Background

The Noor Exhibition (Riyadh) is the biggest event in the world themed on “light”. Globally renowned Artists and galleries get the opportunity each year to showcase their exhibits, which come in all shapes, sizes, and challenges.

Brief

The Royal Commission of Riyadh City appointed the organiser, Pico, to manage the event, and in turn, Pico appointed EFM as the official logistics provider to manage the complete logistics.

5 venues, 62 exhibits, with 50% based overseas, and a total value of 10M USD.

Knowing the exhibits needed to be in Riyadh in only 3 weeks for the biggest light exhibition in the world meant our reputation was on the line. Failing to meet this challenge would not only impact the Noor Festival but also all future work in Riyadh, so we had to act with urgency.

Delivery

Our KSA team commenced with 1-2-1 meetings with every client to understand each and every shipping requirement and to share timelines and facts on KSA Customs regulations – one of the strictest in the world. During the peak operational period, our operations team were receiving over 300 emails a day across all time zones.

Prior to collecting any exhibits, we had to send an EFM representative to every location to do a condition report. When you factor the exhibit locations, this alone proved a significant challenge on resource. We had to send personnel to Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Slovakia, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Paris, London, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Rome.

Through our network of EFM agents, we were able to condition report, collect, pack, ship, clear and deliver multiple exhibits within 36 hours, door to door. We don’t believe any other logistics provider in KSA is able to achieve such a quick timeline. This is proof of our technical expertise and relationships in place.

Result

Every shipment arrived on time. Our client and their client, Royal Commission of Riyadh City said the logistics was handled the best it’s ever been done before. The Royal Commission of Saudi Arabia is now a major supporter of EFM. The Noor Riyadh event received 16 Guiness World Records.