The Marketplace standBystand solving major pain point(S) in stand-building World

During the beMatrix Winter Academy 2019, there was one thing that became apparent, the stand-building environment is changing at an alarming rate. With rules and regulations tightening and sustainability no longer being a cliché word used simply to make oneself feel “green”.

Projects are being confirmed at the last minute which makes finding the right labour force to build stands harder and harder to find. However, there’s good news! The standBystand marketplace was created to solve this and many of the problems in the industry. In the series of following articles, I will explain how standBystand is solving major pain points in the industry.

During the presentation at beMatrix HQ one would expect people to go on their mobile devices and begin to answer emails, scroll through social media or private message their contacts. To my surprise, attendees were listening attentively and taking photos of the slides. After the presentation, I heard someone say, “Yeah, the struggle is real!” Just another confirmation the industry is bleeding for change.

Due to the industry being highly seasonal, there’s an overflow of work in the high season and hardly any work during the low season. A mobile workforce can quickly become expensive and not cost effective, especially when calculating transportation costs, accommodations and catering. Of course one might object that these costs are all irrelevant as it’s the client who ultimately pays; however, being able to offer a competitive price, which may be hundreds or even thousands of Euros cheaper, is another great way to create a reputation and stand out in the market.

When people hear the word sustainability, they initially think environmentally friendly which equals higher costs. But remember using methods that are long-term and can save thousands of Euros, the concept of sustainability suddenly doesn’t sound so bad!

Hiring abroad is still highly risky, and as the Dutch say. “Je weet maar nooit wat je zou krijgen” (You never know what you’re going to get).

To make matters worse, the majority of stand-building companies have no idea the type of paperwork is needed in order to be in compliance with all the employment rules and regulations in the European Union.

I’ve worked on standBystand for two years now and I have come across many issues and challenges that the industry is facing. The deeper I go down the rabbit hole, the more evident it becomes that the stand-building industry is in grave need of a change. Of course all stand-building companies have pools of their own freelancers workers, middle man, via-via connections or agencies; however, these methods don’t solve the problem. The costs still run high and companies have to spend countless hours that in the long run cost more. By having a viable database of freelancers on the standBystand platform, clients now have a long term sustainable solution.

It happens far to often that companies are stuck with freelancers that are lackluster. Often freelancers don’t have the basic equipment needed to do the work, or turn up as professionals while having less than six months of experience or worst case scenario not show up to the job site at all. Let’s also remind ourselves that older generations are getting older and that dream stand-builder that travels throughout EU is slowly coming to an end.

Above recurring issues have left, what seems to be, a permanent scar in the industry.

This is where standBystand comes in, by offering full transparency and control right at your fingertips. I still hear comments like “it is not possible that freelancers come to you”. However, we are here to show you that it is possible to work in stand-building industry without a high level of uncertainty.

Lack of transparency, ability to build long lasting trust and accountability are the three key points where it all starts or ends. By building the platform standBystand, stand-building companies can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In the meanwhile if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at Jakob@standBystand.com. If you are interested in hearing more about the platform and the challenges in the industry, I will be giving another lecture at BOE International in Dortmund on January 15, 2020, and we will also have a booth at EUROSHOP 2020.