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In December, the annual marathon was held.
This time it was devoted to funding cancer
research projects. Palace 1 of Fira de Barcelona
was again the venue for this important and
popular event.
AT THE SERVICE
OF THE FIRA’S
OBJECTIVES
Throughout 2012, Fira de Barcelona’s different
departments were intensely active, with the aim of
reaching the institution’s major goals: the support
to productive economy, internationalization, a
commitment to innovation and knowledge, and the
promotion of activity and employment in Barcelona
and its metropolitan areas prompted by the
progress of the trade fair calendar.
Therefore, much of the commercial management
of Fira de Barcelona focused on promoting the
participation of companies in the shows held by
the institution, by making a wide range of services
available to potential exhibitors.
In a very complex economic context that
demands a lot of effort, Fira’s commercial teams
held nearly 12,200 negotiations with companies,
3,776 of which were custom visits. In line with
the same policy of favouring participation, worthy
of special mention were the designer modular
stands offered by ServiFira, planned according
to the features of each show and including a full
pack of various services.
Visitor relations
In 2012, the Visitor Relations Department, which
includes the call centre, carried out a large amount
of actions in order to provide visitors with offers,
information and advice.
As a way of favouring the presence of visitors to the
maximum, the Hosted Buyers program promoted
the attendance of big purchasers, or VIP Buyers.
Likewise, networking activities were held in different
formats such as Agendas, B2B, speed dating,
etc., and hundreds of meetings were held between
exhibitors and VIP Buyers.
One of the strategic axes of Fira de Barcelona
is the promotion of online channels as a way of
communicating and negotiating with customers.
During the year object of this summary, show
websites updated their designs, in order to
increase the quality and quantity of information
and content offered, as well as to improve the
management and purchase of services through
the Internet. Show websites of Fira received
2.5 million visits, and a large number of visitors
acquired their professional pass through the online
accreditation system.
New technology ventures
Worthy of note was the promotional presence of
each show in social networks, which has provided
Fira with 85,000 followers on Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest and Instagram.
Social networks have become a very important
communication channel, before, during and after
shows were held.
During 2012, Fira de Barcelona worked to establish
new information systems in order to incorporate
NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to
its accreditation services, which resulted in a
significant advance in access control to the show
areas by exhibitors and visitors, thus offering higher
levels of fluency and safety.
The system developed by Fira is based on the
use of mobile communication platforms (Android,
Windows Phone and Blackberry) as instruments
of personal identification, access to scheduled
sessions and payment for services within the fair’s
venues as well as in other urban zones (shops,
restaurants, taxis, museums...).
Besides user convenience, one of the system’s
advantages is its sustainability, since there
is no longer need to print materials (paper,
cardboard, plastic...), to use ink and to recycle
waste. This new system, named NFC Badge,
was launched for the first time during the 2013
Mobile World Congress.
Customer preferential treatment
Concern for excellence in customer service has
been a constant in the development of Fira de
Barcelona in recent years. In 2012, the institution
received the UFI Operations Committee Service
Quality Management Prize (awarded by the
foremost organization in the representation of trade
fair institutions internationally), for its incident
management and eradication program, established
with the aim of reducing by 80% the incidents
occurred in service purchases by exhibitors,
increasing the customer satisfaction rate and
raising productivity.
Most of those incidents were related to stand
assembling, furniture and electrical services. The
key to solving those problems was the creation of a
technical office, a thorough analysis of the supply
chain and setting quality indicators.
Also noteworthy was that Fira de Barcelona received
a new international recognition, in this case from the
organizers of the European Business Awards, based
in London, by being proclaimed “national champion”
in the category of Best Customer Service.
GastroFira
Within the wide range of restaurants in Fira, GastroFira
managed 67 premises in the Montjuïc and Gran Via
venues, either concessions to sector companies or
self-managed businesses. By the end of November,
the request for proposal for 22 premises was awarded
to the Áreas and Soteras groups.
2012 has been a very active year, especially
regarding the coordination of the catering
and restaurant services of great international
shows, such as Alimentaria, the Mobile World
Congress and EIBTM, among others, as well
as other relevant corporate events such as
the VM World technological congress on cloud
computing. One must bear in mind that the
different needs of organizers, exhibitors and
visitors demand several gastronomic proposals
tailored to different dietary and cultural realities.
Once again, it was a priority goal to ensure
food quality and hygiene both on the restaurant
premises and in the catering services.
During the year object of this summary, more
than 50,000 coffee breaks, 30,000 appetisers
and cocktails, 35,000 buffets, 3,500 picnics
and 80,000 catering products were served at the
stands. As a curiosity, if all the milkshakes, fruit
juices and soft drinks served during VM World were
arranged in a line, they would reach 8.5 km or, in
others words, they would surround the Gran Via
venue almost four times.
Also worthy of note is that the restaurant Nuclo,
located in the Hall Europa of the Gran Via venue,
remains a benchmark for business clients thanks to
its quality and excellent value for money.
Human resources
One of the major initiatives of the Human Resources
Department in 2012 has been the Costumer
Project, which aims to raise awareness among the
staff about the importance of customer satisfaction,
among either external or internal clients. For this
purpose, several actions were carried out, such as
the "Customer Manifesto”, directly related to the
explicit commitment of placing the client at the
centre of the business, at the focus of policies,
processes, products and services, emphasizing
the commitment of the Organization and of each
of its collaborators.
«Visits to departments» were also organized in
order to help costumers to recognise and become
acquainted with each area. Likewise, visits to
the shows were included in order to gain a better
understanding of the organizational and logistical
needs of exhibitors and visitors.
Once again this year a special emphasis was
placed on training, with 36 actions, 44%
more than in 2011, equivalent to 2.9 days of
training per employee, yet on the same budget.
Commercial actions and sales, as well as new
management tools, became the centre of the
training activity.
Fira kept investing in labour risks prevention, and
one more year, the number of accidents fell. It
received a honourable mention on the Antonio
Baró Prize, granted by MC Mutual in recognition of
its commitment to the prevention of labour risks.
Also noteworthy is that 60% of the staff accepted
one of the proposals for the Flexible Compensation
Plan, launched in 2008, which consists in allocating
a part of their salary for health insurance, restaurant
coupons, transportation tickets, etc.
At the end of the year, the permanent staff of Fira
de Barcelona was formed by 265 people. For the
first time, the number of women (51%) overtook the
number of men.
CSR policy
For Fira de Barcelona, Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) means commitment with
the community, investment in sustainability and
protection of the environment.
In this sense, during 2012 it has continued
to develop an active policy of environmental
