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We deliver stand builds and goods to fairs at ExCeL London around the venue time slots, with post-Brexit customs and a buffer in our UK warehouse. ExCeL sits at One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL, in east London. We plan delivery to the hour and handle the return after the event.
Delivery to ExCeL step by step
- Qualifying the load. We split the goods into those returning home (ATA carnet or temporary admission) and those staying in the UK (a standard export and an import declaration). The document set depends on that split.
- Documents and customs. An EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number, an invoice or value list, a CMR consignment note, an ATA carnet or customs declarations. We generate the GMR in the GVMS system before the crossing; without it the vehicle cannot board the ferry or Eurotunnel (GOV.UK).
- Times from the exhibitor manual. Access, build-up and unloading hours are set by the organiser and the venue, and large events require vehicle bookings. We do not guess: we check the exhibitor manual for the given edition and confirm the slots when we take the job.
- Buffer at Milton Keynes. Goods can arrive at our warehouse early and wait safely, instead of betting that a full truck from the continent will hit the exact window.
- Final leg into London. A smaller vehicle goes to the venue, selected for the London ULEZ low emission zone (Transport for London) and for the realities of unloading on site, on a specific day and hour.
- The return after the fair. Collecting the build after breakdown, exit from the UK, discharge of the ATA carnet and the transport home, planned together with the delivery.
Definitions
- ATA carnet: a customs document for temporary admission, valid for up to 12 months and accepted in more than 80 countries and territories of the ATA system (ICC).
- GMR (Goods Movement Reference): a reference from the UK GVMS system that groups the customs declarations for the whole vehicle at the border.
- Slot (vehicle booking): a time window agreed with the venue; check the rules for your edition in the exhibitor manual.
- Warehouse buffer: placing the goods in a UK warehouse early, so the delivery to the hall lands exactly in its window.
Exhibitor checklist for ExCeL
- Build-up and breakdown windows confirmed against the exhibitor manual.
- A goods list split into: returns home / stays in the UK.
- ATA carnet arranged in advance, EORI number ready for the declarations.
- Exhibit insurance above the carrier liability limit of the CMR Convention (Article 23(3): 8.33 SDR per kilogram).
- A return plan: who collects the stand, when and with what vehicle.
What do you lose without a plan?
ExCeL is a venue in the middle of a city: a late truck will not wait outside the hall forever, and a shifted unload means a build crew counting hours and a stand that is not ready on time. A missing GMR stops the vehicle before the crossing. An undischarged ATA carnet becomes a demand for duty and VAT after the show. That is why a London delivery is planned backwards, from the hour the stand has to be ready.
The OTSL role
As a freight forwarder we run the whole job: transport from the continent, customs and the ATA carnet, the crossing with a GMR, the buffer at our Milton Keynes warehouse, the final leg to ExCeL by a smaller vehicle and the post-show logistics. See exhibition logistics, our UK warehousing and the guides London fairs and Brexit, ATA carnet for trade fairs and GVMS and GMR step by step, or write through the contact form.
