Event Logistics and Vendor Management

This unit focuses on the practical planning and coordination of meetings and events, including site selection, transportation, food and beverage, audiovisual, speakers, exhibits, virtual components, promotion, and vendor relationships. It builds on foundational meeting concepts and prepares students to negotiate contracts, develop operational plans, and ready events for on-site execution in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze event purpose, audience, program, and budget to compare venue, transportation, accommodation, F&B, and audiovisual options and produce a justified site-selection and logistics recommendation.
• Apply negotiation and contract-management techniques to secure favorable terms with venues and vendors, document service expectations, payment schedules, and liability considerations, and determine when to commit without a site visit.
• Demonstrate the ability to create clear event programming and communications (agendas, invitations, media plans, speaker briefs, exhibit promotions) and configure appropriate virtual/hybrid formats and conference-call protocols to meet audience needs.
• Evaluate revenue-generation, sponsorship, and exhibit strategies alongside stakeholder roles to develop an operational event plan that includes vendor coordination, service standards (including beverage service), contingency measures, and final authorization steps.