FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Industry will get a chance to connect with program managers, learn about contracting opportunities and share innovative practices at the Defense Logistics Agency Research and Development’s sixth annual Industry Collider Day Sept. 3.
The daylong event will begin with remarks from DLA leaders and a panel of government and industry experts to discuss ways to align defense industrial base businesses with military sustainment requirements.
The other morning activity includes an awards program where small businesses have the potential to receive on-the-spot contracts in response to previously issued Small Business Innovation Research proposals. Contracts will help those companies bridge the gap between R&D to market-ready products in critical areas like strategic materials recycling and recovery, automation and robotics, and extended shelf-life food technologies.
Attendees can then join one of four simultaneous tracks in the afternoon. Break-out sessions will highlight DLA contracting options and small business resources; R&D improvements with repair parts procurement, artificial intelligence tools and critical materials recovery; and information for industry on current and upcoming cyber and data compliance requirements.
Current and former SBIR contract awardees will headline a new session this year to share their experiences and lessons learned.
“Our goal for these tracks is to allow attendees to see the breadth of DLA’s R&D efforts, to learn about the different pathways for doing business with DLA and hear about our successes to fulfill capability gaps,” DLA R&D Deputy Director Martina Johnson said.
“We are especially excited to share insights with vendors who haven’t worked with DLA in the past and encourage them to partner with us in the future,” she added. “So far our registration reflects that many companies new to DLA are planning to attend.”
The event will also include a knowledge lounge with booths from DLA major subordinate commands and PMs, plus matchmaker meetings among small businesses and R&D experts to discuss select technology solicitations.
This year’s theme, “Prevail and Accelerate: Agile Innovation to Optimize the Supply Chain,” focuses on empowering businesses that play a pivotal role in strengthening the defense supply chain by addressing such challenges as demand forecasting and advanced manufacturing.
“A major focus of this event is to forge strong relationships between DLA and our vendor community, and we’re always looking for new ways to make those conversations even more valuable,” Johnson said.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the free event and receive the full agenda along with instructions on accessing live-streamed content from the morning sessions if unable to attend in person. For more information, contact the R&D team.