The supply chain industry is an extremely vast area of business. As a result, finding a place to collaborate can be challenging and building a brand can be even more of an obstacle. However, obtaining knowledge and building relationships can be key to your success no matter what part of the industry you’re involved in.
Attending trade shows is an excellent way to meet professionals and make new contacts in your field. Attending a select number of trade shows each year may be more beneficial to the growth of your business than you may anticipate.
The following tips can be helpful for businesses whether you’re attending your first trade show or you’re an experienced professional looking to brush up on your skills:
1) Increase market presence, brand awareness, and direct interaction with partners—Not only can you shake hands and distribute business cards to professionals, but you’ll also be able to share the qualities that make your business unique. While you can express your brand on a virtual level, the power of in-person interaction can be far more impactful and memorable. The relationships that start at events like this often facilitate long term partnerships that can continuously benefit both parties.
2) Network and create business relationships and future partnerships– One of the greatest powers of trade shows is meeting with mentors, friends, colleagues, and clients, while continually adding professionals to your network. The entire idea behind trade shows is to make connections so do your best to bring your “A game.”
3) Recognize your competition– As you walk the floor of the event, you’ll be able to receive valuable information about the businesses and specific competitors within the industry. The experience may provide you with a wealth of great ideas on how to separate your business from the competitors.
4) Education and skills development– You’ll get the opportunity to learn from the best supply chain technology companies in the industry. Logistic trade shows normally provide opportunities to develop skills with progressive talent and development courses, volunteer and leadership opportunities, and mentorship programs. When you stay up to date with knowledge and skillset within the industry, you can continue to benefit your business.
5) Trends– You can gain a deeper understanding of how customers are responding to the current market state when attending trade shows. For example, during one of the segments at a recent trade show, there was a review of the 2023 Third-Party Logistics Study by Penske Logistics. The presentation provided an interesting viewpoint regarding shippers and 3PLs that are primarily focusing on data and analytics, customer centric models, and innovation & transformation. This was very helpful especially since one of PRO Transportation’s efforts for 2023 is taking a customer centric focus, utilizing new technology, and advancing our track & trace measures to ensure we are offering best in class, operational and functional solutions to our customers. The same experience can apply to you and your business as you stay up to date with current market trends while attending trade shows.
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to consider attending a supply chain conference in the future. Below is a list of five supply chain and logistics conferences to attend in 2023:
- Food Shippers of America Conference
- LINK2023: The Retail Supply Chain Conference
- Supply Chain Execution USA 2023
- CSCMP Edge Conference
- American Supply Chain Summit