Future of Sourcing - Supplier Diversity https://futureofsourcing.com/tags/supplier-diversity en How Procurement Teams Can Diversify Suppliers And Manage Risk https://futureofsourcing.com/how-procurement-teams-can-diversify-suppliers-and-manage-risk <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Diversify-Suppliers-And-Manage-Risk.jpg"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Diversify-Suppliers-And-Manage-Risk.jpg" title="Procurement officers have an important role in helping minority-owned suppliers overcome barriers to accessing contracts through smart risk management policies." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2209-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Diversify-Suppliers-And-Manage-Risk.jpg?itok=ODIev78W" width="624" height="325" alt="Procurement officers have an important role in helping minority-owned suppliers overcome barriers to accessing contracts through smart risk management policies." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><em>Procurement officers have an important role in helping minority-owned suppliers overcome barriers to accessing contracts through smart risk management policies says Lara Hodgson, CEO and Co-founder of <a href="https://nowcorp.com/" target="_blank">Now</a>. She shares five tips to help procurement teams meet DE&amp;I supplier goals.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/cash-flow-velocity-redefining-supply-chain-financing">Cash Flow Velocity: Redefining Supply Chain Financing</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Over the past few years, large enterprises have made incremental progress toward a more diverse supplier ecosystem, but we&rsquo;re still not there. A recent <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/01/25/your-corporate-supplier-diversity-efforts-are-not-going-as-well-as-you-think/" target="_blank">survey of 100 large global companies</a> by The Hackett Group found these companies intend to increase spending on diverse suppliers by over 50% during the next three years. While these commitments are a start, DE&amp;I initiatives are empty without a plan. But, with the proper framework and tools, procurement teams can start diversifying their supplier ecosystems and experiencing the inherent benefits of working with small business suppliers.</p> <h1>Supplier Reliability and Diversity Aren&rsquo;t Tradeoffs</h1> <p>A procurement team tasked with diversifying its company&rsquo;s supplier network must perform a careful balancing act. First and foremost, they must ensure that the company has access to the right goods and services when it needs them. For larger companies, this means finding suppliers with the resources to scale their business, which tilts the balance in favor of larger suppliers. Just as &ldquo;no one ever got fired for buying from IBM,&rdquo; procurement teams naturally seek to reduce risk by buying from larger, more established suppliers rather than smaller alternatives that can provide a comparable product.</p> <p>Yet this tendency to seek out large suppliers to manage risk often conflicts with mandates to diversify a company&rsquo;s supplier ecosystem. While there are large suppliers run by women and people of color, the <a href="https://clutch.co/business-services/resources/supplier-diversity-small-business-statistics" target="_blank">vast majority of underrepresented suppliers</a> are small or medium-sized businesses. Procurement teams tend to steer away from working with smaller underrepresented suppliers, as it could mean a higher risk that the supplier won&rsquo;t be able to deliver. As a result, they stick with the safe option, and the promised supplier diversity fails to materialize.</p> <p>I saw this happen directly with my first company, Nourish Inc. We produced spill-proof bottles for children and toddlers, and during the early years, we had no problem meeting demand from smaller retailers. But when we had the opportunity to supply our product to a major food distributor, we couldn&rsquo;t pay for the cost of scaling because our cash was stuck in unpaid customer invoices. We were a completely free, no-interest bank to our customers. We had no other option but to turn down the major contract that could have taken our company to the next level.</p> <p>This experience taught me a valuable lesson: Most small suppliers don&rsquo;t go out of business; they <em>grow</em> out of business. The problem is that small businesses typically lack the capital and resources they need to scale, which creates a paradoxical situation where a small business becomes a victim of its success. This phenomenon hits minority-owned suppliers particularly hard and undermines sourcing diversification efforts. Fortunately, there are several steps procurement teams can take to support these businesses while diversifying their supplier network and minimizing risk.</p> <h2>How Procurement Teams Can Meet DE&amp;I Supplier Goals</h2> <h3>1. Be Honest About Payment Time</h3> <p>While it is common for many suppliers to submit net-30 invoices to their customers, the reality is that procurement teams rarely meet this timeline. Procurement officers should work with their accounts payable team to reduce the time to pay rather than paying net-whenever they want.</p> <p>Paying suppliers faster will help them grow their business while simultaneously reducing the risk of non-delivery. However, finance teams are incentivized to hold onto company cash as long as possible and that means delaying payments. If payments cannot be accelerated, be honest with suppliers about the likely time to wait for payments to arrive and educate them about solutions they can use to get paid faster.