Accepted Practices are voluntary standards designed by the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) initiative of the Convention Industry Council (CIC) to unite the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry.
Since 2001, over 2,500 experienced industry professionals in 60 cities throughout the USA and Canada have collaborated in hands-on discussions to define industry-wide accepted practices. Several core areas have been completed with additional works in progress to streamline operational efficiencies and enhance communication between planners and suppliers. By implementing these practices, meeting and event professionals can devote more time to the creative development of their events.
Why Are Industry Best Practices, like APEX, Important?
Have you ever thought about common industry best practices and standards? Have you ever considered how our lives would be different without them? Industries coalesce around best practices and standards. These practices become ubiquitous, as natural as breathing.
|
|  | What if you were unable to plug your computer into every electrical outlet? |
| | What if you couldn't get cash from every ATM when traveling and in need? |
| |
What if light bulbs did not screw into every socket? |
|
These are everyday examples of how we benefit from voluntary standards. Entire industrial sectors have progressed and innovated because of best practices. Some examples include:
• The grocery industry and the UPC bar code.
• The banking industry and various transactions used to transfer money.
• The cellular phone industry and communication and switching
standards.
The APEX Industry Glossary is an interactive, user-friendly web-based tool containing over 4,000 terms, acronyms and abbreviations and their respective definitions. The meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry developed the APEX Industry Glossary through APEX as the industry standard.
The APEX Industry Glossary gives users an easy-to-use tool to implement the industry's accepted practices. Because it defines all the terms, acronyms and abbreviations used by organizers and implementers of meetings, conventions, exhibitions and other events, it saves the user a significant amount of time and miscommunication with clients and suppliers.
Replacing the meeting "resume," the ESG is the industry's tool to use in preparing and sharing complete instructions and details for events of all sizes. It includes best practices and a Microsoft Word template. The ESG is a three-part template consisting of the narrative, schedule and function orders of an event. It also establishes critical timing norms (planner gets the specs to the facility at least 4 weeks out; facility returns it at least 2 weeks out).
Replacing the current "history" or "pick-up" reports, the PER is the industry's accepted format for collecting, storing and sharing accurate and thorough post-event report data on events of all types. It provides universal consistency for reporting event histories and includes best practices as well as a Microsoft Word template for a Post-Event Report.
These accepted practices are for collecting, reporting and retrieving complete housing and registration data for meetings, conventions and other events, and for housing issues such as housing providers, internet issues, international housing and disclosure.
These accepted practices forms are used to create consistent and thorough Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that address core information and unique needs.
The report of the Meeting and Site Profiles panel contains consistent and thorough profile formats for sites. It includes five primary location and facility types – hotels, resorts, convention centers, conference centers, and cities.
The original purpose of the APEX Contracts Panel was to review all aspects of industry contracts and develop contract guidelines and, where appropriate, acceptable contract language guidelines. Additionally, the panel was to develop an outline to format industry contracts. The panel determined that for legal and practical reasons "acceptable contract language" should not be created.
