The Italian Future Factory event will again be a high level conference for the entire print, brands, packaging and retail supply chain. It follows the format of the event staged almost entirely online last year, with academic speakers laying down some of the key themes for the industry for the remainder of the decade in the context of societal and business change.
Perhaps this focus on the underlying forces that shape the way that print and packaging operates, rather than the minutiae of which technology may be better, makes the Future Factory stand out from other online events that have proliferated in the last 18 months. It is also a very Italian take on affairs.
The over arching theme is The Future at Human Service, suggesting that technology should not be an end in itself, but that advances have to address societal issues. The importance of this shift has been underlined by the experiences of the last 18 months and continues to affect decision making.
In future, the organisers from Acimga (the Italian equivalent of Picon) explain, service is a key part of any sale, and is a key differentiating factor – the human touch.
The reasons why and how will be tackled in a series of high level presentations and sound table discussions, some handled remotely, with the round tables as much as possible taking place in the Milan Theatre. This makes Future Factory a ‘phydigital’ event, combining both digital and physical presentations. The audience, however, will be entirely online, with free to register participation.
In another nod to the Italian style, the event is staged across two days, starting after lunch on the first day, 15 September, and finishing at lunch on 16 September. At the first iterations of the conference held in the Milan exhibition centre, this allowed for plenty of discussion during breaks and at dinner. Existing habits can be hard to break.
The event kicks off with Alec Ross, a former White House advisor during the Barack Obama administration, author of books on the technology focused social enterprise and visiting professor, discussing the forces shaping the 2020s.
The discussion is on sustainability in the packaging industry and how Italian machinery manufacturers respond keys into this.
Technology is shifting towards online purchasing and organisation, what is becoming the platform economy explained by David Stark and Ivana Pais. The theme is further picked up with discussions around consumer behaviour and how brand owners consider the importance of sustainability.
The second day has Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University, sketching the economic context for the changes underway and the importance of corporate social responsibility. The legislative context for these changes follows discussion from retailers and leads to a presentation from Bertrand Badré, founder of Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital, and author of books endorsed by Emmanuel Macron and Gordon Brown. A discussion between printers and paper mills brings proceedings to a close.
The event is intended as a precursor to Print4All, an exhibition currently scheduled to take place in Milan in May next year. The print element runs concurrently with a packing machinery show and food processing exhibition to give a full view over the overlapping elements of the full supply chain.