</p> <h3>2. Clarify Supplier Contract Requirements</h3> <p>From types of insurance to certifications and delivery timelines, most large enterprises have very rigorous requirements for suppliers who want to do business with them. These requirements are often buried deep in the company&rsquo;s website &ndash; if they&rsquo;re online at all &ndash; which makes it difficult for suppliers to vet themselves before submitting a bid. By making supplier requirements more accessible, procurement teams limit the risk of contracting with an unprepared supplier while ensuring potential suppliers have all the necessary information to submit a strong bid.</p> <h3>3. Make the Sourcing Decision-Making Process Transparent</h3> <p>It is often unclear to SMBs how procurement decisions are made in large enterprises. To ease the process for suppliers, buyers and procurement organizations should increase visibility to the decision-making process, lifting the curtain on the sourcing process. Efforts that small and diverse suppliers currently spend ferreting out the right person to talk to can instead be spent preparing a contract bid, completing the preparation steps to qualify as a supplier or searching for other customers that are a better fit for their business.</p> <h3>4. Use Curated Supplier Networks</h3> <p>A significant challenge for procurement teams is finding a diverse supplier for their business that fits its parameters and that can deliver at the required scale. While supplier databases exist, most procurement teams do not have the bandwidth to perform due diligence on thousands of potential diverse suppliers.</p> <p>Working with both diverse suppliers and with enterprise supplier diversity teams, my team saw the profound need for a network that creates intelligent connections in real time between procurement teams and diverse suppliers with the readiness to deliver at an enterprise&rsquo;s specified scale and that develops the diverse suppliers&rsquo; readiness.</p> <h3>5. Create a Supplier Apprentice Program</h3> <p>Suppose a procurement team finds a supplier that they like but that isn&rsquo;t quite ready to meet the demands of their organization. In that case, they can still give them a boost while diversifying their supplier network by connecting them with some of their other suppliers. This creates an opportunity for the small supplier to become a subcontractor for a larger supplier to the enterprise.</p> <p>Through this subcontractor role, the smaller supplier can grow their business while simultaneously getting exposure to the requirements of the larger enterprise. This has the function of a &ldquo;supplier apprentice program&rdquo; that will help smaller suppliers prepare to become larger suppliers to a business in the future.</p> <h2>The Bottom Line</h2> <p>Large enterprises are sincere in their desire to help level the playing field for small and underrepresented businesses. While many offer a variety of programs, including grants, technical assistance and mentoring, nothing levels the playing field in a sustainable way as buying from them.</p> <p>Of course, not every solution will work for every business. The strategies chosen by a procurement team will depend on their unique situation, but both procurement teams and suppliers will benefit by leveraging these tips. When procurement teams commit to diversifying their suppliers and meeting DE&amp;I goals, there is a positive ripple effect: promises are fulfilled, requirements are met, diverse perspectives and products are introduced, small businesses prosper, the public approves and customers are happy.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/diversity-and-inclusion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Diversity and Inclusion</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/environmental-and-social-governance-esg-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Environmental and social governance (ESG)</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="How Procurement Teams Can Diversify Suppliers And Manage Risk - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/how-procurement-teams-can-diversify-suppliers-and-manage-risk"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Fri, 29 Jul 2022 02:00:00 +0000 Laura Hodgson 2209 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/how-procurement-teams-can-diversify-suppliers-and-manage-risk#comments Four Resolutions for Supply Chain ESG Management https://futureofsourcing.com/four-resolutions-for-supply-chain-esg-management <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Four%20Resolutions%20for%20Supply-Chain%20ESG%20Management.jpg"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Four%20Resolutions%20for%20Supply-Chain%20ESG%20Management.jpg" title="In order to improve ESG performance, organizations must be more open about reporting ESG risks." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2166-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Four%20Resolutions%20for%20Supply-Chain%20ESG%20Management.jpg?itok=UbcyD2kM" width="624" height="325" alt="In order to improve ESG performance, organizations must be more open about reporting ESG risks." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>In order to improve ESG performance, organizations must be more open about reporting ESG risks, disclose ESG metrics in line with industry peers, find a way to track hard-to-find metrics like supplier diversity, and tap technology to improve ESG governance and risk management says Riskonnect CEO&nbsp;Jim Wetekamp. He shares four&nbsp;ESG supply chain considerations for every risk and sourcing leader who wants to proactively improve ESG performance.