Supplier Diversity Starter Checklist & Best Practices

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Supplier Diversity programs can be a terrific way to extend your organization's DEI principles out into your community.  Supplier diversity isn't limited to products - think of your business partners, referral partners and service providers - they can all fall into your supplier diversity strategy.  Being intentional about who you spend your money with as an organization can make a big difference!

Not sure where to begin?  Here are some steps to get you started:

1. Define what “diverse supplier” means to your organization
   • Owned only vs owned and operated
   • Include women, race, LGBTQ+, veteran, disabled, immigrant, others?
   • Local and/or small business included? Prioritized?
   • Is certification required?

2. Track your spend now and set baseline for future goals

   • Look at $ spent and % of total spend

   • In total and by category

   • Identify key areas to target for diverse suppliers

   • Identify goals for diverse supplier spend with timeframes ($ and/or % spend)

   • Develop reporting-out mechanism

3. Identify partners and resources to reach diverse suppliers

   1. Regional certification organizations

   2. Chambers of commerce

      • Include city Chambers as well as Chambers specifically for diverse business owners

      • Current business partners, especially those with supplier diversity programs

      • Local non-profits

4. Create and launch communications plan

   • Internal and external communications

   • Include purpose of program, alignment with organization’s values and story of impact being made

   • Communicate how to submit suggested vendors/suppliers

5. Develop internal group to support diverse suppliers

   • Onboarding

   • Identify where terms may need flexibility (such as payment terms, insurance, etc.)

   • Provide point of contact for support as needed

6. Conduct regular reviews of program

   • Every 6 months – what is working, what needs to be improved, big wins to share in communications, etc.

   • Share out to leadership along with spend and impact tracking
   

And please see below for our infographic on Supplier Diversity Best Practices.

Need help determining how to achieve high-impact, measurable results with your DEI work?  Contact us here.

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