Diversity MBA Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 59) OUTLOOK FOR ENTREPRENEURS businesses worldwide. Latino supplier firms use relationships throughout Central and South America to open new markets in other countries. Hill recently visited China in an effort to help the major MBEs develop a global strategy to do business internationally. Two of the cities she visited were Shanghai and Shenyang, sister cities of Chicago since 1985. “Supplier Diversity is about growing your business, so it’s imperative you have an international strategy in order to be competitive,” she says. services,” says Gloria Castillo, executive director of Chicago United. Noel Hornsberry, director of diversity strategy and EEO compliance of U.S. Cellular, adds, “It’s just one piece of our overall diversity strategy. Whether it’s sales and marketing, operations, engineering, or finance, we locate the minority businesses that can fulfill those needs and partner with them on contracts.” Values and Benefits of Supplier Diversity Programs The first layer of supplier diversity is within the community’s diverse suppliers. MBEs hire from their own communities. They create jobs, economic vitality, and education in communities of color. “Minority suppliers of scale at a national level pursue large corporate contracts, and bring innovative practices,” Castillo says. “Diverse suppliers bring different experiences and relationships to the table. So the second layer is the value they bring to the corporate arena.” The third layer is global connectivity. Diverse suppliers have relationships with other suppliers and Supplier Diversity Best Practices Supplier diversity initiatives work best when they’re part of an overall corporate strategy and not simply centered in procurement. Ideally, they should be tied to the sales process, since sales drives the economy. In fact, understanding how supplier diversity affects sales revenue is a quantifiable tool for selling more products. Interviews of corporations and certifying organizations revealed the following six best practices. • Have support from the top. The president and CEO need to embrace the concept for it to be Companies with a world-class program understand that supplier diversity provides them with a return on investment. It is not a social initiative; it is a business necessity. 59 M arch 2008 Top 5 0 Co m p ani e s
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