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/three-tips-for-dealing-with-pandemic-driven-risk">Three Tips for Dealing with Pandemic-Driven Risk</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>The pressure is on to strengthen environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. ESG factors influence a multitude of critical decisions &ndash; from where <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/insights/topics/strategy/trust-in-corporate-climate-change-commitments.html" target="_blank">people invest</a> to where they work. Indeed, 42% of consumers say they will only buy from <a href="https://www.ey.com/en_us/consumer-products-retail/us-future-consumer-index-7-how-to-satisfy-the-sustainable-consumer" target="_blank">brands that align with their values</a>. &nbsp;</p> <p>Maybe you have taken steps to integrate ESG into operations, but what&rsquo;s next? Given that two-thirds of the average company&rsquo;s ESG footprint <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/buying-into-a-more-sustainable-value-chain" target="_blank">lies with its suppliers</a> and nearly 90% of greenhouse-gas emissions <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/the-ceo-architect-of-the-new-operations-agenda" target="_blank">come from a company&rsquo;s supply chain</a>, the answer is simple: your third parties. Even small, incremental improvements on environmental and social factors within the supply chain can significantly improve your overall ESG performance.</p> <p>Here are four ESG supply chain considerations for every risk and sourcing leader who wants to proactively improve ESG performance.</p> <h1>1. Be More Open About Reporting ESG Risks</h1> <p>Everyone is <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/insights/topics/strategy/trust-in-corporate-climate-change-commitments.html" target="_blank">leery of &ldquo;greenwashing</a>.&rdquo; Customers and stakeholders want to know that the companies they work for and do business with are being authentic in their commitments &ndash; and transparency is critical to delivering on expectations. &nbsp;</p> <p>While most ESG reporting today is voluntary, regulations are imminent. But don&rsquo;t wait for specific requirements to shake out. Be proactive and start reporting on the ESG metrics most important to your organization. Embracing transparency sends a signal to your stakeholders that you place a priority on being a good corporate citizen, have a plan to address any issues and are dedicated to improvement. Starting early will also give you a competitive edge once regulations inevitably roll out.</p> <h2>2. Disclose ESG Metrics in Line With Industry Peers</h2> <p>ESG performance is a major force in the investment world &ndash; specifically the access to and cost of capital. Today&rsquo;s investors are demanding credible ESG data to evaluate their options. Consider providing metrics similar to what your peers are reporting to help investors compare performance and make informed investment decisions.</p> <h2>3. Find a Way to Track Hard-to-Find Metrics Like Supplier Diversity</h2> <p>Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&amp;I) is a key part of the social element of ESG. While corporate America has increased its awareness of workforce diversity, comparable data from global suppliers can be hard to come by.</p> <p>Differing local reporting requirements and definitions of what constitutes &ldquo;diversity&rdquo; may mean the data you need is simply not there. In that case, you will have to work with your suppliers to begin collecting the type of DE&amp;I data that you need in the form you require.</p> <h2>4. Tap Technology to Improve ESG Governance and Risk Management</h2> <p>Organizations serious about improving supply chain ESG will invest in technology to streamline and standardize the complex process of ESG data collection and analysis. The data you need could be scattered across myriad departments and locations. Gathering that data, staying on top of requirements, keeping track of policies and ensuring your supply chain partners are adhering to your standards is virtually impossible with decentralized systems like spreadsheets.</p> <p>Integrated software is instrumental in bringing ESG risk insights from across the extended enterprise into one place. The right platform can automatically pull relevant data you already collect from wherever it currently resides inside or outside your organization. Any missing information can be seamlessly added via supplier portals, third-party data feeds and more.</p> <p>Having real-time information in one place enables you to understand the full scope of your exposure and proactively manage ESG metrics in a way that will positively impact your operations, brand and stakeholders.</p> <h2>Start Early and Invest Big</h2> <p>The focus and scrutiny on ESG reporting will only intensify. As ESG becomes more ingrained in internal operations, executives will increasingly expand their focus to include supply chain partners. Start now to define the ESG metrics most meaningful to your organization and your industry. You will be ready for any future regulatory requirements &ndash; and will be well on your way toward earning the trust of your stakeholders.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/riskonnect" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Riskonnect</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/environmental-and-social-governance-esg-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Environmental and social governance (ESG)</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-relationship-management-srm" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Four Resolutions for Supply Chain ESG Management - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/four-resolutions-for-supply-chain-esg-management"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Wed, 29 Jun 2022 02:00:00 +0000 Jim Wetekamp 2166 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/four-resolutions-for-supply-chain-esg-management#comments Three Steps to Minimize Supply-Chain Disruptions https://futureofsourcing.com/three-steps-to-minimize-supply-chain-disruptions <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Three-Steps-Minimize-Supply-Chain-Disruptions.jpg"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Three-Steps-Minimize-Supply-Chain-Disruptions.jpg" title="With no foreseeable end date to supply chain disruptions, now is the time for organizations to examine the likelihood of interruptions and aim to get ahead of the problem before it takes hold." