify and challenge them accordingly. FP Trax solves this at the point of action. Every scan during inbound, every move through the venue, and every delivery to the booth creates a timestamped record linked to the specific exhibitor. The billing report at the end of the event shows exactly what was handled, for whom, and for how long. Disputes about charges are resolved with data rather than negotiation.

Rented and loaned equipment adds a separate layer of complexity. Venues and event contractors frequently issue expensive items to exhibitors: lead retrieval scanners, AV equipment, two-way radios, power strips, and furniture. Tracking what goes out and making sure it comes back is difficult under normal circumstances. During the chaotic teardown phase of a tradeshow, when hundreds of exhibitors are packing out simultaneously and time pressure is extreme, unreturned items slip through easily. FP Trax logs every check-out against an exhibitor and a return deadline. Automatic reminders go out before teardown begins. At the close of the event, the team has a clear list of what has not been returned and who has it.

FP Trax event logistics tracking software is used by venues, general contractors, and event organisers across Europe to log exhibitor freight from carrier arrival, track items across the show floor, document handovers with digital proof of delivery, and generate per-exhibitor drayage billing reports. The platform runs in the cloud with no local installation and works on any smartphone or tablet. Plans start from 290 EUR per month.