< PreviousCONFERENCING30Business Link www.blmforum.netB is for Business: If it’s a businessconference, try and remember that.Booking celebrities is great foraudience numbers but make surethey have something significant tosay too.C is for Catering: Too often a limpbuffet that’s been left out too long iswhat greets those who have spent allmorning listening attentively whiletheir stomachs have been rumbling.The look of disappointment thatcrosses many people’s faces whenthey spot the food is not up toscratch is one we are sick of seeing.Simple, great quality food is essential.D is for Delegates: Forget aboutwhat your guests want and youmight as well not bother with theevent at all. Address what is relevantand remain topical in what you planout. Also, avoid using the samespeakers every year. Much likemusic festivals, if the same bandheadlines year in, year out, peoplewill seek fulfilment elsewhere andyou may see dwindling audiencefigures.E is for Education: One thing we’veseen creep into conferences recentlyis the inclusion of local schools oruniversities. Allowing students with agenuine interest in subjects beingdiscussed to sit in on relevantspeeches is not only beneficial forthe students and for the conference’sreputation, but might also elicit somewell thought-out questions from ayounger perspective that theexperienced delegates might nothave considered to ask.F is for Friendly: Make conferenceswelcoming. From the moment adelegate arrives to the second theyleave, they should be treated likeguests. Remember, no delegates, noevent after all.G is for Golf: Golf clubs arefantastic places to hold conferencesor events. With plush surroundings,even those not into the game, theyThe A to Z of conferencingThe A to Z of conferencingAis for Aspiration: A goodconference should inspireambition and a striving forgreatness. A good quality ofexhibitors and a dazzlingspeaker line up is therefore amust.PHOTO: CONFERENCE AND HOSPITALITY SHOWPlanning a conference or event can be a challenge, so here’s our handy A-Z guide on points to remember for 2014.30-34:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:30 Page 1Business Link 31www.blmforum.netCONFERENCINGThe Thornbury CentreFor more informaon call 01274 666649www.thornburycentre.com CONFERENCEFACILITIESANDMEETINGROOMSCONVENIENTFORLEEDSANDBRADFORDoften exude a style that suits conferences that want to showoff the affluence of an area or highlight the leisure offering ofa region. After it’s all done, those who fancy a round are in fora treat too.H is for History: Historical venues offer a talking point thatmean you have a starting point for conversations taking placeand in the case of a lot of venues, make for great settings too.It means that guests not from the area can see a portion oflocal heritage up close and equally gives the locals a view intoareas they might not be familiar with.I is for Information: Making things clear is essential.Confusing maps, and lack of any schedule for speakers exceptburied in a programme people may or may not have receivedis not good enough. Make it clear, concise and available bothon the day and prior to the event, both online and in print.J is for Jokes: Remember, a conference is often a socialevent for many, breaking up the levity with some humour canoften work wonders. Make sure at least one of your speakershas a sense of humour, to sit all day listening to serious andfrank discussion can put a lot of people off. Conversely, don’tfill the day with people who can’t take themselves seriously, itcan look unprofessional. L is for Logistics: We’ve said it before, but testing and thenre-testing technical aspects of your event are essential. We’velost count of laptops malfunctioning, microphones hissingand squealing with feedback and lights going out. Every timeit happens, a groan travels through the room and no amountof smart remarks can make it seem OK. Get serious when itcomes to equipment and don’t rely on dated technology.M is for Magazines: At Business Link, we partner withcountless shows to ensure your message gets out, butmaking people aware on every level is obviously important.Preview the event via the media and you’ll have peoplelooking forward to the event. Interviews with keynote speakersbefore and after can make a one-day event or conference lastfor a long time.N is for Nights Out: Why not carry on the conference intothe evening? Several events we’ve been to recently havecarried on the social aspect long into the evening. It’s achance for delegates to get to know each other on a differentlevel. It’s also a great chance for any doubts to be allayed orconfirmed from really making sure whether you can dobusiness with someone or not.O is for Opinions: Allowing a question and answer sessionis something that more conferences need to allow. To havethe most distinguished speakers gathered all in one placeK is for Keeping their attention: Makingshort, snappy sessions the norm is fastbecoming common at events we head to. Goneare the long two and half hour sessions wherespeakers drone on. In vogue now are quick, to-the-point sessions where a clear message isdelivered with panache. 