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2181-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Three-Steps-Minimize-Supply-Chain-Disruptions.jpg?itok=fFOX608-" width="624" height="325" alt="With no foreseeable end date to supply chain disruptions, now is the time for organizations to examine the likelihood of interruptions and aim to get ahead of the problem before it takes hold." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><em>With no foreseeable end date to supply chain disruptions, now is the time for organizations to examine the likelihood of interruptions and aim to get ahead of the problem before it takes hold says Jim Wetekamp, CEO of <a href="http://www.riskonnect.com" target="_blank">Riskonnect</a>. He shares a three-step plan to build supply chain visibility, plan for various situations and the benefits of diversifying your supply sources.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/three-tips-for-dealing-with-pandemic-driven-risk">Three Tips for Dealing with Pandemic-Driven Risk</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Most businesses didn&rsquo;t anticipate having to handle the supply-chain impacts of several disruptive forces at once: an ongoing pandemic, a severe crunch for talent and Russia&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine.</p> <p>Pandemic-driven shortages are still in full swing. New <a href="https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3172932/shanghai-port-operations-hit-citys-covid-19-outbreak" target="_blank">COVID outbreaks in China</a> are slowing the flow of goods into the U.S. The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-companies-grapple-with-surging-costs-supply-chain-problems-persist-2022-02-25/" target="_blank">ongoing mass exodus</a> of supply chain and logistics workers continues to make it difficult for companies to keep up with demand. Russia&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine compounds these challenges. Economic sanctions from Western countries are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/18/russia-ukraine-war-china-covid-supply-chain/" target="_blank">driving up global logistics costs</a> and lead times, exacerbating supply shortages.</p> <p>The odds of so many risk events coalescing are seemingly low. But the past few years have shined a spotlight on the interplay of risks. Every big risk event weakens you for any subsequent event, amplifying the damage and disruption.</p> <h2>What Could Come Next?</h2> <p>Europe is facing its worst migrant crisis since World War II as Ukrainian refugees flee to Poland and other neighboring countries. The rippling economic effects could tack onto current supply-chain pressures. The prospect of disruptive cyberattacks is also becoming more likely. Ransomware actors are <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-ransomware-attacks-on-us-supply-chain-are-undermining-national-security-customs-and-border-protection-bulletin-warns-191403260.html" target="_blank">focusing their attention</a> on manufacturers&rsquo; supply chains, threatening to cripple already strained operations and undermine national security.</p> <p>At the same time, climate change and an uptick in damaging extreme weather events are threatening supply-chain resilience. Coastal flooding due to rising sea levels can lead to port closures, facility shutdowns and other logistical challenges.</p> <p>No matter what risk events lie in wait, there are ways to lessen the potential impact and speed your response time.</p> <h2>How to Act Now</h2> <p>There are three steps you can take today to bolster your supply-chain risk management capabilities.</p> <h3>1. Build Supply-Chain Visibility</h3> <p>Incomplete, scattered, or out-of-date information can leave you blind to what&rsquo;s coming and flat-footed when disruptions hit. Companies often work with an array of procurement and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, each home to different pieces of supplier, product and transaction data. These disparate technologies limit teams&rsquo; view of the supply base, which hinders the ability to make fast and confident decisions.</p> <p>Trustworthy data is table stakes for supply-chain risk management. Build visibility by getting all your supply-chain data &ndash; product quality, contracts, on-time delivery performance, supplier financial and cyber health, ESG metrics and more &ndash; in one place. Bringing all your information into one platform with relationship mapping capabilities gives you deep insight into supplier performance, potential risks and the impact each partner has on the organization. If a supplier is in poor financial standing, for instance, you can see your total risk exposure and quickly pivot before that supplier goes out of business.</p> <h3>2. Model Various Scenarios</h3> <p>If a major hurricane shuts down several key ports, how severe would the supply-chain interruptions be for your business? How quickly could you detect and respond to a cyberattack on your supply-chain operations? Could you handle both events if they happened at the same time? If you aren&rsquo;t confident in your organization&rsquo;s ability to withstand coinciding disruptions, now is the time to prepare.</p> <p>Scenario planning is an invaluable tool to up your game. Play out various potential risk scenarios to understand the impact each would have on your organization. Assess your ability to respond to multiple events at once and choose appropriate mitigations. It&rsquo;s critical to proactively look beyond daily risk exposures to prepare for more disruptive events and bigger abnormalities.</p> <h3>3. Diversify Your Supply Sources</h3> <p>COVID-19 highlighted the drawbacks of heavily relying on offshore supply-chain operations. Even still, companies&rsquo; <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-04-04/supply-chain-latest-american-companies-are-overstocking" target="_blank">reshoring efforts have been slow</a>, and many supply chains still lean on distant supply sources.