Vendor Scheduling for Music Festival Sites.

A popular music festival may have hundreds of vendors booked to service the anticipated number of festival-goers. The efficient site scheduling of so many vendors is a crucial part of the festival build up and breakdown process. What are the key factors that organisers need to consider in their vendor planning and scheduling logistics. 

Vendors attending music festivals can vary from food and beverage suppliers to merchandise and other goods and services. Each vendor may have a specific set of requirements and needs in order to operate their businesses and organisers will usually do their best to fulfil any requirements. In addition to vendors organisers also have to handle stage construction and other temporary structure contractors who require site access. With so many requirements and a high volume of traffic over a condensed period all movements need to be carefully scheduled to ensure a smooth build up and breakdown process. 

Vendor Planning. 
During the festival planning phase organisers will accept vendor applications and in many cases pitch spaces can be oversubscribed. A process of selection will take place to select the most appropriate and relevant vendors based on previous experience, sustainability credentials and range of goods/services and prices. The objective is to get a variety of vendors that match the festival-goer profile with a price range that fits all budgets. Once agreed each vendor will sign a contract or agreement confirming details about their pitch size and location. Organisers will place vendors in zones that are logical within the overall site layout making it easy for visitors to find what they want and for vendors to maximise sales opportunities. 

Scheduling Vendors. 
Depending on the pitch size, location and infrastructure requirements vendors will be given a scheduled arrival and departure time. Organisers will stagger scheduled times to minimise site congestion and vendor transport will be issued with access passes that also specify timing schedules and gate numbers. It’s not unusual for some food and beverage vendors to need regular deliveries of fresh produce over a multi-day event and organisers will also have to incorporate these into their schedules and transport movements. Most festival organisers now use sophisticated scheduling software to help them organise their vendors and a good event management software solution will also include vendor scheduling functionality. 

Vendor Coordination and Communication. 
Organisers of larger festivals will have a staff member responsible for managing vendors from booking through to scheduling and infrastructure supplies like water and electricity. In the build-up and break down period of the festival site this individual will focus on the vendor transport and logistics scheduling which requires a dynamic approach to make allowances for early and late deliveries. They will also be responsible for communication and coordination of all vendors to keep them up to date on issues like local traffic congestion or entrance gate changes for example. 

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics including a dedicated vendor module with scheduling and accreditation management. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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