33 PHOTO: CONFERENCE AND HOSPITALITY SHOW30-34:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:30 Page 23 STAR PACKAGE4 STAR PACKAGE5 STAR PACKAGEat the Royal Armouries Museum+ VAT per person+ VAT per person+ VAT per personMain Meeting Room Hire (8am - 5.30pm)Registration Refreshments - Tea & CoffeeSandwiches with Tea & CoffeeAfternoon Refreshments - Tea & CoffeeMain Meeting Room Hire (8am - 5.30pm)Dedicated Event ManagerRegistration Refreshments -Tea, Coffee & Biscuits1 Course Buffet Lunch with Tea & CoffeeAfternoon Refreshments - Tea, Coffee & BiscuitsData Projector & ScreenFree Public Wifi Conference Package Deals in LeedsRoyal Armouries (International) plc Armouries Drive, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS10 1LTWeb: www.rai-events.co.uk Email: enquiries@rai-events.co.ukTel: 0113 220 1990 Fax: 0113 220 1997Quality CountsMain Meeting Room Hire (8am - 5.30pm)Dedicated Event ManagerFruit Bowls at all Refreshment BreaksRegistration Refreshments - Tea, Coffee, Fruit Juice, Mineral Water & Danish PastriesMid-Morning Refreshments - Tea, Coffee & Biscuits2 Course Buffet Lunch with Tea & Coffee, Fruit Juice, Mineral WaterAfternoon Refreshments - Tea, Coffee, Fruit Juice, Mineral Water & Mini CakesData Projector & ScreenLectern & Microphone, PA System suitable for the room hired (applicable for numbers over 60 delegates)AV Technician (8am - 5.30pm)Free Public Wifi 30-34:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:30 Page 3Business Link 33www.blmforum.netCONFERENCINGSome of the best conferencing facilities in the NorthCasa at a glance:Our eleven meeting rooms are purpose built to offer you the latest in conferencing solutions. We are able to accommodate from 2 to 280 delegates and all of our meeting rooms have floor to ceiling windows for maximum daylight, air conditioning, complimentary high speed Wi-Fi, data projection and 32” LCD televisions. Our dedicated events team will work with you to ensure you get the right package for your conference.Recently voted 4th best hotel in the UK.• Free high speed Wi-Fi & Parking • 100 deluxe bedrooms • Located just 6 miles from Junction 29 of the M1 • East Midlands Airport 40mins by car Capacity for up to 280 delegates • Award winning foodLockoford Lane, Chesterfield, S41 7JB 01246 245 999 events@casahotels.co.uk www.casahotels.co.uk without hearing from them replying toimportant questions is an opportunitysquandered. Make time for debate, it’ssometimes the only reason peopleturn up.P is for Perfection: Something isbound to go awry, a speaker can’tmake it, half of the food fails to arrive,a power cut. Striving for perfection isall very well, but we are yet to visit aperfect, conference where everythingruns to plan, so don’t stress it.Q is for Quality: Is your conferencegoing to come across as animpressive, well thought-out affair oris it going to be a barely-there dampsquib? Looking at it through an honestpair of eyes before it happens shouldgive you solid answers. The old adageof ‘Work hard, play hard’ should applyhere, the hard work will pay off on theday, allowing you to enjoy the socialaspect in your own deserved time.R is for Rural: Yorkshire andLincolnshire have a serious amount ofspace available and rural conferencevenues are proving to be more of adraw these days. If you are holding itaway from cities then arrangingtransport links is essential. Weighingup the benefits of a green andpleasant vista over the concrete greyof a city can be difficult, but plan it forthe conference setting you trulyenvision it to be.S is for Social Media: Get this partof conferencing right and people willbe talking about the event before iteven happens and for a long timeafter. Start hype via a catchy hashtagand monitor conversations,interjecting with comments promotingit now and again. Combine with printmedia and website promotion andyou’ll no doubt make a lasting impact.34 