</p> <p>Supply-chain resilience hinges on having a diversified portfolio of suppliers to tap in the event your primary relationships can&rsquo;t deliver. If a port shutdown closes off a key supplier on the other side of the world, being able to identify and pull the trigger on an alternative supply source, possibly closer to home, is paramount. &nbsp;This will help protect the flow of goods when confronted by future pandemics, geopolitical issues and other major risk events.</p> <h2>The Interplay of Risks</h2> <p>Supply-chain hiccups are inevitable. What makes today&rsquo;s landscape especially challenging is the interplay of major risk events, including the pandemic, talent shortage, war and more. There will be more disruption. Build up your supply-chain and risk management capabilities now so you&rsquo;re ready for what could come next.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/environmental-and-social-governance-esg-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Environmental and social governance (ESG)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/enterprise-resource-planning-erp" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/riskonnect" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Riskonnect</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Three Steps to Minimize Supply-Chain Disruptions - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/three-steps-to-minimize-supply-chain-disruptions"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Mon, 30 May 2022 02:00:00 +0000 Jim Wetekamp 2181 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/three-steps-to-minimize-supply-chain-disruptions#comments Procurement’s Increasing CSR Role https://futureofsourcing.com/procurements-increasing-csr-role <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Procurements%20Increasing%20CSR%20Role.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Procurements%20Increasing%20CSR%20Role.png" title="Procurement can impact corporate social responsibility efforts, support supplier stewardship and increase diversity initiatives all through day-to-day operations." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2093-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Procurements%20Increasing%20CSR%20Role.png?itok=F8j7beTk" width="624" height="325" alt="Procurement can impact corporate social responsibility efforts, support supplier stewardship and increase diversity initiatives all through day-to-day operations." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>Procurement&rsquo;s Increasing CSR Role</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/shifting-source-to-pay-operations-to-serve-the-values-based-consumer">Shifting Source-to-Pay Operations to Serve the Values-Based Consumer</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Traditionally thought of as just being responsible for dollars and cents, the function of today&rsquo;s procurement team goes much further than purchasing supplies needed to run an organization&rsquo;s day-to-day operations. Beyond managing the entire supply chain process, their responsibilities have expanded in the wake of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement.</p> <p>There are several reasons for this shift &ndash; from a stronger C-level partnership to increased digitization of AP functions to automate repetitive tasks, to supporting CSR initiatives. But one thing is clear: today&rsquo;s procurement teams can actively shape and transform a business&rsquo;s reputation. They can impact <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/procurements-carbon-transparency-problem" target="_blank">corporate responsibility efforts</a>, support supplier stewardship and increase diversity initiatives all through day-to-day operations. Let&rsquo;s examine each of these areas.</p> <h2>The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility to the Enterprise</h2> <p>The idea of CSR has come a long way. It has transformed from an applauded practice to an expected standard. It&rsquo;s also shown to be a financial benefit to organizations with <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/causeintegration/2015/08/26/doing-good-is-good-business-but-can-you-prove-it/?sh=3b2ffad1a52d" target="_blank">documented impact</a> on market value, share price, risk reduction, brand reputation, production and staff retention. And the list goes on.</p> <p>To achieve the organization&rsquo;s CSR goals, the importance of communicating expectations to the procurement team is critical. The procurement team can also raise compliance concerns they might have directly with specific suppliers or to leadership. <a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/7-tips-to-shape-the-future-of-supplier-diversity-in-the-enterprise" target="_blank">Working together, leadership, procurement teams and suppliers can all agree to basic CSR standards</a>. Plus, advancements in technology frees up the procurement team to track, understand and monitor the complete environmental impact of their supply chain and ensure compliance.</p> <p>Investing time and resources into CSR efforts is beneficial to an organization. However, to make a real impact, procurement teams need to be empowered to make decisions. Supplier stewardship is an importance component to both short- and long-term success. This is the concept behind the stewardship theory &ndash; that managers, left on their own, will act responsibly to support the greater good instead of self-serving behavior.</p> <p>Done right, a stewardship program clearly supports your larger CSR values, principles and policies to partners, but also empowers your procurement team to hold suppliers to these standards and to make decisions that support and protect your organization&rsquo;s CSR efforts. Given authority to make the right decision and the tools to monitor performance against standards adds another layer of support to your CSR efforts.