Turn One Project Into a Supply-Chain Prospecting List

EDO AI PLAYBOOK · 12 OF 15 · VERSION 1.0

By Andy Greiner

An anchor investment can change the questions an EDO should ask about suppliers, services and workforce. It does not reveal a confidential vendor list. This workflow produces categories to investigate and a method for qualifying candidates before outreach.

The original project announcement; product and process information; development phase and timeline; known local industry inventory; transport and infrastructure facts; documented procurement information.

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Act as an industrial supply-chain research analyst supporting an EDO. Extract verified facts about the anchor project: company, facility, products, capacity if disclosed, announced investment and jobs, phase and timetable. Keep projections separate from realized activity.

Map plausible upstream inputs, production services, maintenance, logistics and downstream users based on the documented process. Label each category a hypothesis unless a source confirms a project-specific need. Explain the operational reason for proximity and when proximity may not matter. Do not assume the anchor will replace existing suppliers or buy locally.

Build a category-level prospecting matrix: input or service, evidence or process rationale, potential local opportunity, infrastructure requirements, timing, qualification question and confidence. Flag dependencies on technical details that have not been disclosed.

If company candidates are requested, include only identifiable companies supported by sources. For each record the relevant capability, actual facility footprint, source date, why it may fit and what must be verified. Never state that a company supplies the anchor unless a reliable source says so. Do not invent contacts, email addresses, procurement relationships or expansion intent.

Prioritize research using fit, plausible proximity benefit and evidence quality. Keep attraction opportunities separate from opportunities for existing local employers. Prepare questions for the anchor’s authorized procurement contact about qualification procedures, timing and shareable needs.

Return the project fact sheet, category map, qualified research list and next-step plan. Include a short outreach draft that asks about fit without claiming a relationship or confirmed demand. End with a list of assumptions that must be tested before this becomes a real prospect pipeline.

A sector-informed reviewer should validate the process map. Verify candidates’ capabilities and locations before contact, and keep all vendor-relationship claims source-specific.

Create a research plan for the three most promising categories, with evidence needed to qualify or eliminate each hypothesis.

Identify one possible opportunity for an existing employer before building an attraction list.

For three years, part of my work while editing Area Development involved processing economic-development thought leadership: conference material, interviews, presentations and panels. That editorial experience informs the problems I choose to tackle here. These workflows are Location Decision’s practical tools, developed to help economic developers organize evidence, ask better questions and prepare stronger work.

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