PHOTO: CONFERENCE AND HOSPITALITY SHOW30-34:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:30 Page 4CONFERENCING34Business Link www.blmforum.netwww.magc.co.ukYORKSHIRE GOLF & BUSINESS FESTIVAL 2014The first ever event of its kind in the UK will be held at Moor Allerton GC, 25th to 27th May - a superb opportunity to reach an affluent audience of over 10,000.Top speakers from the world of business and sport arethe icing on the cake for this unique event whichwill be supporng an amazing 15 charies, with a substanal part of the income going directly to those charies.For exhibitor opportunies and informaon please email Paul Collins, Director of Sales & Markeng at paul.collins@magc.co.ukCorporate Golf Days 27 hole championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr Dedicated Golf Operaons Team For a successful golf experience your clients will talk about for months to comeE: james.whitaker@magc.co.ukT: 0113 266 5209Conference & Seminars Full conference and business facilies Meeng rooms from 20 to 180, full catering services Large free car park 10 miles from Leeds Bradford Airport, 7 miles from Leeds City CentreEinfo@magc.co.ukT is for Ticketing: Why not makeyour event free? To truly gather asmany people in one place as you can,making an event gratis is a great idea.Inflated prices just put people off.U is for Understated: Making aconference anything other than what itis can seem tacky and misplaced.People generally have an idea of whythey are attending, going off-messageis likely to put them off. A classy, sleekevent doesn’t hammer home themessage or agenda, merely hints at it.Try and remain calm.V is for Vision: Have a clear aim foryour conference. An overall themehelps people focus so get eachspeaker to address the issue you needto get across to people in theirspeeches or at least engineerquestions to be asked after eachspeech that give ample opportunitiesto spell out the message. To simplyinvite people to speak without an aimis short-sighted.W is for Wake up!: Starting the dayoff with a gradual pace is best, whowants to be rushed into a heavydebate at 9am sharp? No, a coffee andnetworking session to begin withmeans those who have travelled orare delayed can settle in for aneffective day of learning and insight.X is for X marks the spot: In otherwords, location, location, location.Make sure you pick the right venue,too small and you will all be elbowingeach other for a decent seat or spot tolisten to speakers. Too large and it willhave zero atmosphere, with soundand energy being sapped. Y is for Yes: Staying positive is theway to go. If a speaker wants toattempt something different with theirspeech, why not take a chance?Equally, if question and answersessions look like turning into anexciting event, lunch can wait. Beadaptable and respond to what youthink the room wants. Remaining onschedule for the sake of finishing ontime is short-sighted if there are realpoints with clarity to be made. Zis for Zzzzz: Try andkeep the energy up all day,there’s a real chance of amid-afternoon lull at eventsand business conferences.Make sure that the heatingisn’t stifling the speaker aswell as a flagging audienceand make sure water andcoffee are in plentiful supply.To let a conference just takeits course once people are intheir seats is to abandon allhope of it being a success.30-34:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:30 Page 5BUSINESS SCENEA night at theRound TableScunthorpe Round Table has for many years brought together business people fromacross North Lincolnshire to network, swap ideas and raise money for local charities. Onepopular way in which they do this is through their annual Christmas ball which this yearwas held at the Wortley House Hotel.Illustrating the Round Table’s role in the community, guests were entertained by theBarnetby 24 Piece Silver Band who got everyone in the festive spirit. Live music and araffle also helped with the party mood and ensured they could make a major contributionto the group’s charities.Business Link 35www.blmforum.netPHOTOS BY RICHARD PICKSLEYPitois andCaron LoicMike Smith, Round Table President, with VicePresident Chaz Hundal and Chairman Aman OthiLiam Fox, Hannah Band,Paul and Tracy FoxJackie and JohnBurtonMike Smith andAman OthiChaz andRaj HundalDarren and Maddy Turner, Grant andJacqueline Gibson, Bali and Amy KailaLyndsey Brown, Carrie andKirsty Reeve, Cara MajorSatvir, Seamar and JaskarnMark andDebbie Kerswill35:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:30 Page 