When your company registers to attend a trade show, the goal is usually to discover the latest technology for manufacturers. You and your team are looking for new and innovative ways to make your own work process easier, faster, or better, and will eagerly visit several booths in hopes of finding them! After all, who doesn’t want to get products out the door faster, release the newest technology, and delight their customers? These are some of the most important factors to increase profits. Below are three ways to take a strategic approach to finding this technology the next time you attend a trade show.
Have a Good Idea of Your Solution in Mind
A trade show has come to your area and you and your team of direct reports have registered to attend. You are interested because you have on-the-job problems that you want to solve. In fact, you may have a whole list of issues that could use better solutions.
To make the most of your trade show experience, it’s a good idea to brainstorm the solutions you’re looking for in advance of the show. This way, you can save time and energy by prioritizing the manufacturers that you know have a good chance of helping. You can make your trade show time even more efficient by coming up with a list of prepared questions for each exhibitor. Of course, you should keep an open mind to any solutions a manufacturer might recommend that you hadn’t previously considered.
Keep an Eye Towards the Future
One of the most exciting things about attending a manufacturing trade show is that you may discover new parts and processes that you didn’t know existed or were not even aware that you needed. While you might not use your discoveries for a few years, it’s good to take in as much information about them as you can. This ensures that you’re prepared when a customer requests such a solution in the future, or when your research and development team feels prepared to take on something new. Trade shows are an excellent opportunity to gather a large amount of data and product samples in a single location.
Attend as Many Live Demonstrations as Possible
It can be difficult to know if a specific product would be appropriate for your shop without seeing a demonstration of it first. This is especially true when you consider that most shop equipment requires a major investment of capital. By attending a trade show, you can cut down on the amount of time you devote to researching a new machine.
Be sure to stop at as many booths as you can that have someone offering a live demonstration. There’s nothing quite like watching the demonstration for yourself, and possibly even operating the equipment briefly, to help you gain a better understanding of whether it would benefit your company. It certainly beats reading a sales brochure and trying to judge from that alone whether the piece of machinery would make a good addition.
Get a Map of the Trade Show in Advance
The bigger the display space at the trade show, the more important it is for you to map out the booths you want to visit before you arrive. Trade show developers typically organize the space by type of machine on display or by companies offering similar products and services. Regardless of the show’s organization, determining a game plan for visiting booths helps you make the most of every minute you’re there.
Velocity Metalworks hopes you have a productive time at your next trade show. We have become recognized as a valued partner in the metal stamping industry for our strong Tool Design and Build competency. This, combined with our metal stamping capacity, precision machining services, and EDM capability make us a full service provider that can deliver value in your tooling and stamping needs. Contact us today to see how we can help you work even better.
