The Value of EPN: One Network, One Standard, Nationwide Event Support

For event planners managing programs across multiple cities, regions or venues, consistency can be one of the hardest things to achieve. Every market comes with its own AV providers, staging requirements, labor considerations, venue rules, budget pressures and technical challenges. That’s where the Event Production Network (EPN) brings measurable value.

EPN connects leading event production professionals across North America, including AV teams, staging designers and production managers, to help planners deliver high-quality, cost-effective events at every scale. More than a referral network, EPN is a trusted community of vetted production companies that collaborate, share knowledge and hold one another accountable to a higher standard of service.

According to EPN President Jack Devries of Showcore, EPN gives event planners something they increasingly need: a reliable one-stop resource for major markets across North America.

“No need to shop on Google, no need to wonder if the website’s flash will live up to its messages on show site,” Devries said. “Not only do the members have to meet key quality measures, but we also hold each other accountable for our actions.”

That accountability is one of EPN’s strongest differentiators. Member companies are often direct competitors in their local markets, yet they come together multiple times a year to strengthen one another’s people, processes and capabilities. In an industry built on trust, responsiveness and flawless execution, that level of collaboration is rare and deeply meaningful.

Solving Today’s Event Production Challenges

Event planners are under increasing pressure to deliver engaging, polished experiences while managing tighter budgets and rising venue-related costs. Devries points to rigging, power and internet as some of the most significant production challenges planners face today. For programs with complex technical requirements or multiple stops in different markets, venue-related fees in these areas can quickly become a major cost consideration.

EPN member companies help planners navigate these challenges by designing smarter, more efficient production solutions. Many members now offer secondary internet options, develop program designs that reduce or eliminate the need for house rigging and build production plans that consume less power.

These are not abstract advantages. They are practical solutions that directly affect the planner’s budget, timeline and show-site experience.

Consistency Across Markets

For planners producing events in multiple cities, EPN provides access to trusted production partners without the time-consuming process of sourcing, vetting and building new vendor relationships in every location.

Working with an EPN member can help planners expand their bench of vendor partners while still maintaining a consistent experience. Through one local EPN member, planners can gain access to a broader network of qualified companies across North America.

This makes EPN especially valuable for roadshows, national meetings, corporate events, association conferences and other programs that move from market to market. Planners can rely on different member companies while benefiting from shared standards, shared knowledge and a shared commitment to quality.

The result is greater efficiency across several key areas, including:

• Technical execution
• Staffing and labor coordination
• Logistics and equipment planning
• Vendor communication
• Budget management
• Quality control
• Service consistency

As Devries explained, EPN allows planners to work with their local market member company and gain access to all of North America “without ever sending a subsequent email.”

“The shared knowledge and community that EPN represents is unmatched,” said Devries. 

One Call, One Team, One Event

A recent Showcore experience illustrates the power of the EPN model.

A little over a year ago, Showcore responded to an RFP for a planning agency but did not win the business. About six weeks before the program, the agency contacted Showcore again to ask whether the company was still interested in supporting the event.

With limited planning time available, Showcore assembled the full project by leveraging EPN partners. In the end, three EPN member companies joined forces to support the event.

The result, according to Devries, was a flawless project built around “one call, one team, one invoice, one event.”

That example demonstrates what EPN makes possible. Instead of a planner having to coordinate multiple companies separately, EPN members can combine resources, align behind the same client goals and deliver a unified production experience.

A Culture Built on Collaboration

EPN’s collaborative culture is not just a marketing message. It is the foundation of the network.

Devries emphasized that EPN’s culture of collaboration existed before the network developed marketing channels to increase visibility among event planners. Member companies regularly share insights, solve problems and learn from one another’s experiences.

That knowledge-sharing benefits the planner’s end result. No single AV or production company has encountered every possible event scenario. But an EPN member has access to a community of companies with collective experience across venues, markets, industries and event formats.

Devries compared the network to a knowledgebase for AV teams and called it a resource that gives member companies immediate access to real solutions. When a challenge arises, EPN members can tap into the experience of other production professionals who may have already solved a similar issue.

For planners, this means faster problem-solving, stronger recommendations and more reliable outcomes.

What Planners Should Look for in a Production Partner

When choosing an AV, staging or production partner, planners often focus on equipment lists and pricing. While those factors matter, Devries believes the most important criteria are people, process and value structure.

Equipment alone does not create a long-term production partner. The right partner brings strong communication, experienced teams, proven processes, technical expertise and a commitment to the planner’s goals.

EPN members are vetted against that higher standard. Companies cannot simply sign up and call themselves members. They must demonstrate excellence, and the vetting process turns away more companies than it accepts.

That makes EPN membership a useful benchmark for planners evaluating potential production partners. It signals that a company has met a standard of quality and is part of a network committed to accountability and continuous improvement.

Helping Planners Stay Ahead

As audience expectations, technologies and production formats continue to evolve, planners need partners who can help them anticipate what’s next. EPN helps its members, and by extension, their clients, stay ahead through shared expertise and exposure to a wide range of event solutions.

Whether the need involves new technology, creative staging, efficient technical design, hybrid support, venue-specific problem-solving or cost-conscious production planning, EPN members benefit from the collective experience of dozens of teams.

That shared knowledge helps member companies respond quickly and effectively. It also gives planners peace of mind knowing they are working with production partners who are not operating in isolation.

The Power of a Trusted Network

At its core, EPN helps event planners move with confidence by connecting them with vetted production partners, shared standards, nationwide reach and a collaborative community committed to successful outcomes.

“An EPN member company has something no one else has—dozens of teams who’ve experienced a lot of things the other has not—they have real solutions, not weeks of R&D, not ‘let me find out,’ just immediate access to how the company will help answer the call, solve the situation and join together to drive innovation and reliable outcomes for events and planners of all types, in all venues and in all major markets,” concluded Devries.

In a business where the show must go on, trust matters. Visit EPN to connect with a local member company and give your next event the reliable production support it needs, from early planning through showtime.