AGENDA
Navigating the unknown
Full service provider GES and the Event Supplier and Services
Association weigh in on the constantly evolving question of Brexit
Jason Stead, managing director – UK
and Middle East at GES
16
May’s deal gets the thumbs down
as I write. The only thing I know for
certain is that uncertainty is the new
norm. So how to navigate the unknown?
GES’ scale, resources and global reach give us a
vital head start in our preparations for Brexit – hard
or soft. Our footprint in mainland Europe affords us
crucial cover on the ground. We have people, resources,
production facilities and a proven network of local
suppliers to ensure that our European shows and
customers enjoy uninterrupted service provision.
Our UK shows are supported locally from our UK
offices and we have the team and scale here to minimise
any disruption. However, we are far from complacent.
The free movement of goods and people has been hugely
beneficial for our business, removing complexity and
cost. Planning and delivery cycles for products may
lengthen, so we are building up high-demand stock
at our UK warehouses to cover potential delays and
liaising closely with exhibitors and partners.
International travel may be affected by lengthened
passport, visa and customs checks – but we view this
as a short-term issue around the time of departure.
Our teams already work in 45-plus countries every
year – regularly outside the EU. Our international travel
partners and logistic teams have extensive experience
getting us to all manner of locations, with all the
necessary visas, permits and paperwork – on time and
ready to deliver.
We are on alert but calm; increasing communication
with our partners, extending our planning cycles,
mobilising our teams on the ground and leveraging our
global network. Not quite business as usual, but pretty
close.
February 2019 | exhibitionnews.co.uk
Andrew Harrison, director of ESSA
Our goal, over the last two and
a half years, has been to stimulate
discussion amongst our members
about the repercussions of Brexit. We’ve
encouraged them to reflect both on their
businesses and the industry as a whole. We’ve listened
to expert speakers at member events, hosted webinars
and distributed all the pertinent government Brexit
advice and updates. We’ve passed on relevant reports
from respected financial groups, and I believe we’ve
done a good job of keeping our members abreast of
developments.
Engaging with the government has met with some
success. Our communications with key personnel
and departments has been acknowledged and we
have been recognised as speaking for our significant
membership of 250 companies on very specific topics.
The response from the government, however, has
been underwhelming. The replies can be seen on our
website, but they can be largely summarised as ‘it is only
responsible to plan for every eventuality.’ For two years’
worth of advice, it’s easy to see why some companies are
frustrated at the lack of certainty.
More than three-quarters of our members are small
businesses, and the government’s advice is not realistic
for them. Planning for ‘every eventuality’ costs money
and time – for small business that means diverting
precious resources to try and hit a moving target.
At the time of writing this, the government has just
experienced the largest defeat of any sitting government
since records began. The withdrawal agreement that
would have given us some clarity and certainty was
resoundingly rejected, leaving us none the wiser and
seemingly in exactly the same place as when Article 50
was invoked.
By the time this goes to print, we may be beyond the
‘deal or no deal’ scenario…we may even be lining up for
another trip to the ballot box. Regardless of peoples’
opinions of what the country is going through, the
political landscape in the UK has changed forever. We
will not, in my opinion, see the back of this process
for a generation or more. This makes it very hard
at this time for ESSA to predict what additional
support to businesses in membership and the
wider event community will be needed in the
future, but we will continue to meet every
challenge as we have done before, keeping our
community of members fully informed, raising
their awareness and representing them at the
highest level.