Lesson 4.6 — Industry Days & Early Supplier Engagement in BSOs
Industry Days & Early Supplier Engagement in BSOs
Watch the embedded video above, then use this page to review the central concepts, evidence and practical implications.
Lesson content
Nikolaj Zangenberg introduces Industry Days through BigScience.dk and ENRIITC experience, showing how ILOs create supplier awareness, matchmaking and capability before specific procurements.
What you will learn
- Explain the role of BigScience.dk and Industrial Liaison Officers
- Recognise the supplier sectors and channels used in Big Science
- Design an Industry Day that creates value for buyers and suppliers
- Apply the ENRIITC brokerage-event playbook
- Distinguish Industry Days from legally structured OMC
Create value on both sides of the market
An Industry Day works only when the BSO has a credible need and suppliers can see a credible opportunity.
Can the BSO offer a real pathway?
- Defined need and internal owner
- Budget or credible future opportunity
- Openness to unfamiliar suppliers
- Willingness to manage innovation risk
Can companies invest and contribute?
- Relevant technology or competence
- Interest in the BSO market
- Capacity to invest time and resources
- Understanding of risk and competition
Boundary: Industry Days build awareness and relationships. A procurement-specific OMC requires the stronger fairness, competition and documentation controls explained earlier.
Key terms
| ILO | Industrial Liaison Officer: an intermediary connecting national industry with Big Science opportunities. |
|---|---|
| Georeturn | The value of contracts or activity returned to a country relative to its contribution to a facility. |
| Brokerage event | A structured event designed to create relevant buyer–supplier connections. |
| Matchmaking | Connecting a defined organisational need with potentially relevant capability. |
OMC versus Industry Day
Industry Days build awareness, relationships and supplier capability. OMC is tied to preparing a specific procurement and must satisfy explicit fairness, competition and documentation safeguards.
Before you continue
Reflection: What would make an Industry Day worth the time investment for both your organisation and participating SMEs?
Lesson resource: S4-L6 — full Industry Days deck covering the ILO role, supplier ecosystem and brokerage-event design checklist.
