Blog posts tagged with 'nes news'

Our industry, like a large majority of the economy, relies on the trucking industry to transport goods across the country from port to warehouse to our fantastic customers.

Up until recently, our company enjoyed the luxury of fairly reliable shipping timeframes. We could call in orders for same day pick up or, if we had passed the time cut off for the day, arrange for a pick up the next day. If we were shipping from Toronto to Montreal or St. Catharine’s, we knew how long it would take for shipments to get to their destinations.

Things have changed. The economy is booming. As you’d expect, with a booming economy , the shipping industry as a whole is booming. Unfortunately, the shipping industry is unable to keep up with the increased demand. They are experiencing a shortage of drivers – which is becoming costly for the trucking industry, consumer goods industry and the Canadian economy as a whole.

An article I found back in April of 2013 was already talking about a shortage. This article references Understanding the Truck Driver Supply and Demand Gap and Implications for the Canadian Economy; a report funded by the Canadian Trucking Alliance. This report “estimates that the gap between the supply of drivers and the demand for them could soar as high as 33,000 by 2020.”

This report also states that the younger generations, ages 15-24, have had less interest in driving trucks within the past decade – so there have been less entrants able to fill the shoes of retiring drivers.

What we’ve been seeing over the past 6 months is less reliability in our trucking carriers. In the past we were confident that if we called a shipping company before cut-off they would pick up our orders that afternoon. Now, we are experiencing situations where a carrier is so busy that they can’t pick up until the next day. Or they arrive at our warehouse with a truck that doesn’t have enough space to pick up all of our orders.

Carrier pick-ups are not the only issue. We are also having difficulties on the delivery side of things. We’ve had instances where we’ve shipped skids to customers and then find out that they’ve been sitting in the depot warehouse for a week or TWO. With one of our shipping partners, things were being slowed down even further because their drivers were able to pick and choose which skids they take.

We wrote this post as a way to bring more transparency into the back-end of our business. Our goal is to make purchasing from us as painless as possible. Unfortunately, until the shipping industry is able to resolve their capacity shortage, shipping will be an issue that will need to be closely monitored. To that end, we are calling for pick-ups as early as possible in the day to increase the chances of a pick-up that day. What can you do? Order your product as soon as you know you need it and order early if finances allow it. This way you can hopefully build in enough lead time to ensure your product is delivered before you need it.

As you may or may not know, we’re moving our Mississauga Head Quarters & Warehouse to a new location with plans to be fully operational on December 19th, 2016.

We had a customer ask us a question that we didn’t answer in our email to our database and on our blog announcement. She asked “where should we send payments during the move?”

Great question! If your payment is due before December 19th, 2016, please send payment to our current (and soon to be old) address at 3280 Caroga Drive, Mississauga, ON L4V 1L4. If your payment is due on or after December 19th, 2016, please send payment to our new address at 3544 Nashua Drive, Mississauga ON L4V 1L2.

If you need to do address changes to your accounting systems or any database you use to track suppliers / vendors, please feel free to update our address anytime on or after December 19th, 2016. We also plan to have our mail forwarded for any letters where our address isn’t updated in a timely manner.

Any other questions regarding the move, please don’t hesitate to reach out via social media, through our contact form or call us at 1-800-827-8953.

With business finally calming down long enough to breathe I thought I would round up some of the most relevant articles that I thought were worth reading. It is so hard for one person to check multiple news and blogs every day, all week so this blog helps to alleviate the need for having to spend a lot of time reviewing the top special event news. Check out the articles below:

7 Tips for Time Management from Caterers for Caterers

This article has some great time management tips from caterers who have already learned the hard way. Though written by a caterer, for other caterers, the advice doesn’t strictly apply to the catering industry and can be used across different industries. Get insight into what works for other caterers and how you can implement these time management tips into your work day.

The Winners of the 2016 BizBash Event Style Awards

Get event inspiration and see some of the best ideas and smartest strategies in events and meetings by looking through the winning events of the 2016 BizBash Event Style Awards. The entries demonstrated innovation, quality of execution, effectiveness and an influential impact on the event and meeting industry.

