IELA's New Website

Success achieved

Website

www.iela.org

Project dates

2016 - 2020

Project team

• Elizabeth Niehaus, Executive Officer
• Yannis Yusof, Membership | Events
• Anne Kühl, Events
• Alina Harnisch, Events | PR & Marketing  | Sponsorships

Tools & Systems

• Typo3 - Provides the basis for our website, it enables us to present our online presence according to our business needs. This Software for the Website allows us to edit and create the complete Content Management in only one platform. The benefit about it, is that it is adaptable – you can start small and grow very big and still work with the same software. 
• FileZiller - A free FTP solution for file transfer of large sized documents.
• Google Analytics - Enables you to carry out a continuous analysis and statistical evaluation of your website by integrating a tracking code into the code of your website. 

Introduction

IELA's website build in 1998 was very basic. In the 90’s it was innovative but since the digitalization did not stopped to develop and grew quickly in the next 10 years it did not met anymore the industry needs and did not showed the real value of IELA. In order to move with the times, two more websites were created to comply with the needs of our Members: One website for the association itself showing news and information about us, one website for the event registration and one website for our IELA Standard survey evaluation. 

Clearly, three websites are difficult to keep updated an moreover this was not user-friendly at all. The goal was then to create a platform to serve the industry and to create an attractive internet presence, once to win new members, to establish new partnerships with other associations and organizers and of course to create a room to connect them amongst each other.

Objectives

From the very beginning, it was the goal of the association to offer benefits to the entire industry: IELA Members and IELA Customers (Organisers, Venue Owners and Exhibitors).

The Members Zone and the organisers & exhibitor portals build accurate platforms delivering content & support:

• Safety and security are key elements for both contractors involved in the physical movement of materials to and from an exhibition site and those providing customs clearance, lifting, handling, trucking and storage services on-site.
• IELA serves as a valuable platform in members‘ day-to-day business in order to meet the representatives of global exhibition freight forwarders.
• IELA members seek an environment which fosters general discussion and the exchange of experiences. The goal is to provide valuable industry information for those who may have just entered on the market or those who have been serving it for decades.

Timeline

2016: 

• Simple login procedure
• One company - one account plus employee management
• Easy maintenance of basic company and personal data profile
• Use of company and person profiles across all pages
• One-time registration across all pages
• Presentation of information across pages in different places
• Latest Typo3 version with current security standards uniform design
• Show-wise responsive appearance for all mobile devices
• A member zone - member does not have to leave iela.org
• Programming guidelines
• Summary of the sites ilea.org, iela-events.com and ielasurveys.com
• Responsive appearance for PC, tablet and smartphone
• Uniform new design across all pages
• The website structure of IELA.org remains the same; new navigation point 
• Member area: Surveys, Events, Industry Information
• Integration into the overall appearance | responsive
• New navigation point in the member area | iela.org -> "Surveys"
• After calling up ielasurveys.com log-in mask within iela.org
• Survey results (individual results companies & affiliates) can be accessed on the start page 'Surveys' (IELA admin determines which results are visible)

2017:

• Organizer Portal
• Online Membership Update Form
• Online Membership Application Process
• Website Updates: IELA Surveys, Events
• User Adaption & Registration 
• Implementation of FlipViewer for the upload of the Association Magazine ‘’IELA Report’’
• Safety & Security Update
• Work on the responsive design 
• Create a slider and touch screen function

2018: 

• Smartphone Overview
• News Overview Update
• News Pages
• Update Private Zone
• Update Event Registration for Members & Non-Members
• Develop Search Function
• Develop Exhibitor & Organiser Portal

2019: 

• Update Event Page
• Update Member & Non Member Dashboard
• Membership Update
• Surveys
• Exhibitor & Organiser Portal
• Update User Accounts
• My Agenda Updates
• Membership Application
• Typo3 Update

2020:

• Membership Application
• Typo3 Update
• Functionality Updates such as Settings, Venue & Customs Information, Update of Email notification

Activities

• The website planning and content were created by an internal task force + the technical elements were completed by two website programming companies.
• Design, Storyboard & Content were defined by TQ Consulting (the Association Management Company behind IELA).
• The first steps in the Project Plan (incl. technical concept + Design + Programming and Controlling) were developed with all Must-Haves by the Association
• Networking tool for all face-to-face events: MyAgenda (designed for the association)
• Resource of the industry : Exhibitor & Organiser Portal (including IELA Guidelines (Sustainability, Security Guidelines, OH&S Guidelines) White Papers, Customs Manual), News: IELA Report: Latest News, IELA In the News, Best Performance Awards, Members News & Press Kit
• Member benefits- exclusive access to the IELA Private Zone offering tools & Solutions for the industry (IELA Reload Programme, Webinars, Country Files, Venue Database, Content Library, IELA Standards Survey to vote for the Best Performance Awards, Event Registration, IELA TV, Training Manual and Presentations)
• Worldwide Search Pool for exhibition logistics companies: Find an IELA Member
• Development on a regular basis according to industry needs and trends

Innovation

• Exhibitor & Organiser Portal: The logistics of moving exhibition goods from company premises to a fairground is often complex and requires excellent coordination, in particular when dealing with international shows. In the Exhibitor Portal, companies can find their trusted logistics partner and expert to handle their goods with care and deliver on time following IELA's exceptional Standards of Performance.

Organisers know very well how complex exhibitions, conferences and events with international exhibitors can be. Clients are looking for reliable partners and a professional network worldwide to guarantee success. This is what IELA stands for. Easy to find on the Exhibitor & Organiser Portal are documents such as the IELA Resource Page(latest updates on COVID-19), Guidelines, White Papers, Customs Manuals and many more for use in daily business.

• My Agenda: This is the custom-developed online networking platform for 1-2-1 meetings at IELA Events like the annual IELA Congress. MyAgenda enables the participants to agree on a meeting during the networking slots. If a participant sends a request for a meeting, a desk number is automatically assigned. The participants can also block a slot on their free time, reject requests or agree on a meeting with a maximum of three persons. The finished timeline can either be saved on the smartphone or be printed.
• IELA Standards Survey: All IELA Members are required to operate strictly within the parameters established in the IELA Standards of Performance for Domestic, Export and Onsite Agents and conform to the ideals of the IELA Code of Ethics. Answering to IELA quality standards, a Survey System within the Websites Private Zone was developed to asses annually the performance of all Export, Onsite or Domestic Agents within the association.

Every year, IELA invites all its members to evaluate the services that other IELA Members have supplied to them during the previous year. This is achieved by carrying out the IELA Standards Survey.
The data gathered is analysed to produce benchmarking averages which inform members on whether their services are above or below the IELA average, according to the opinions of their industry colleagues.
Since 2019, the IELA Standards Survey is divided into three categories: Domestic Agent, Export Agent, and On-site Agent. 
 

Achievements

Two years after developing lELA's website today, is the figurehead of the association, providing abundant information for members, exhibitors, organisers and partners alike offers content and information about members, latest industry trends and innovative solutions, association events and news to be shared worldwide. With its content principles on a worldwide scale and the involvement of the community in all projects, IELA succeeds in reacting to the needs of the industry.