In her role as Shepard’s SVP of Business Solutions, Sarah Aivaz focuses on comprehensive improvements, with a particular emphasis on leveraging event technology. “My goal is to enhance the entire system, not just fix isolated issues,” she explains.
This approach, she adds, is crucial in business. “When we implement solutions, we consider how they impact every part of Shepard’s ecosystem. It’s about creating positive ripple effects throughout the organization.”
How does she do that? It’s all about digging deeper and discovering the “why,” Sarah explains. “I always ask, ‘What are you going to do next with this? What are your business goals?’ I’m big on the process partnership and looking at things up and downstream whenever we’re looking for a solution.”
Unsurprisingly, a major focus of her job centers around event technology, and finding innovative, tech-driven ways to improve the experience for both Shepard’s associates and its customers—whether that’s by improving the ordering process, reducing lines at service desks, or finding another bespoke solution.
“To me, the best experience on a show site is when we don’t have lines at our service desk; when our customers can come fully prepared to an event or can reach us through an event tech solution that doesn’t require them to leave their booths,” she explains. “My goal is to keep exhibitors in their booths as much as possible.”
So how exactly is she making that happen? Here are some emerging tech solutions she’s particularly excited about right now.
Cloud-based systems
Sarah describes events and exhibitions as a “very paper-driven industry”—something she’s working to reduce not just for the sustainability considerations, but also for faster, more efficient processing times.
“We’re moving to more cloud-based systems that run with the speed of our business,” she says. “The days of shuffling paper from the service desk to the office, and then you get an invoice—that’s over.”
24/7 availability and accessibility
While associates are available as often as possible, especially with the rise of remote work that has led to employees working in more time zones, Sarah believes that having more tech-oriented solutions like chatbots can help answer customers’ questions at all hours—in a way that accommodates them best.
“We’re always thinking about how exhibitors and show organizers can communicate with us in their own timeframe, in their own language—and event technology can play a huge factor there,” she says.
Easier navigation of event rules and regulations
Sarah is particularly energized about some of the capabilities surrounding AI, especially as a consultative tool for associates who are newer to the industry or first-time exhibitors that don’t know the show or the host city as well.
“I think AI is a great solution to automatically dig through different rules and regulations to find quick answers,” she cites as an example. “Of course, the key will be ensuring accuracy as this technology is evolving, but I’m excited about the possibilities.”
Freeing associates for more customer-driven work
Along the same lines, Sarah is excited about AI’s ability to take on some of the more mundane tasks, freeing associates up to be more proactive with customers. “AI helps our exhibitor services reps be more customer-focused, passing off some of the more remedial tasks that AI can do,” she says. “It’s not about reducing our workforce; it’s about aiding our workforce. The intent is to continue to enhance and improve the speed we can work.”
Improved communications
Sarah already uses AI tools quite regularly to improve her and her team’s communication skills. “Asking a program like ChatGPT to simplify some jargon so everyone can easily understand it, for example, is going to be huge for our industry,” she predicts. “I also love the AI version of Salesforce, Einstein, which I think is going to help our team a ton in the future.”
Of course, with anything AI-generated, “You need to fact check it, you need to look for words it tends to repeat, and you need to add a personal touch,” she cautions. “But it’s a great outline tool that can then be enhanced by people.”
Project management tools
She also appreciates project management tools that can help teams collaborate. “I think they work best when they are integrated, and users have them built into applications or sites that they are already using in a majority of their day-to-day,” she explains.
Sarah and her team are currently building this concept into a new show organizer application, which will allow Shepard associates and organizer customers to manage their path to a successful event. “We are also looking at ways to integrate with out-of-the-box solutions like Asana or Planner, which we know some of our associates and customers are using, rather than rebuilding the tool,” she says.
Of course, with these exciting possibilities, Sarah emphasizes the need for human involvement. “There’s an assumption that it’s just easy—that we can just plug stuff into a machine and an event pops out!” she says. “I hope people realize that AI, and all technology, is an additive tool that should work hand-in-hand with a human brain.”
