17th September

When it comes to optimising time management at a pharmaceutical exhibition, it’s essential to have a thorough strategy in place so that you and your team can explore everything on the show floor that you came to see. That can be difficult enough at a regular event, but when a show is split across two venues, planning is paramount.

This year, CPHI & PMEC India is expanding across Delhi to meet the considerable demands we’ve seen from the Indian pharma market. Running from 23-26 November 2026, the show is operating a complementary dual-event format: CPHI India will take place at the IICC and focuses on pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates and services, while PMEC India is dedicated to pharmaceutical machinery, equipment and packaging, located at Greater Noida’s IEML, where the show has previously been held.

The new-look event offers opportunities for comprehensive supply chain engagement within a single business trip. However, if you’re unaccustomed to events at this scale, the breadth of exhibition content and exhibitor density may be overwhelming, particularly when you take the size of both venues into account. Read on to discover our planning guide, designed to help to help you get your objectives in order, so you can make the most of your time at CPHI & PMEC India 2026.

Pre-event research and defining your objectives

Your first priority should be identifying what you are looking to accomplish at the event. While your teams may have a broad idea of their objectives, conducting advance research into the shows’ exhibitors and content schedules will give you the best chance to make the most of your time at the event.

The key is to define measurable objectives with concrete targets that align with your business goals; this means having an understanding of exactly what you’re looking for and identifying the right exhibitors in advance. This will allow you to get the jump on scheduling meetings, as well as allocating sufficient time for networking and exploration beyond the organisations you’ve identified in advance.

This process should ideally begin around 6 weeks prior to the event, but should begin in earnest on the release of the show’s exhibitor list, which can be organised by product category, company name or technology area. You will also be able to see where on the show floor (and in which venue) their stand will be located, which will be extremely helpful when it comes to organising your time at the show itself.

Once you’ve identified the relevant organisations, go through the list to determine your priorities and sort them into tiered groups (ie: must-visit, should-visit and might-visit) to help you plan your time appropriately around higher-value opportunities. This can then make the outreach process easier to accomplish, as you will know which meetings to schedule far in advance of the show itself.

Scheduling and preparing for meetings with exhibitors

Around a month before CPHI & PMEC India, you should be able to start initiating contact with your priority list of exhibitors to request meetings. This outreach work should be thorough, being sure to let them know in advance which stakeholders will be involved and what you are looking to discuss. This will not only allow them to coordinate their calendars, but let them source relevant materials and arrange for any appropriate technical or commercial personnel attendance.

While these meetings could be held at the exhibitor’s booth, there are also a plethora of other areas available for conversations to take place across both venues. Explorer and Leader passes grant you access to exclusive networking areas where you can enjoy a place to discuss your needs away from the bustling show floor. What’s more, while the two events overlap on the 24-25 November, CPHI India begins the day before and PMEC India ends the day after, giving you the best chance of making all the connections you’re looking for.

To fully optimise your meetings, take this advance time to develop a standardised framework for evaluating prospects so that your entire team is singing from the same hymn sheet. These frameworks should address key evaluation criteria that meet your specific objectives, from technical capabilities and regulatory compliance status to pricing structures, lead times and references from existing customers.

Navigation strategies for exploring two venues

The unique dual-venue setup of CPHI & PMEC India was arranged to help attendees make the most of their time at the event, but does come with some extra logistical considerations. As each event has its own specialism (ingredients for CPHI and machinery for PMEC), team members will likely gravitate towards the venue that is most relevant to them. However, with more than 120,000 m² of event space across both venues, there’s still a great deal of planning to consider.

The exhibition zones at CPHI & PMEC India all focus on different areas of the pharma supply chain, from active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients to contract manufacturing and laboratory equipment. This means that related exhibitors will all be located close to each other, making it easy to assess multiple suppliers in a relatively short space of time.

However, the venues are configured across multiple halls, so be sure to explore the floorplan via the CPHI Event Planner app in advance to minimise your transit between areas of the venue. The event organisers have also arranged regular shuttle buses running between IEML and ICCC on 24-25 November to ensure seamless transportation between the two venues.

We also recommend exploring the content agenda and planning any sessions you aim to attend in advance; these tend to run between 45 minutes and an hour long. You may need to assign different content stages to the team members whose chosen zones of the show are located close by. It’s worth making sure to factor in buffer time into everyone’s schedules, in order to accommodate travel between areas or any unforeseen delays, as well as giving you the opportunity to act upon chance encounters with exhibitors who might catch your attention.

