CALL FOR SESSIONS

The 2026 Call for Sessions is now open! Please submit your proposal by September 5, 2025.

WERC 2026 will be held May 17-20 in Jacksonville, Florida. Stayed tuned for more details!

To learn more about the WERC Annual Conference, view our WERC 2025 conference site and its session agenda.

 
 

 
 

DESIRED TOPIC CATEGORIES

PEOPLE

  • High Performing Teams
  • Staffing Solutions
  • Personal Development
  • Safety
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Culture & Retention

PROCESSES

  • Direct to Consumer Distribution
  • Creating Operational Efficiencies
  • Outsourcing & Vendor Relationships
  • Sustainability
  • Inventory Control
  • Reverse Logistics
  • Transport
  • External Disruptions
TECHNOLOGY & DATA
  • Digital Transformation
  • Partner Data Integration
  • Benchmarking, Metrics & KPIs
  • Execution Software
  • Machine Learning
 
 
 

PREPARING A SESSION PROPOSAL

Session Information

  • Type of Session – presentation or discussion format
  • Working Session Title – doesn’t need to be catchy
  • Topic Category
  • Session Description (max 60 words)
  • Three (3) specific, actionable Participant Take-aways (max 25 words each)

 

Presenters or Facilitators
  • Presenters and facilitators must know they are being submitted and have agreed to participate and abide by WERC's terms and conditions (including the registration fee)
  • Full Name, Title, Company, Mailing Address, Phone Number, Valid Individual Email Address, Category, and Business Type is required for all proposed presenters and facilitators

 

Timeline
  • September 5: Deadline for session proposal submission for first Call for Sessions
  • October 1: Deadline for session proposal submission for second Call for Sessions
  • October 3: Notification of status for proposals received by September 5
  • October 15: Notification of status for proposals received by October 1
  • October 31: Speaker Headshots/Bios due and confirmation of acceptance to speak at Conference
  • November 30: Conference session schedule completed and timeslots communicated to Speakers
  • March 13: Deadline for submission of all session PPT files for anti-trust and commercialism evaluation 
 
 
 

SUBMITTING A SESSION PROPOSAL

  1. Download and review the complete FAQs and Terms & Conditions 
  2. Click "Login" above
  3. Select "New User" to create a profile (this is different from your WERC membership profile and your 2025 submission profile)
  4. Click the "Submissions" tab (it will appear after you've created your profile)
  5. Complete the submission form and click "Save & Submit"
  6. You can edit your profile and submissions or create new submissions at any time prior to October 1, 2025
 
 
 

REVIEW CRITERIA

Your proposed session will be reviewed by the Conference Committee and evaluated based on the following criteria.
 

Content

  • Session is led by a Practitioner
  • Session contains no sales/commercialism (sales/brand commercialism is strictly prohibited)
  • Topic is timely and relevant (case study, includes actual outcomes, presents the operations perspective)
  • Take-aways are clear and valuable
  • Audience appeal
  • Level is appropriate for the audience (intermediate to advanced)

 

Presenter or Facilitator
  • Includes recognized leaders in the industry
  • Presenter is appropriate to the topic
  • Prior WERC engagement
  • WERC membership status
 
 
 

FAQs AT A GLANCE


Who can submit a session?

  • Sessions should be submitted by a Practitioner (shipper or first party, or operations role)
  • Suppliers and Consultants are also permitted to submit proposals but are required to include a customer/practitioner/shipper in their proposal as the lead presenter (with a valid email address)
  • Proposals from PR or marketing firms are not permitted
  • Special consideration is given to current WERC members and volunteers
  • Note: Submitters should select Login and then find and select "New User" to create a profile (no other profiles are connected to this process)

 

Can I talk about how great our product is during the session?
  • Sessions should provide solid educational value to the audience
  • Sales/brand commercialism in educational sessions is strictly prohibited
  • Sessions that hint at a sales focus will not be selected by the Committee
  • Commercial session time slots are available for a fee by contacting sales@werc.org (note: purchased session time slots are not part of this submission process)

 

What happens if we change a presenter?
  • After a proposal is accepted, should any of the presenters change or cancel, the affected session will be subject to reconsideration by the Conference Committee
 
When will I hear if my session has been selected?
  • All Sessions submitted will be notified by October 15, 2025
  • Possible statuses are:
    • Accepted
    • On Hold (pending further review and consideration)
    • Declined
When will I know what day and time my session will occur?
  • Session time slots will be assigned in November 2025