Founded in 1998, the European Power Transmission Distributors Association
(EPTDA) brought distributors and manufacturers together under a joint platform
to enhance communication, improve decision-making, and streamline operations.
Today, the organization has more than 250 members across Europe, the Middle
East, and Africa (EMEA) — the "E" in EPTDA now represents EMEA to better
represent the diversity of its membership.
While more members mean more opportunities for connections and networking,
steady growth also comes with a challenge: managing both international and
regional events.
The Situation: Challenges in Event Management Processes
Each year, the EPTDA hosts 3-4 regional events and one annual business
convention for all members. "This annual business convention features a formal
program along with a manufacturers and distributors idea exchange," says Koen
Lauryssen, EPTDA's Head of Operations. "Members take part in a 'speed dating'
event where they book appointments and initiate business contacts. We are
mainly known for that yearly event."
With attendees from multiple countries and the event changing location each
year — in 2024, the annual business convention will be held in Gothenburg,
Sweden — event management is no easy task.
"Our processes were fragmented and manual," says Lauryssen, "which meant
more risk for mistakes. For example, while we created a form that made it look
like everything was automated, it was really an Excel sheet. We had a different
sheet for every form." He's also seen a post-COVID shift in registrations. "What
you see is that you get two waves: early deciders and last-minute deciders. Post-
COVID, there are more of these last-minute deciders. Out of 450 people, 200 now decide two weeks before the event."
As a result, event management required a full-time staff member to handle the
lengthy and complicated processes of registration, invoicing, and attendee communications.
The Solution: Implementing idloom's Event Management Registration Software
Lauryssen says he first discovered idloom at the IBTM conference in Barcelona. "I
was there on a mission to discover event management software," he says.
"There were seven or eight companies, but idloom stood out because they did
not talk to me about their number of clients or turnover. Instead, I was
immediately using the software."
He puts it simply: "Your clients or turnover are not my issue. I have a problem,
what's your solution? For me, what idloom gives me is very simple, not
complicated. Before idloom, we had an employee working full-time on event
management. Now, the same processes take maybe half a day per week."
For their annual event, the EPTDA uses idloom for registration and is moving
toward payment integration. For their regional events, they're now using the full
idloom platform for event creation, management, and follow-up.
The Results: A Centralized Solution & Proactive Support
Using manual, fragmented processes created data silos, in turn making it more
difficult for the organization to manage events at scale, especially as
membership continues to grow. "With idloom, we avoided the data silos," says
Lauryssen. "If I have a board meeting and someone asks about an event, I just
open the tool and I have a clear overview in one minute. The platform ensures
that everyone can access the data in an understandable way."
He also highlights idloom's proactive support. "Whenever I have a question, the
project manager is very proactive. They ask me if I need anything. For example,
they've helped us customize things like the printing of badges — everything is
very straightforward to use."
Lauryssen offers a simple summation of his experience with idloom. "Before
idloom, we were inefficient in registration. We were limited in customization, and
invoicing was complex. Now, everything is in one place and accessible."
Could you be our next success story? Check out idloom for the all-in-one event management solution your business needs. Contact us to know more.