</p> <p>A major part of this CSR support is ensuring an <a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/5-tips-to-write-supply-chain-contracts-for-diverse-suppliers" target="_blank">inclusive and diverse supply chain</a>. Expanding your list of vendors diversifies your supplier base while simultaneously supporting minority-owned and small businesses. It also increases spend and consumption while promoting job creation. Financially, it helps increase competition resulting in better prices and service levels along with increased flexibility, agility and resiliency.</p> <p>In fact, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/geristengel/2020/04/01/supplier-diversity-will-help-businesses-large-and-small-recover-from-pandemic/#2368cb33143c" target="_blank">Forbes</a> suggested that supplier diversity will help businesses large and small recover from the pandemic. If your organization has the support for it, tap into platforms and tools to help identify diverse suppliers and their capabilities. If your organization does not have the budget or support to do so, consider creating a simple tracking spreadsheet or a database to capture diverse suppliers and their capabilities. Ultimately, a diverse supply chain is good for business.</p> <p>Finally, it is important to note that reducing costs will always be an important priority in most companies, and until recently, managing many small suppliers would add costs to the procurement process. Today, however, digital procurement technologies can enable companies to work with small suppliers without significantly increasing indirect procurement costs. As a result, supplier diversity goals and cost savings goals are no longer necessarily incompatible.</p> <h2>A Greener Bottom Line</h2> <p>Procurement teams now have the responsibility to support CSR efforts. They have the tools and resources in place to fully vet a potential supplier and can set standards for doing business. When empowered with the proper authority, procurement can set standards for sourcing that not only supports an enterprises&rsquo; overall CSR efforts, but supports a greener, more sustainable and healthier bottom line.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/corporate-social-responsibility-csr" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Corporate social responsibility (CSR)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/medius" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Medius</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Procurement&amp;rsquo;s Increasing CSR Role - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/procurements-increasing-csr-role"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Mon, 13 Dec 2021 18:44:45 +0000 Shannon Kreps 2093 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/procurements-increasing-csr-role#comments How Will You Weather the Next Storm? Build a Stronger Supply Chain https://futureofsourcing.com/how-will-you-weather-the-next-storm-build-a-stronger-supply-chain <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/How%20Will%20You%20Weather%20the%20Next%20Storm%3F%20Build%20a%20Stronger%20Supply%20Chain.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/How%20Will%20You%20Weather%20the%20Next%20Storm%3F%20Build%20a%20Stronger%20Supply%20Chain.png" title="How Will You Weather the Next Storm? Build a Stronger Supply Chain" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2071-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/How%20Will%20You%20Weather%20the%20Next%20Storm%3F%20Build%20a%20Stronger%20Supply%20Chain.png?itok=glpNNMWE" width="624" height="325" alt="How Will You Weather the Next Storm? Build a Stronger Supply Chain" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>How Will You Weather the Next Storm? Build a Stronger Supply Chain</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/how-to-recognize-and-manage-supplier-red-flags">How to Recognize and Manage Supplier Red Flags</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>In the world of procurement, there is <a href="https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/china-supply-chains-procurement-sourcing-resilience-vietnam/606321/" target="_blank">always another crisis right around the corner</a>. Time and time again, the industry has been rattled by various disruptions and forced to reconsider how we will weather the storm better than we have had in the past.</p> <p>Unfortunately, the latest disruptions prove that companies still have <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2021/10/31/at-g20-summit-biden-announces-new-steps-to-combat-supply-chain-crisis/?sh=1c6e61b63e1f" target="_blank">not taken the necessary steps</a> to protect themselves from the harrowing impacts of crises like loss of revenue, negative effects on consumers and more. So how are procurement professionals supposed to build stronger, more resilient supply chains that are agile enough to withstand these unfortunate events?</p> <h2>Examine the Past</h2> <p>Crisis can strike at any time, often causing a number of devastating results. Unfortunately, when it comes to better preparation, the age-old adage &ldquo;history repeats itself&rdquo; definitely applies. One of the best ways procurement leaders can learn from past mistakes is to be fully aware of what they&rsquo;re up against.</p> <h3>Natural Disasters</h3> <p>The last decade alone has presented its fair share of natural disasters that have caused major supply chain disruptions. Earthquakes have resulted in a loss of power to millions and an abrupt pause in vehicle manufacturing. Hurricanes and typhoons across the world have inflicted damage to transportation hubs and caused fuel shortages, while agricultural losses have affected local, national and international product supply chains.