Advance Warehouse vs. Direct-to-Show Delivery: Which Is Right for Your Exhibit?

With advance warehouse delivery, your freight goes to a warehouse before the show, usually inside a date range that closes several days ahead. The warehouse holds it and the show's handling process delivers it to your booth on move-in day. With direct-to-show delivery, your truck goes to the venue itself and unloads during a time slot the show assigns to you.

Which options exist, what they cost, and which addresses and dates apply are all set by the show. Your exhibitor manual is the final word, and we follow it.

• The exhibit travels a long distance, and you want arrival to be early, not on the deadline
• Your booth team arrives late and you want crates waiting at the booth
• The venue is in a congested city where a missed truck window is costly
• The freight is large, heavy or spread over many crates and pallets

• The exhibit is finished close to the show date and cannot ship early
• The booth is small enough to be delivered in one trip and a firm window
• You have installers or a booth team waiting on the floor to receive it
• The venue is close to your shop, and you can control the timing

• Timing: the advance warehouse gives you a buffer, while direct-to-show gives you a narrow slot
• Risk: a missed direct-to-show window can cost hours, and an advance warehouse has a cut-off date to hit
• Handling: freight in the advance warehouse is handled one extra time, while direct-to-show delivery goes straight to the show process
• Cost: the fees depend on the show and its contractor, so check your exhibitor manual before deciding

We do not replace the show's own advance warehouse or contractor. We handle the part before and after. We pick up the exhibit from your shop, hold it in our secure Richmond, VA warehouse if you need to, deliver it into whichever channel the show requires, and pick it up again at move-out.

Our crews are based in Richmond and in Edison, NJ, which covers the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast closely. We ship nationwide, so exhibitors in the rest of the country can use the same process.

An exhibit does not need to go home between events. Our Richmond warehouse holds freight from 1 to 100 pallets, so you can send the booth straight from one show to storage and release it when the next one is booked. Tell us how long you need storage when you request a quote.

Return freight is the step most exhibitors plan last, and it is the one most likely to run late. Book it early.

• Get the move-out time and any paperwork the show requires for outbound freight
• Tell us where the exhibit is going: your shop, our warehouse or your next show
• Confirm who will release the freight and have crates relabeled before pickup
• Photograph the exhibit at pickup, so any damage is easy to document

1. 1Read the exhibitor manual and note the advance warehouse cut-off and the direct-to-show windows.
2. 2Count the transit days from your pickup to the show, then add a buffer.
3. 3Decide whether your booth team can receive freight on the floor.
4. 4Pick the option that leaves the most room for delay.
5. 5Send the details to us, and we will confirm the schedule and quote.