Agenda Development Process:

thePACKout programming committee works to curate an innovative and engaging agenda informed by previous attendee feedback and the submissions received. When creating the agenda, we prioritize:

• Novel, relevant, and timely content
• Speaker expertise, diversity, and fresh voices
• A variety of session formats and interactive delivery
• Case studies and real-world examples with measurable impact
• Actionable takeaways that attendees can apply immediately

thePACKout agenda development process is highly collaborative in nature. This may result in a member of the programming committee contacting you for additional information, to provide feedback, or to merge your ideas with others to create the most impactful and engaging experience for the audience.

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Each abstract must include the following information to be considered:

• Abstract Title (max. 100 characters)
• Abstract (max. 2,000 characters)
• Relevant Content Area
• Key Takeaways: Please provide three (3) learning objectives that are clear, measurable, and achievable. What impact does this have on attendees? How can attendees apply this knowledge immediately after thePACKout? Why should someone attend this session?
• Speaker(s) Information: Name, title, company/organization, headshot, and bio (max. 1,500 characters)

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Guidelines:

• Abstracts must be original work and have never been presented in another forum.
• Presentations must be free of commercial content and intent. Abstracts promoting a company, product, or service will NOT be considered.
• To encourage diversity of perspectives and representation, collaborative sessions should represent diverse perspectives with different companies, genders, experiences, etc.
• All complete, submitted abstracts will be reviewed and scored by a programming committee of industry professionals representing the demographic of thePACKout audience. Each abstract is evaluated based on the scoring guidelines below.

Upon notification of acceptance, speakers will have two (2) weeks to confirm participation and register for the conference.

Note: thePACKout is unable to provide honoraria or reimburse travel expenses.

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Content Areas:

thePACKout strongly encourages submissions featuring new research, fresh perspectives, real-world insights, and case studies illustrating innovative ‘how to’ strategies and measurable impact. We welcome submissions across a broad range of content areas, including (but not limited to) the following topics of interest:

(1) Regulatory, Standards, & Compliance

• Emerging regulations
• Standards development
• Innovative strategies to reduce the regulatory burden for packaging changes

(2) Design & Materials

• Novel approaches to package development, including strategies and tools to accelerate speed-to-market
• Methods to leverage materials science to support validations
• Insights correlating materials science, design, processing, sterilization, and package performance
• Case studies and strategies for navigating material changes (including supplier-driven change notifications)

(3) Usability, Human Factors, & End-User Experience

• Innovative ideas to bring the voice of the end-user to thePACKout experience
• Incorporating human factors into the package development process

(4) Process & Technology

• Real-world use cases of Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML)
• New applications for simulation and modeling
• New technologies and pathways to adoption (e.g. equipment process qualification)
• Technology transfer and scale-up
• Integrating automation and robotics into packaging operations

(5) Testing & Inspection

• Alternative testing methods
• Strategies to reduce testing
• Test method development and validation
• Data-driven methods to enhance testing and inspection efficiency, quality, and compliance
• Inspection criteria and processes across the supply chain (e.g. supplier vs OEM)

(6) Sterilization

• Alternative sterilization modalities and relation to packaging materials, formats, and processes
• Designing for multiple sterilization modalities
• In-house vs outsourcing sterilization: emerging trends, case studies, and impact on packaging

(7) Supply Chain

• Innovative sourcing, logistics, and inventory models that improve agility and resilience in global supply
• Impact of tariffs on the healthcare packaging industry
• End-to-end cost savings strategies across the supply chain
• Onshoring vs offshoring / local vs global production (trends, insights, and impact on the healthcare packaging industry)
• Insourcing vs outsourcing packaging operations (trends, case studies, and best practices)
• Supplier selection criteria (what are life science companies asking of their suppliers in today's environment?) and best practices for supplier relationship management
• Post-M&A supply chain challenges, best practices, and strategies for optimization

(8) Sustainability

• Real-world case studies that illustrate business cases for sustainability, measurable impact, and how to make sustainability actionable
• Navigating emerging regulations (e.g. PPWR, substances of concern)
• Sustainable design and materials: case studies and real-world strategies for reducing packaging waste, and designing for sterilization efficiency/distribution/disposal/recycling
• Cross-industry collaboration that scales impact: How to shift the industry paradigm (vs individual company objectives)

(9) Education & Career Development

• Industry-academia partnerships (new research, developing industry-ready graduates, etc.)
• Attracting, developing, and retaining the next generation of industry talent
• Career pathways and demand for the field
• Leadership development

(10) Other, including but not limited to:

• Methods and innovations to shape the future of the industry
• Current industry challenges and emerging trends: Pressing issues affecting organizations today and approaches to address them
• Cross-sector inspiration: Insights, lessons, and tools borrowed from other industries that may be applied to the healthcare packaging industry

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Scoring:

Novel content:

• Does the abstract offer new knowledge and important information to conference attendees?
• Does the session feature case studies, foster collaboration, deliver guidance or best practices?

Relevance:

• Is thePACKout the appropriate forum for this content?
• Does the content apply to one or more content areas of interest?
• Will critical, timely, and practical information be shared?

Actionable:

• Are there findings, strategies, or learning outcomes that will benefit attendees?

Speaker Expertise and Diversity:

• Are dynamic and expert speakers proposed?
• Are fresh voices (new speakers at thePACKout) proposed?
• Collaborative sessions: Do speakers represent multiple perspectives (different companies, sectors, roles, experiences, etc.)?