All About
Supplier Diversity
"one of the most under talked about topics of Diversity & Inclusion."
Below are some of the typical questions pertaining to supplier diversity:
What is Supplier Diversity?
My favorite definition came from an NMSDC conference: "Supplier Diversity is the process of integrating minority and other diverse suppliers into the development and execution of corporate strategy."
What is a Supplier Diversity Program?
A Supplier Diversity program is a proactive business program which encourages the use of minority-owned, women owned, veteran owned, LGBT-owned [1], service disabled veteran owned, historically underutilized business, and Small Business Administration (SBA)-defined small business concerns as suppliers.
Who is considered a diverse supplier?
Most companies will classify your business as a diverse supplier if: 1) diverse business is owned by a minority or women and 2) the individual(s) who own the business make up 51% of the organization. If you are working with a more robust supplier diversity program, the following classifications will be considered as well: veteran owned, LGBT-owned, service disabled veteran owned, historically underutilized business (HubZone), and Small Business Administration (SBA)-defined small business.
Organizations that help diverse businesses?
Of course Speak Up La (lol) is ​on the list! But there are also resources and organizations that help diverse suppliers. Link to their pages are below:
How do I get certified?
That is the million-dollar question. Certification can be done in a few ways:
1) you can get certified through the state depending on your business classification.
Pro: It is typically low cost
2) You can get certified through one of the entities above. Certification from one of the above entities typically starts cost wise between $350-$500 and has to be paid annually.
Do I need to be certified?
The other million dollar question - honestly - It depends.
Certification can be very beneficial.
In my opinion there isn't a clear yes/no answer. It truly depends on the product, service and industry you are working with if you need certification. Certification can provide opportunity in some forums. But ultimately you need to pick what was best for your company.