Below we demonstrate how to utilize [sbpy](https://sbpy.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html) to transform an unpacked designation to packed format

gistfile1.txt

import pandas as pd
from sbpy.data import Names

# function to create the new packed format column
def pack_designation(
    row: pd.Series,
) -> pd.Series:
    return pd.Series(
        data=[Names.to_packed(row.pdes)],
        index=['Principal_desig'],
    )

...

# crete a new column containing the designation in packed format
df = df.join(leaderboard_df.apply(pack_designation, axis=1))