10-Week Program to Ace European Manufacturing Trade Shows

Blog provided by Cedric Le Rouge of ADEXMA

european-trade-shows

Attending a European trade show can reward even the busiest manager with a fresh outlook, new connections, and great opportunities. Feel like you don’t have the time to spare? In just ten weeks, your business can benefit from all that some of the biggest trade shows in the world can offer, such as the Hanover Messe. What makes the travel to Europe even more worthwhile is the benefit of the prep work and research that you do before you go, and the follow up when you return. The trade show is not just a one-week event; rather, it is a chance to communicate with fellow attendees and organizations before, during, and after the show.

Six Weeks Before the European Trade Show

By selecting the trade shows related to your target audience, you can engage with a large number of prospects in a short period of time. Understand your target business environment and market information. Europe is a large market, so you might choose to attend multiple trade shows during a two-week trip.
Download Your Free Trade Shows For Manufacturers eBookMake your research on the exhibitors list. Most trade shows give you access to the exhibitors list with contact information and sorting capabilities. Some even help you organize business-to-business meetings by sending a message to the company to ask for a specific time during trade show hours. I usually engage with attendees six weeks ahead of the exhibit to start asking for appointment. Even if the trade show has a platform that organizes meetings, I confirm with a direct email to the prospect to validate their contact information and make sure that they also have my information in their mailbox.

The more you do your research and keep your customer relationship information up-to-date prior to your trip, the better your business trip and your follow up when you return will be. You should know why you want to meet with a specific person and what you have to offer that is unique.

Two Weeks During the European Trade Show

Forget the car. In France and Europe in general, public transportation by train or bus is the easiest. I remember trying to find a parking spot in Paris, at Porte de Versailles, to attend a trade show and after more than an hour and a half I still had not found a place, so I ended up parking far away from the show and came in by metro.

You can also download the trade show app, but for location capability you need to have a good data plan solution for international mobile phone service. This can be very expensive if you do not plan ahead. I now purchase a European SIM card to have the same freedom of use than in the United States, and it is often less expensive.  Call me old fashioned, but I always keep a backup paper copy of my schedule, transportation, and lodging documents. You never know if your phone will run out of power or the train controller will want a paper receipt.

During the meeting, make sure to respect the local etiquette and start by talking their language, even if it is just to ask if someone to speak English + your name + your company’s name: “Bonjour, Il y a-t’il quelqu’un qui parle anglais s’il vous plaît? Je suis Monsieur LE ROUGE de la société ADEXMA.”

Use Your Research to Your Advantage

Have your pitch ready and adapted to your audience. This is where your research will pay off at a European trade show. If your prospect sees you have put the time in to look at their website and their information, they typically respect your interest and answer some of your questions. Make sure to have more business cards than you think you are going to need; they have the tendency to go faster than expected. For the brochure or handout, I prefer send it by email because at trade shows we all have too many brochures and it gives you a reason to follow up.

Keep some extra time between your connections and meetings in case something happens. Often, something happens: transportation delays, or you get sick. If all goes well, I have a list of contacts who I was unable to confirm an appointment with beforehand. You would be surprised at the number of people you can simply meet at the show. Exhibitors are ready to talk about their company and products. I typically double my number of appointments directly on the show floor.

Follow Up Two Weeks After the European Trade Show

Follow up is key in the two weeks after the event. You are coming back home and the exhibitors are packing before going back home. The result is that everybody is tired, but don’t throw all that work out the window. Register their contact information in your CRM database, record what you talked about, send an email, and schedule a follow up reminder. If you are exhibiting, VAT can be refunded on some items. For example, if you exhibit in France, you can contact your local French-American Chamber of Commerce and they will assist you with the paperwork.

In conclusion, doing the research before attending a European trade show and following these tips will help you make the most out of your visit. There is no substitute for meeting contacts in person, which is why international trade shows are such an important part of the marketing mix. Contact an international marketing company like ADEXMA to get help with research, build a strategy, and conduct follow up that will give you measurable results.

