April 13, 2023

What Can You Expect at PDI Users Conference 2023?

by Bethany Allee

It’s been six months since I attended my first PDI Users Conference, and I can’t believe we’re already in full prep mode for our next conference this August in Denver. In case you’re wondering, registration is officially now open for Users Conference 2023!

Like many of you, I was a first-time UC attendee in 2022. After everything I heard about previous shows, my expectations were sky high—and it ended up being an even better experience than I had hoped for.

The size of the audience represented a huge percentage of the convenience ecosystem, and there was an extremely high level of engagement. It was amazing!

Being able to connect in person with old friends and meet so many new ones was one of my favorite highlights. That experience only reinforced something PDI fundamentally believes: The convenience ecosystem is extremely resilient and will continue to be a powerful economic force that positively impacts millions of people and communities around the globe.

I especially want to extend a deep and heartfelt THANK YOU to all our customers and partners who make UC the industry’s premier training and networking event. In 2022, we welcomed nearly 900 customer attendees who collectively earned more than 1,700 CPE credits to advance their career growth.

If you haven’t attended UC in a few years (or ever), check out this video to get a feel for what type of experience you can expect in Denver.

Highlights and recommendations for first-timers

Knowing what I do now, I wanted to share a few tips for first-time attendees. First, UC is a great place to learn practical PDI product tips and get insights direct from the experts. This year, we’ll have over 130 unique training sessions for you to choose from.

Second, UC is one of the best places to meet like-minded peers and exchange best practices. The amount of collaboration I observed at UC 2022 absolutely stunned me. The PDI community is as tightknit as any I’ve witnessed during my entire high-tech career.

Based on my own initial experience, here are a few recommendations:

Partake in the “first-time attendee” session or review the on-demand video before you arrive. This content is invaluable for understanding how to get the most value out of the week.
Make a plan. Determine your track and what you want to accomplish (you can start when you register and select your agenda).
Get into the action. The more you interact, the more you’ll learn—whether you’re in the classroom, the Partner Showcase, or just wandering the halls.
Don’t be shy (not usually a problem for me). Everyone is so welcoming, rest assured that you’ll fit in anywhere you want to.
Have fun. Take advantage of interesting table topic sessions at lunch and all the after-hours networking opportunities to truly enjoy yourself.

What’s new at UC 2023

If you attended UC 2022, expect more of the same this year. We’re also introducing a few new items based on feedback from last year:

Additional hands-on labs and experiential learning opportunities
An expanded Executive Forum, along with new leadership forums for User Groups, Marketing, and Innovation
A new track for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)-focused attendees

We’re also amping up the fun. To celebrate PDI’s 40^th year, we’re rolling with a 1980s theme at Big Night Out. Be sure to pack your legwarmers, Day-Glo shirts, and hair spray (mullets are optional)!

To close, I’d like to share a note we received from one of our UC 2022 attendees, because it sums up the experience much better than I can:

“Wow! I am finally recovering from the whirlwind PDI User Conference. Your conference was absolutely amazing and first class in every way. It is clear to me that customer engagement was excellent: sessions were well attended, users were attentive and engaged…and everyone had a smile on their face. Impressive. My team was especially energized by UC!

I hope you’ll join the rest of the PDI community at UC 2023. Looking forward to seeing you in Denver!