After the fair and storage
Three jobs remain once the fair closes: following up visitors, closing the support file, and keeping products and materials in the right place until the next fair. What to know about empties, samples, graphic panels and forwarders' warehouses, and a programme plan for companies attending several fairs a year.
A fair's return is decided not at the fair but in the weeks after it. This section covers the period from dismantling night to the next fair. Let us be clear about storage: we produce the stand for each fair; we do not offer a service of keeping your stand in our warehouse and rebuilding it at the next fair. The storage described below concerns the exhibitor's own goods, empties and forwarders' warehouses.
01
The first week: visitor follow-up
The rule of post-fair follow-up is simple: the earlier, the better. AUMA's guide to trade fair lead management recommends defining before the fair which visitor counts as a prospect and following up as soon as possible afterwards. In practice:
- On dismantling night or the next morning all visitor records are moved into one list; business card photos, form notes and scanner records are merged.
- Records are split in three: hot (asked for a quote or sample), warm (showed interest, need date unclear), information (took a catalogue).
- Hot records are called within three business days and the promised document sent; warm records get a personal e-mail within a week; the information group a thank-you and a product summary.
- Every contact and its outcome goes into the CRM or at least a shared sheet; an unfollowed record is lost.
Collecting visitor data in line with data protection law and commercial message consent is covered in stand staff and lead management.
02
The first month: support file and review
The support application must be filed within 3 months of the end of the fair, but collecting the documents in the first month is easier than hunting for them later: space rental and stand invoices, a bank payment record for each, fair photographs, catalogue, the representative's travel documents. The list is in the fairs abroad and domestic fairs support sections.
In the same month, review the fair: target and actual visitor numbers, number of records, share of hot records, number of quotes, notes on stand and location, what should change at the next edition. This review is one page and becomes the first page of the next brief.
- 3 months
- time after the fair to upload the support file to DYS (Circular art. 7 and 26)
- 10 years
- retention period for the originals of documents uploaded to DYS (Circular art. 47)
Source: Circular on fair supports
Source: Circular on fair supports
Let us set up your support file correctly from the start
We issue the quote and invoice with the line breakdown the Ministry of Trade asks for: design, construction, build, lighting and furniture on separate lines. The stand expense statement, hall photographs and handover record go into your file complete.
03
Storage: what, where, how long
| What | During the fair | After the fair |
|---|---|---|
| Empties (packaging, crates, pallets) | May not be kept on the stand or in service areas; the official forwarder collects, stores and returns them at closing (Messe Düsseldorf rule; at Tüyap they may not be left in the hall either) | Reloaded with the products |
| Products and samples | In the stand's lockable compartment; valuable samples in a locked showcase overnight | Packed on dismantling night, to your address with the forwarder or your own vehicle; abroad, returned under temporary export or the carnet |
| Graphic panels and prints | Mounted on the stand | Separated, packed and shipped to you; tension fabric and lightbox prints can be kept like products |
| Stand structure (frame, walls, floor) | Built | Produced for that fair; after dismantling it is the stand builder's responsibility and is sorted under recycling rules |
| National pavilion goods | The organiser's forwarder distributes to the stand and stores empties | The forwarder stores goods at its Istanbul warehouse for one week after return; longer periods charged (specification) |
| Design and graphic files | With the stand builder | Kept for the next fair; same look, shorter preparation |
At a fair abroad, the return of products depends on the exit document: goods that left under an ATA Carnet return under the same carnet and the same list, goods under a temporary export declaration are closed at customs with an identity check. Samples and catalogues handed out at the fair are struck off the list; do that on dismantling night, not at customs.
Forwarders' warehouses work on daily or weekly tariffs; if the next fair is in the same country a few weeks later, keeping the goods in the forwarder's local warehouse instead of bringing them back to Türkiye and shipping again saves both a customs and a freight step. Plan this option in advance with the forwarder and your customs broker; the carnet validity and the permitted stay in the destination country allow it. Details are in freight, customs and the ATA Carnet.
04
Several fairs a year: how to build the programme
For companies attending three or more fairs a year, fairs are programme management rather than project management. The yearly programme is built in this order:
- Calendar: fair dates go on a chart, and for each fair the build window and freight time are marked backwards; clashing weeks (two fairs in one month) become visible from the start.
- Support plan: at most 5 fairs abroad (10 for micro and small enterprises) and 3 domestic fairs are supported per year; the prestigious claim is 2 a year. Which claim is used at which fair is decided at the start of the year.
- Common graphic language: logo placement, colour, typography and the main message stay fixed through the year; only the products and the language change per fair. This cuts graphic approval from weeks to days.
- Stand layout: each fair gets its own production to the plot size, but the layout logic (meeting area, showcase, storage) stays constant; the design files are the starting point for the next fair.
- Product and sample route: which product goes to which fair, where it stays in between, under which document it leaves and enters; a yearly plan with the forwarder and customs broker.
For companies working to a programme we produce the quote and calendar once at the start of the year; our way of working is on the exhibition stand services page.
05
Frequently asked questions
- Do you keep the stand for the next fair?
No. The stand is produced for each fair; what we keep is the design and graphic files. At the second fair the same look is produced again with shorter preparation and to that plot's size. Your products, samples and graphic panels are shipped to you.
- Can we keep our empties behind the stand?
At German venues, no; empties are stored only through the official forwarder and returned at closing. In Türkiye too, no waste or material may be left in the hall; empties that do not fit the stand's lockable compartment go to the forwarder.
- When should we stop following up a visitor?
A record that does not respond after three contacts moves to the "information" group and is added to the periodic newsletter only if consent was given. No marketing message is sent to a visitor without explicit consent.
- Which numbers should a fair review look at?
Number of records, share of hot records, quotes sent after the fair and business closed within three months. Visitor count alone misleads; a small stand in the right hall produces more quotes than a large stand in a busy but wrong hall.
Sources
- Trade fair lead management guide — AUMA
- Circular on fair supports (art. 7, 26, 47) — Turkish Ministry of Trade
- Messe Düsseldorf technical guidelines: empties storage — Messe Düsseldorf
- ATA Carnet validity and return rules — TOBB
If your fair date is set, the countdown has started
The stand calendar starts the day the plot contract is signed. Send the fair name, date and plot size; within two business days we come back with a concept visual and an itemised quote. Asking for a quote commits you to nothing.