</p> <h3>Man-Made Crises</h3> <p>In 2015, the Port of Tianjin in China faced multiple explosions and uncontrollable fires as a result of a lack of proper safety protocols &mdash; thousands of vehicles meant for sale were destroyed and several buildings were compromised. In 2016, the new Brexit&nbsp; ruling caused a number of employment, trading and travel regulations to be upended, resulting in a stunt of the U.K.&rsquo;s economic growth.</p> <h3>COVID-19</h3> <p>It goes without saying that COVID-19 is the largest shock the supply chain industry has ever seen, and it&rsquo;s still not over. With unprecedented disruptions and a highly increased demand for supplies, in less than two years, this crisis has caused supply chains all over the world to come to a grinding halt and cost the industry an estimated $28 trillion in lost revenue.</p> <h2>Using Data to Protect Against Disruptions</h2> <p>Without plans in place &mdash; and the capability to properly execute those plans &mdash; organizations will face the same disruptions again. While procurement leaders can&rsquo;t prevent a crisis from happening, they can create a contingency plan that allows them to weather the storm without experiencing major disruptions. Formulating this plan begins, first and foremost, with good supplier data.</p> <p>Think about it: Supply chains experience disruptions when the supplier that was intended to provide a good or service is unable to do so. If you have strong supplier data at your disposal, you can develop a plan to replace that supplier quickly before a major disruption occurs.</p> <p>The problem is, very few organizations have that strong supplier data in the first place. In fact, 72% of procurement leaders are concerned that their supplier intel has not improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving them vulnerable and unable to remain agile. The ironic thing is that 96% of that same group agrees that agility is more important than cost savings.</p> <h2>Improving Data Management</h2> <p>To improve supplier data, procurement teams need to first examine how they&rsquo;re aggregating and managing data. Too often, they use manual methods &mdash; such as web searches and spreadsheets &mdash; to keep track of information, but this leaves data siloed and teams unable to quickly find alternative and diverse suppliers.</p> <p>To improve agility and resilience, organizations need to invest in technology that automatically harvests, analyzes and improves supplier data. This digitization allows for better flexibility so they can easily find the suppliers necessary to maintain a strong supply chain.</p> <h2>Building Supplier Diversity Programs</h2> <p>When planning for crises, a good contingency plan will always include alternative suppliers, routes and production models. No matter how many or few suppliers your organization works with, there is always room for diversification to allow for better responses to any disruption.</p> <p>Planning to use alternative suppliers is one thing &mdash; finding them is another. Using an automated, digital system for supplier discovery can assist procurement teams in finding diverse, alternative suppliers in a fraction of the time compared to manual methods.</p> <h2>Strong Data is the Key to Weathering the Storm</h2> <p>In the procurement world, it&rsquo;s not a matter of <em>if</em> there will be the next crisis, it&rsquo;s a matter of <em>when</em> it will strike. By learning from past mistakes and improving access to quality supplier data, your organization will be able to&nbsp; handle the crisis with agility and flexibility and stand strong against disruption.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/tealbook" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tealbook</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-data" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">supplier data</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="How Will You Weather the Next Storm? Build a Stronger Supply Chain - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/how-will-you-weather-the-next-storm-build-a-stronger-supply-chain"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Wed, 20 Oct 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Stephany Lapierre 2071 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/how-will-you-weather-the-next-storm-build-a-stronger-supply-chain#comments Three Steps to a More Equitable RFP Process https://futureofsourcing.com/three-steps-to-a-more-equitable-rfp-process <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Three%20Steps%20to%20a%20More%20Equitable%20RFP%20Process.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Three%20Steps%20to%20a%20More%20Equitable%20RFP%20Process.png" title="Three Steps to a More Equitable RFP Process" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2070-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Three%20Steps%20to%20a%20More%20Equitable%20RFP%20Process.png?itok=WgvDsasf" width="624" height="325" alt="Three Steps to a More Equitable RFP Process" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>Three Steps to a More Equitable RFP Process</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/5-insights-to-drive-your-procurement-priorities">5 Insights to Drive Your Procurement Priorities</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Supplier diversity. These days, it&rsquo;s more than a buzzword. It&rsquo;s rapidly become a top priority for many organizations.</p> <p>According to new data, a renewed focus and much-needed attention to supplier diversity is only going to pick up more steam. The annual <a href="https://sig.org/state-public-sourcing-report" target="_blank">2021 Bonfire State of Public Sourcing Report</a> reveals that despite a return to pre-pandemic project numbers in 2021, things for procurement teams aren&rsquo;t exactly &ldquo;back to normal.&rdquo; As business ramps up, procurement teams are navigating <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2021/10/31/at-g20-summit-biden-announces-new-steps-to-combat-supply-chain-crisis/?sh=1c6e61b63e1f">new focuses, strategies and goals</a>&mdash;including paying closer attention to ensuring equitable opportunity for small and disadvantaged businesses to benefit from new growth.