
	COVER PAGE

	IBT
	Great Days at KS Speedway Nextel Cup Car Ride Winning the Sales Game On Track With Customers

	ISG
	IBT Listens to Purchasers

	IMT
	Line 'Em Up

	MATERIAL HANDLING
	Motoman Robots Now You See Them…

	PT
	Tough Jobs May Not Last Polyurethane PT Belts

	FLUID POWER
	Importance of Filtration New ANVER Components

	GENERAL INDUSTRIAL
	Getting Started

	IBT MEDIA
	A City's Great Yesterdays All About Ethanol DVD

	ELECTRICAL
	IBT Vendors Score High Shop & TV Studio Shine Don't Be In The Dark Spend and Save

	RUBBER
	IBT Belt Services

	TRAINING
	School Days at IBT ABCs of AC/DC Hydraulic Training

	SAFETY
	Harley® Loyalty CrVI Compliance Dangerous Work

Staying On Track With Customers

IBT developed custom-built and specialized technology to keep track of some 2,000 visitors during TECH X 500. It was based on a bar coding system, numerous scanner reading stations, real time number crunching, wireless interactivity and database management.

The objective was a simple one: make it easy for guests. Let them register in seconds for door prizes, check in quickly at the main entrance, sign in for their training seminars and easily tell exhibitors what types of assistance and information they need.

In some ways, the technical background for the program was pretty straightforward. IBT keeps track of hundreds of thousands of individual SKUs in the warehouse, branches and at integrated service locations. So the idea of tracking 2,000 live people was not much of a challenge.

The key was assigning each of the attendees a unique identifying "SKU" and creating a master database with all of their particulars: name, company, title, contact information, etc. An individual barcode, using a format similar to that used on UPC (Universal Product Code) was made part of each guest's credentials.

Then, each attendee was issued a nifty name badge (with barcode included) on a colorful lanyard. A quick pass with the barcode-reading scanner was all that was needed to process the guest.

When the barcode name badge was scanned, the exhibitor's laptop displayed the customer's particulars and the central database noted where the guest was. Vendors, who were linked through laptops, were also able to add key information at the time of scan. For instance, the vendor could note that the guest needed product information, application help, a sales call, technical support, catalog literature - or any other aid or assistance.
Tech X barcode scanning

As guests registered and qualified for prizes, the central database noted that too. With hundreds of gifts up for grabs - including nearly 400 Racing Experience Ride-Alongs - control was important. The system was set up to make sure that winners were notified promptly and that no one guest won multiple major prizes.

Although for the most part the system was not complicated, there was one significant challenge: geography. With a centralized media center headquarters, a main registration tent and two separate buildings for exhibitors, the event was spread over multiple buildings and dispersed over nearly ten acres. Because of the area, the multiple buildings and the construction materials used, there was some question about the range of wireless transmissions.

To solve the problems, IBT set up multiple repeaters and linked them. With the laptops at each scanning station operating in a wireless mode and a dedicated wireless network throughout the event, all data was captured and transferred immediately.

Perhaps the most critical element in the whole equation was the database. Building it from guest registration information, IBT captured the key data when each prospective guest registered. Much of the registration was online, through www.ibtinc.com.

With registration being held in advance of the event, credentials were prepared for guest pick-up at Kansas Speedway. When guests arrived at TECH X 500 for the first time, all they had to do was collect their guest id, have their barcode scanned to check in and start enjoying the full range of available activities. If they returned on another day, a quick scan checked them in for that day as well.

Online registration was cut off several days before the actual date, so late registrants had to collect their materials at a special will-call desk. Those who had not had an opportunity to pre-register were able to get signed up on the day. Even this process was not too time consuming, because of the infrastructure that IBT had in place to cover that eventuality.

The major reason behind the whole barcode plan was to make the entire process quick and easy for the guests. However, there were also a number of advantages for IBT and for exhibiting vendors. The key ones had to do with speed and accuracy of information gathered. There were no scrawled notes, individual registration forms, random business cards, scraps of paper or napkins containing information that made perfect sense one day - and no sense the next time one looked at it.

All the requests were captured. This gave the vendors a complete and detailed record of each visitor to their booth, and clear information about what actions were needed for follow-up.

With the information being shared between IBT and the vendors, both parties were on top of the customers' needs - which assured both prompt and thorough follow-up.

IBT will use the newly developed barcode trade show management system at their numerous events throughout the year. It may also be offered to vendors and other organizations on a rental basis.

To learn more about this barcoding system, contact IBT.




	To learn more about IBT products and services, contact us today!