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Bibliography

Absolute Exhibits. “Top Trade Fairs in Europe.” https://www.absoluteexhibits.com/top-trade-fairs-in-europe.

Events Eye. http://www.eventseye.com.

Exhibit in Europe. http://www.exhibit-in-europe.com.

Neventum. “Trade Shows.” http://www.ntradeshows.com.

Trade Fair Dates. https://www.tradefairdates.com.

Trade Show News Network. http://www.tsnn.com (2017).

What Manufacturers Need to Know About ERP System Integration

Guest blog provided by Hannah Gierosky of Briteskies

erp-system-integrationERP system integration is a hot topic in the manufacturing sector and for good reason. Today’s manufacturing companies face a variety of challenges: pressure to increase productivity, lower operating costs, and manage ever-changing data needs. These days, data is king. Most companies do not have an issue generating data; problems arise when trying to access it and leverage it to positively position themselves within a competitive marketplace.

One of the best ways to harness the power of your data is to integrate your ERP with B2B eCommerce capabilities. By adding B2B eCommerce, you can greatly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your back office processes. Using a sophisticated integration strategy, B2B companies can leverage the combined power of their ERP system and the online channel to simultaneously increase revenues and drive costs out of the organization.

Connecting an eCommerce system to a large and stable ERP, such as JD Edwards, allows for a seamless movement of data. However, the integration effort can be one of the most difficult parts of any implementation initiative. These projects require a robust and well-planned strategy that covers data flow, business logic, and an ERP integration methodology.

Data: There Can Only Be One Source of the Truth

The first item that should be addressed in an ERP and eCommerce integration project is to determine where each data element should be stored, and which system “owns” the data. You should consider specific items such as Customer Master Data, Item/Catalog data, and Customer Order Information.

After you decide on where each item should reside or if it should be shared, create a data map so that ownership is clearly defined. A great mantra to keep in mind is: “There can only be one source of the truth,” which will help you establish whether the eCommerce or ERP system should own the data.

Put the Logic Where It Belongs

After it’s determined whether the eCommerce or ERP system owns each piece of data, consider the business logic required to process an eCommerce order. ECommerce systems typically include functionality that is duplicated in the ERP, such as item pricing, taxing, and order processing. In considering these redundancies, you should look to keep a business function within the system that is best suited for processing that function.

A great example is tax calculations. In most instances, you can keep the tax calculation function of the ERP, as this is where all order processing occurs. However, if orders entered into the ERP are not taxed and the orders in the eCommerce system are taxed, then it make more sense to have the eCommerce system house the tax calculation logic.

Use the Best ERP Integration Methodology for the Job at Hand

Finally, you should look at ERP integration methodologies. There are a host of options from which to choose, including a simple FTP process, an MQ Series, Web Services, and more. It’s often more beneficial to use an integration methodology that is already being used. This allows for consistency across all projects. We believe that this allows the development team to better understand and support new integration points.

Also, consider how close the data needs to be to real-time, as the closer it is to real-time, the more labor-intensive and costly the integration project becomes. We also like to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible. Over-complicating the integration simply makes everything that much harder, from programming it in the beginning to supporting it after go-live. If you’re keeping everything as simple as possible, it’s usually a good indication that you’ve chosen the best integration method.

Summary

Integrating a B2B eCommerce site to an ERP, such as JD Edwards, can be a challenge, but it’s worth the effort. Getting your back office and eCommerce site to communicate with each other will significantly improve sales interactions for your company. This allows the order management process to become seamless, and data and order information to be easily accessible.

In executing any integration, planning, organizing, and documenting a strategy allows for a much smoother project. So measure twice, cut once, and keep things simple.

If you’re interested in integrating your ERP and B2B eCommerce systems, contact the qualified Briteskies team to see how we can help.
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