1SUPPLY CHAIN36Business Link www.blmforum.netAs the supply chainbecomes more complicated,companies at every linkneed to consider theeffectiveness of theirpoliciesYorkshire and Lincolnshire hasestablished itself as a leading logisticshub for numerous companies, but withthis comes a host of requirements.Storage specialists need to ensure thatsafety and hygiene aren’t compromised,warehouse operators have arequirement that products are easy toretrieve and move and distributionspecialists must guarantee that securityand traceability are a top priority atevery step of the way.Supply chains have become morefragmented in recent years, withconsolidation across territories apparent– and in our region that’s clear with thehuge number of nationalitiesrepresented in the HGVs that traverseour motorways. In addition, a numberof companies are now making use ofnetworks that can spread across a hugearea, rather than having vehiclespermanently on standby.There are obvious advantages withthis approach. In the past everythingwas carried out in-house but these daysoutsourcing and collaboration havebecome much more common, allowingfor huge savings to be made inmaintaining and managing large scalewarehouses and an extensive fleet ofvehicles. This approach also hasobvious environmental benefits, asvehicles are only used when they’rerequired and can save space bytransporting goods from numerouscompanies at once. However, thisOne of the highest profileevents in our region hasbeen the opening of thenew 33,500 sq ft £2 millionwarehouse facility onTinsley Park Road by DBLLogisticsStrengtheningthe chain36-38:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:32 Page 1Business Link 37www.blmforum.netSUPPLY CHAINwhich means companies can deployand run software in the cloud withoutthe expense of a specific ITinfrastructure.It’s of particular value for smallbusinesses as it means they can offerthe same services as the majormultinationals – all the services theyrequire can be offered on a cloud basisand purchased as and when required,without needing excessive upfrontinvestment. It’s highly likely that PaaSwill take on increased importance in thenext few years as software becomesmore advanced and companies chooseto make use of PaaS rather thanupgrading their software every fewmonths – and can make it easier forumbrella organisations and networksacross the supply chain to worktogether in an efficient manner.Customers need to be assured thatdespite lengthening supply chains,there is no effect on the quality of theservices being offered. The key istherefore to offer up the higheststandards, with staff development andquality assurance major factors.Working to internationally-recognisedqualifications like the BRC GlobalStandards can illustrate this perfectly,demonstrating to customers that theirproducts will be kept in a safe,regulated environment, with highlytrained personnel to oversee its care.Karen Mosley of freight managementcompany 512 (Sheffield) points out,“When operating in freight management38 brings with it issues of traceability andit’s vital that, when making use ofnetworks and pooled resources,everyone involved can accurately locateand identify the specific products atevery step of the way.Happily the rise of consolidation andoutsourcing has gone hand in hand withimprovements in software which meanthat performance and maintenance canbe monitored at every stage of thesupply chain, and remotely fromanywhere in the world.Software as a Service, or SaaS as it’sknown, has become hugely importantfor smaller companies in the supplychain and now a number are makinguse of PaaS – Platform as a Service – toinnovate still further. This is a cloud-computing platform, provided online,The Huntsman Depot is thefirst independently ownedbuilding since DBLLogistics launched thecompanyKaren Mosley of 512(Sheffield) receiving thecompany’s prize at the2012 BIFA awards withformer Olympic runnerDerek Redmond36-38:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:32 Page 2SUPPLY CHAIN38Business Link www.blmforum.netthe quality standard accreditations arevital in providing companies with theconfidence that we can deliver theirproducts to customers around theworld in a professional and efficientmanner. Exporting and importing canbe a daunting prospect for anybusiness, so to have the knowledge thatthis area of operations is in safe hands,can make the process a lot smoother.”512 (Sheffield) are finalists in in theStaff Development category at the BritishInternational Freight Association