Diversity

Are you sure your Diverse suppliers really meet the necessary criteria?

Diversity has become increasingly important in business strategy throughout the world. In addition to the compliance and tax implications of using diverse suppliers, there are strong market drivers as well.

• Supporting diverse suppliers stimulates job creation and economic development. Establishing contracts with these suppliers helps your enterprise grow, and provides the communities or the market segments you are employing with additional disposable income.
• Working with diverse suppliers gives a company a favorable public image and is seen as a form of corporate social responsibility. This increases the satisfaction of the company's stakeholders, and can be an important part of your company's selection as a provider of goods and services by other buyers.
• Helping diverse suppliers grow creates competition for non-diverse suppliers. This can lead to lower prices, more choices and better quality goods and services in the long term as more businesses compete for the same contracts.

However, ensuring that suppliers reporting themselves as diverse actually meet diversity requirements can be a challenge. You need more than a checkbox on a form. Certification of diversity qualification must be collected, and in some cases validated, for each supplier. Suppliers can be registered through a variety of approved third-party organizations. Some examples include:

• National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)
• Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
• National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Approved State, City, Local Government Municipalities

Diversity's scope and levels of implementation vary by geographical territory, and therefore often influenced by differing local legislative regimes. As a result, it's important to understand the requirements of each, and to collect, monitor and manage the appropriate diversity information and credentials.

Aravo can help.

Aravo has helped many companies across industries manage supplier diversity reporting and certification tracking. Call for your customized ROI Analysis. For more information, please click on one of the choices in the Learn More box to the right.