Like many other sectors, the exhibition and event industry has been through the COVID-19 mill and is barely recognisable right now. At its peak the sector was a patchwork quilt of a supply chain – contractors and sub-contractors in synergy, with each element dovetailing together to produce stunning results, time-after-time.

That dependable supply chain has been hugely damaged – the knock-on effects will materialise in a number of ways that will affect us all. Firstly, the workshops that were the backbone of the sector have lain dormant for months. The peripatetic nature of the industry has been challenged by the benefits of regular work and pay in other sectors such as construction. The skilled labour supply, in many cases, has been laid-off, finding employment elsewhere – many may not return, certainly not in the first phase of a return to ‘normal’.

Secondly, materials availability is already troublesome and has already led to shortfalls of basics such as MDF and timber, along with specialist finishes including Perspex, laminates and floorcoverings – with cost increases expected as the fight intensifies to deliver for the returning events programmes.

The reach of the issue is across the board: organisers outfitting of halls and venues; event logistics; security infrastructure, have all but been mothballed or disbanded. New costs of re-establishment will necessarily find their way to the customer which, in turn, challenges the build and installation budgets. Exhibitors may also discover they are in the unusual situation of fighting for a supplier. Where once there was a surfeit of competition pushing prices down, the reduced supply chain and increased materials costs may make custom-builds the domain of all but the very few.

These are all perhaps logical outcomes of the pandemic-mandated sector switch-off. The volatile rebuild period we are entering may take more than a year to settle. The advice to clients committed to events and exhibitions in the next 12 months would be to health check the relationship with their preferred supplier as soon as is possible. Custom projects should begin significantly earlier than previously to ensure not only a supplier, but the materials that are required and to manage the cost of the investment. The reduced-capacity of a weakened supply chain may well find contractors turning away business in this next year-cycle – those that plan ahead may be the only clients that get served at all!

Companies work tirelessly on enhancing their products, services and brands – it is a vital part of this mix that they can communicate their competitive capabilities across the board and, in this instance, it means being able to deliver the expected quality event despite the current climate. Prepare to compete now as the show must surely go on!

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Neil Ruddock