Event suppliers often work on different schedules and only see one part of the programme. A shared contact and delivery sheet helps the organiser connect those separate jobs. It should explain who is arriving, what they are bringing and how the site will receive them. Keep it short enough to use during a busy setup, with private information restricted to the people who need it.
Create one record for each delivery or service
List the supplier, its event-day contact, the agreed item or task and the expected arrival window. Distinguish a delivery driver from the person who can approve a change to the service. Include the booking or order reference if it helps the team identify the job. Avoid relying on a company name alone when several vehicles or teams may arrive from the same supplier.
Describe the physical delivery in practical terms. Large cases, assembled furniture and chilled food require different receiving arrangements. Record the number of items, approximate dimensions or handling needs where relevant. Ask suppliers to identify requirements the venue must approve. An organiser should not discover during unloading that an object cannot use the lift or needs storage that has never been reserved.
Agree access and handover with the venue
Confirm the correct entrance, permitted delivery times and any booking procedure for unloading. Share that information directly with the supplier rather than assuming the driver will find it on a guest map. Record who meets the delivery and where the items go. A parcel left in a shared reception area is not a completed handover if the event team does not know it has arrived.
Coordinate arrivals when space is limited. Two large deliveries booked for the same narrow access point can delay both teams and disrupt the room setup. Ask the venue about restrictions and suitable waiting arrangements. Keep guest routes and necessary exits clear; an empty corridor is not automatically an approved storage area just because it is close to the room.
Make dependencies visible
Identify which jobs must happen before others. Furniture may need to be placed before technical equipment, and catering setup may depend on access to a service area. Put those relationships beside the arrival windows. A timetable that lists suppliers in alphabetical order can look organised while hiding the sequence that actually determines whether the event opens on time.
Assign an organiser contact to resolve conflicts rather than asking suppliers to negotiate the whole site among themselves. Give that person the authority and information needed to make a decision. If a delivery is late, update the affected teams as well as the person waiting at the entrance. A small change becomes manageable when its consequences are communicated early.
Use a controlled final version
Date the sheet and highlight changes after the final briefing. Use one working location or a clearly labelled attachment so that staff do not rely on several inconsistent copies. Keep a suitable offline version for the event day. A shared document is useful only when access is reliable and people know which version carries the agreed arrangements.
Limit personal phone numbers and commercial details to the operational team. The guest programme does not need supplier contact information. If a wider group requires access instructions, create a stripped-down version with only those details. Remove unnecessary private information from documents that will be printed in public-facing areas or placed beside an unattended registration desk.
Plan collection as carefully as arrival
Record collection windows, packing responsibilities and the person who signs equipment back. Confirm what happens if a supplier arrives after the venue’s clear-out deadline. Lost packaging and unlabelled cases can slow dismantling, so designate a suitable place to keep them during the event. Include a final check for items brought by speakers and the organising team as well as hired equipment.
After the event, note whether the agreed handovers worked and which information was missing. Update the next template with practical lessons rather than keeping every old contact indefinitely. The sheet is not intended to replace contracts or technical plans. It provides the small operational bridge that lets people, deliveries and timings meet in the right place.