Awards,which is open to companies which aredeveloping, or have implemented, a newcomprehensive staff developmentprogramme – an illustration of the workthat is put in regarding training andemployee engagement.Sheffield is one of the main logisticshubs in the UK and a number ofcompanies are taking advantage of thatwith improved facilities. One of thehighest profile has been the opening ofthe new 33,500 sq ft £2 millionwarehouse facility on Tinsley Park Roadby DBL Logistics, named after BenjaminHuntsman, the inventor andmanufacturer of crucible steel, whosefactory was previously on the site.David Clarkson, managing director ofDBL Logistics, says, “The HuntsmanDepot will be our first independentlyowned building since we launched thecompany. It will double our capacity tosix thousand pallets and support thecompany’s continued growth. We havefurther plans to expand the site byanother 16,500 sq ft in the future, sothis is a really exciting time for us andthe logistics sector in the Sheffield CityRegion.”HSBC Bank provided a £1.8 millionfinance package to support thedevelopment, while local architects SLADesign and HP Construction helpedcomplete the build of the new site. Aspart of the investment, DBL Logisticshas increased its fleet of vehicles from15 to 25, added two new staff andinstalled a warehouse managementsystem from Clydebuilt BusinessSolutions. This system will enable thewarehouse to deliver and integrate withthe businesses it works with, physicallymanaging individual items, includingBBE date, Lot/Batch number control,and FIFO management and thusproviding total traceability – a vitalrequirement for companies wishing towin major contracts.The huge value for Yorkshire andLincolnshire when it comes to winningsupply chain contracts is that it canoffer a fully multimodal solution,transporting goods via road, via rail andvia sea. The recent changes in themanagement of ABP’s Humber Portsand the expansion of the GrimsbyRiverside Terminal have beenintroduced to provide additionalflexibility for companies to benefit fromall the advantages our part of the worldgives when transferring goodsoverseas.The ports in our region can offercomplete supply chain solutions, asillustrated by ABP being nominatedalongside the GBA Group ofImmingham in the recent GlobalAutomotive Supply Chain Awards. ABPhas invested over £26 million intosafeguarding the future of the Port ofGrimsby while GBA have invested into anew technical facility, IT infrastructureand staff to support new and existingcustomers in the Humber, which meansthey can offer total end-to-end vehiclelogistics services from Port andTerminal operations to vehicleprocessing to vehicle delivery via roadtransportation.Innovations at every link of the supplychain are ensuring that money andenergy is saved without any decrease inthe quality and security of the productsbeing transported. It’s the best of bothworlds for manufacturers, retailers andconsumers alike.PHOTO COURTESY 512 (SHEFFIELD)/SHEFFIELD INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT TERMINAL36-38:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:32 Page 3Business Link 39www.blmforum.netADVANCED ENGINEERING UK2013Boasting a record total attendance of some 12,000, coming from alltiers and parts of the advanced engineering supply chain, this year’sshow achieved yet again impressive year on year growth, recording amassive 30% attendance increase on its successful 2012 event.Already one of Europe’s most important annual advanced engineeringsector showcases for technology innovation, processes and industrysupply chain capability, the Advanced Engineering UK2013 group ofevents, held this year for the first time within the NEC’s cavernous Hall5, brought together five interlinked shows representing priority UK highvalue engineering and technology sectors – Aero Engineering Show,Composites Engineering Show, Automotive Engineering Show, AutoElectronics and Printable Electronics for Industry.Ian Stone, Managing Director of show organisers UK Tech Events,says, “This year the event has seen its biggest ever turnout from allpoints across the UK’s advanced engineering and technology sectors.With UK industry more upbeat than ever about growth opportunities in40 Record attendance atAdvanced Engineering UK 2013Multiple sectors within the UK’s advanced engineering and high value manufacturing communityconverged in record numbers at the NEC in Birmingham at the Advanced Engineering UK 2013group of events39-41:Layout 1 19/12/13 13:33 Page 1Next >