An Industrial Revolution

The rustic farm décor theme has been a hot trend for years but the latest trends are shifting into industrial-style products. Metal chairs, stools, tables made of stainless steel are being used at a variety of events. They pair well with the rustic farm décor lending to upsell opportunities of a party rental’s existing inventory. Hear what event equipment suppliers and party rental companies are saying about this trend.

A Guided Meditation: A 10-Minute Practice for People Who Think They Can’t

There’s tons of scientific proof how beneficial meditation is towards decreasing stress levels, increasing your focus and attention and improving your memory. We can all use some more of those benefits! The problem with getting into a meditation practice is that there is delayed gratification. You don’t receive an instant rush of pleasure or joy or instantly feel calm which makes it harder to continue or start. I found this 10 minute guided meditation that is for beginners and aptly for people who think they can’t meditate. Enjoy!

Creating a Distinctive Atmosphere for Multiple Events Using One Tent

Tented events often end up looking like the same event when all is said and done. That’s why creating a distinctive atmosphere, or multiple atmospheres can play a key role in the success of using one tent and help it stand out from the crowd.

The winter season is fast upon us meaning a lot of our special event business is slowing down from the astronomical pace it once was over the summer. While this gives us a chance to take a breather, enjoy a nice vacation and catch up on administrative tasks, it also doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still focus on your business. Here are a number of tips you can utilize to make the most of your off-season:

Research awards and contests to take advantage of in the next year

Before I started working I assumed lists such as Canada’s Best Managed Companies and the Inc 5000 awards were a result of a panel nominating companies – not because of companies themselves submitting applications to be considered. In hindsight, it makes sense – how can a panel possibly weed out what is a best managed company or what is a fast growing company without applications? By researching awards and contests related to your industry, you can get a head start on planning which past or future events you plan to submit. It also gives you time to build in time to work on the submission prior to the award deadline. Being featured on an awards list helps to provide social proof to potential customers that you’re an award-worthy company to work with.

Research bridal/wedding shows to ensure you are on top of the industry events you should exhibit at

New bridal/wedding shows crop up every year – it can be hard to keep track of them when you’re in the trenches of the wedding season. The off-season is a perfect opportunity to catch up and make sure you’re not missing some great opportunities to get in front of your key prospects. Also, it again makes it easier to plan ahead for next year and pre-build your schedule out. (Can you tell I like planning?)

Network

Networking remains an important part of business. You never know who you will run into at industry events and more often than not you meet someone of relevance to your business either to help you grow through education and knowledge or who can pass your information along to someone in need of your services. Events through International Live Events Association, BizBash, Catersource, Special Events, and Canadian Rental Association all can provide you with useful contacts.

Ask for referral business

This one can be uncomfortable for most of us – but referral business is a really good source of business. Make sure you thank the vendors you work with (florists, tent rentals, photographers, caterers etc) and ask them to keep you in mind when they come across a customer in need of whatever your business specialty is – whether it be high end décor with unbeatable service, or creatively arranged flowers. Be prepared to reciprocate by ensuring you have a handle on how each of your connections prefers to run their business. For example, make sure you’re not referring a bride that needs someone who can provide floral arrangements while creatively working with a limited budget to a florist who exclusively deals in extremely large floral budgets. This ensures that the business you refer to them reflects highly on your reputation and makes both your connection and the prospect happy.

Generating publicity is not an easy job for a small business owner. It can be daunting and time consuming and often times it’s hard to know where to even begin.

In my daily article feed, I came across a great opportunity for party rental companies that also rent tents.

InTents Magazine is holding a contest to find the perfect photo for the cover of their 2017 InTents Buyer’s Guide. This opportunity is perfect to showcase your best work to the entire party rental and special events industry. It also is a great way to gain much needed social proof that you have a quality company that any customer would be privileged to work with. If you’re picked for the cover, this should definitely go on your news and awards wall!

Head on over to Intents Magazine to read the guidelines and get your pictures in by December 5th.