Targeted connections through digital matchmaking

Another benefit of the CPHI Event Planner app is its integrated digital matchmaking tool, which allows you to identify potential partners, schedule meetings and make introductions based on complementary interests and capabilities.

These platforms typically enable attendees to create profiles describing organizational capabilities, sourcing needs, or partnership interests, with algorithms suggesting potential matches based on profile compatibility and enabling meeting requests through integrated messaging systems. The CPHI & PMEC India digital platforms provide matchmaking functionality enabling pharmaceutical executives to identify relevant exhibitors, fellow attendees, or conference speakers aligned with defined objectives, with meeting scheduling tools facilitating coordination and calendar integration [source to be verified by editor].

The effective use of matchmaking platforms requires investment in comprehensive profile development articulating specific organizational needs, decision-making authority, and partnership interests in sufficient detail to enable meaningful matching whilst maintaining appropriate confidentiality regarding proprietary information or competitive sensitivities. Profiles should specify product categories of interest, geographic markets served, regulatory compliance requirements, and preferred partnership structures (for example, long-term supply agreements versus spot purchases, exclusive versus non-exclusive arrangements, or technology licensing versus contract manufacturing). The specificity of profile information improves matching algorithm effectiveness whilst enabling potential partners to assess fit and prioritize meeting requests, increasing likelihood of productive encounters.

The proactive use of matchmaking platforms for meeting requests—ideally initiated 2–3 weeks before exhibitions—enables advance scheduling and increases acceptance rates compared to last-minute requests submitted during exhibitions when calendars fill and attention focuses on immediate activities. Meeting requests should articulate specific discussion topics, proposed duration and timing, and relevant context regarding organizational needs enabling recipients to assess meeting value and prepare appropriately. The acceptance of incoming meeting requests requires evaluation of requester profiles, assessment of alignment with defined objectives, and realistic evaluation of available time given existing commitments. Pharmaceutical executives should establish criteria for meeting acceptance—for example, requiring minimum company size, specific geographic presence, or particular technical capabilities—enabling efficient triage of requests and protecting limited time for highest-value opportunities.

The integration of matchmaking platform data with broader exhibition planning enables comprehensive scheduling combining platform-facilitated meetings with independently scheduled exhibitor meetings and conference session attendance. Digital calendar tools enable visualization of time allocation, identification of scheduling conflicts, and optimization of routing between meeting locations. The maintenance of realistic schedules with adequate buffer time between meetings accommodates inevitable delays, provides flexibility for opportunistic encounters, and prevents the fatigue and stress that result from overscheduled agendas with back-to-back commitments leaving no margin for delays or extended discussions when conversations prove particularly valuable.

Post-show protocols for better ROI

While your experience at CPHI & PMEC India will undoubtedly be rewarding in itself, the real ROI begins on your return from Delhi. To begin with, be sure to conduct an internal debrief with your entire team, giving those who attended the event a chance to sit down with the wider company to share findings and discuss ideas for next steps. You should also make sure that your insights and contacts are added to all relevant databases, from CRM platforms to procurement tracking systems, which will let you integrate exhibition outcomes with broader business objectives. This ensures that your learnings from the event will be accessible to everyone, and not left to linger in individual attendees' notes or memories that prevents you from taking broader awareness or action.

Be sure to follow up with your new connections within three business days of the event, whether it’s a simple thank-you for the meeting, submitting requests for further information to potential suppliers, or initiating procurement processes for more promising opportunities. To ensure that your resources are best allocated, refer back to your tiered list of networking opportunities from before the show and revise it to reflect the connections you made at CPHI & PMEC India. From there, make the time to create personalised messages to your higher-priority leads, which should be assessed by how well they align with the business objectives you outlined at the beginning of the process.

Measuring ROI from any exhibition, even one as large-scale as CPHI & PMEC India, will let you evaluate the value of your time there and should inform any decisions you make about future attendance. Outcomes like qualified suppliers identified, procurement decisions influenced or cost savings achieved are vital metrics to track, though the process is not an instantaneous one. Don’t forget, commercial outcomes may require months or years to fully materialise as supplier qualifications, procurement processes and partnership negotiations all progress.