Day 1 – Distribution Summit (15-09-2025)
09:30 – 09:45
Welcome and opening remarks
09:45 – 10:15
The print automation project (using integration of AI) resulted in a 25%-30% cost reduction in its first year, and took two years to fully integrate across 30 newspapers. Experience from Bonnier News Local
10:15 – 11:15
Panel discussion: The future of the news media business. The CEOs of India’s leading media organisations discuss the topic.
11:15 – 11:45
Networking break
Session moderator: Amit Waghmare, CIO, DB Corp.
11:45 – 12:05
Reimagining IT Architecture for New Age Publishing:
How and what are the increasingly adopted IT or cloud frameworks that enable efficiency in the publishing workflow to suit a new age of publishing? What are the work and automated workflows?
12:05 – 12:35
Diversification: What next for print and technologies shaping the future.
12:35 – 14:00
Lunch break
Moderator: Janaka Rathnakumara, COO, Wijeya Newspapers
14:00 – 14:30
Distribution challenges – Kerala perspectives. Newspaper distribution in Kerala poses unique challenges, particularly in reaching readers across hilly terrains and spanning the state’s long geographical stretch. Despite these challenges, initiatives to understand readers and study their reading habits have significantly strengthened the reach and relevance of regional language newspapers. Hear the experiences of Mathrubhumi.
14:30 – 15:00
Inside the School Newspaper Experience: Lessons and juicy insights from The Hindu’s award-winning editions for young readers.
15:00 – 15:30
Collaborative distribution and future aligned delivery model. Wijeya collaborated with Amazon delivery to diversify into goods delivery. A case study.
15:30 – 16:00
Networking break
16:00 – 17:00
Panel discussion: Managing last mile connectivity and the challenges of route optimisation, owning the reader, last mile delivery challenges, attracting distribution manpower.
17:00
Summary and Learnings from day one.
19.00
Best in Print 2025 Awards Ceremony & Welcome Dinner
Day 2 – Distribution Summit (16-09-2025)
09.30 – 10:30
Panel discussion: Strategies for operational excellence. Discussion on lean practice, automation, newsprint cost, waste reduction, workflow management, manpower capabilities.
10:30 – 11:00
Networking break
Moderator: Thiyagarajan M, GM – Sales & Distribution Education Vertical, The Hindu Group
11:00 – 11:30
Managing last mile connectivity and best practice examples from distribution of newspapers in Japan.
11:30 – 12:00
More titles, Less copies – how distribution challenges can be opportunities. India Today Group distribution of several international titles with less copies maximises yield per title. What are the challenges encountered and how these challenges are converted to smart business opportunities.
12:00-12:30
News Distribution on New-Age Platforms: Expanding reach, building habit, and driving readers back to owned products.
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch break
Moderator: Magdoom Mohamed, Managing Director, WAN-IFRA South Asia
14.00 – 14.20
14:20 -14:40
Book publishing reinstates the power of print: Insights into reaching the reading audience.
14:40 – 15:40
Panel discussion: Innovations that bind print and digital, and build on the advantage of each medium. Heads of Digital business of leading Indian media companies discuss how they plan their strategies for the business and grow the medium together.
15:40 – 16:00
Conference summary and key takeaways
16:00
Conference closing