</p> <p>Sourcing goods and services from historically disadvantaged or marginalized groups, such as minority or women-owned businesses, or small businesses, has emerged as a priority in part due to the Biden administration. The administration has outlined <a href="https://joebiden.com/main-street/" target="_blank">intentions</a> to &ldquo;support small businesses and tackle inequities in the federal contracting system,&rdquo; including tripling federal contracting goals for small, disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) by 2025.</p> <p>The push for supplier diversity goes well beyond the U.S. Federal Government. Organizations such as the <a href="https://www.rbc.com/sourcing/supplier_diversity.html" target="_blank">Royal Bank of Canada</a>, <a href="https://corporate.delltechnologies.com/en-ca/social-impact/advancing-sustainability/sustainable-supply-chain/supplier-diversity.htm" target="_blank">Dell Technologies</a>, and <a href="https://www.unilever.com/suppliers/working-together/partner-with-purpose/our-people-plans/" target="_blank">Unilever</a> have each outlined the ways that they promote equality and inclusive economic growth through supplier diversity initiatives.</p> <p>Besides using purchasing power to promote the overall social good, engaging diverse vendors is integral to fostering competition against the established &ldquo;big players&rdquo; in any industry&mdash;ensuring that the purchasing organization can secure more best-value contracts.</p> <p>So, supplier diversity is important&mdash;but where do you even start? If your procurement team is small or you don&rsquo;t already have an established supplier diversity program, it can quickly fall to the back burner. That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;ve got you covered with three steps you can take to start awarding your RFPs more equitably now.</p> <h2>1. Eliminate Barriers That Discourage Bidding</h2> <p>Since historically disadvantaged businesses may have fewer resources, both in terms of headcount and budget, there may be inconsistencies in what is categorized as a barrier to entry for a business.</p> <p>Let&rsquo;s look at online bidding portals, for instance. The State of Public Sourcing Report found that eProcurement use in public agencies has increased by 38% since 2019, and vendors submitting bids through Bonfire&rsquo;s eProcurement solution has increased by 55%. As more organizations adopt online solutions to post solicitations and evaluate bid submissions, it&rsquo;s important to keep the vendor experience top of mind, especially for small or disadvantaged businesses. Ask yourself: Are there steps or processes that might create barriers for DBEs?</p> <p>For instance, some online bidding portals operate on a pay-to-play model. This means that opportunities are hidden behind a paywall and vendors are required to pay a fee before even viewing the opportunity and supporting documents. This model disproportionately excludes diverse businesses and ultimately discourages them from bidding on your project.</p> <p>To encourage a more diverse pool of vendors to bid on your opportunities, online bidding should be free for all vendors. Taking additional action to ensure that the system is easy to use and offers on-call support for suppliers will also lower the barrier to entry for disadvantaged vendors.</p> <h2>2. Track and Report Supplier Diversity Data</h2> <p>Tracking vendor diversity data gives buyers a quick and easy opportunity to increase visibility into the participation of diverse suppliers. As the saying goes&mdash;you can&rsquo;t manage what you don&rsquo;t measure. In fact, as new policies and government funding emerge to promote supplier diversity, this type of reporting is becoming a requirement for many agencies.</p> <p>Choose an eProcurement system that does this work for you, with the capability to set vendor registration fields and easily collect information around a vendor&rsquo;s status, such as a DBE, small business, non-profit and more. The 2021 State of Public Sourcing Report found that almost 10% of Bonfire users are already using registration fields to track vendor diversity. In the past year alone, that number has doubled. As supplier diversity continues to grow as a priority, and as more organizations introduce supplier diversity programs, that number is expected to increase significantly.</p> <h2>3. Get Opportunities in Front of More Vendors</h2> <p>Of course, if diverse suppliers don&rsquo;t know about your opportunities, they can&rsquo;t bid on them. One surefire way to get opportunities in front of more diverse vendors is casting a wider net through vendor invitations. After all, <a href="https://gobonfire.com/if-i-send-more-vendor-invitation-letters-will-i-get-more-proposals/" target="_blank">66% of proposals</a> come from vendors who have been invited by the purchasing organization.</p> <p>Data from the State of Public Sourcing Report shows that from 2019 to 2021, the number of vendor invitations organizations sent out for each project increased by more than 200%, reaching an average of 451 invitations per project. This is great news, because it means purchasing organizations are making the most of the advantages that come with expanding the vendor pool. A higher volume of invitations means more competition in the market, including more diverse vendors, local small business vendors, fresh options beyond tried and true partners, and ultimately the best outcomes for your organization.</p> <p>Additionally, more purchasing organizations are discovering the benefits of bringing on DBEs as subcontractors, and eProcurement systems are adapting to allow suppliers to flag themselves as subcontractors. Vendor invitations are a great way to ensure subcontracting solicitations are seen by small or disadvantaged suppliers who may have overlooked the opportunity because they weren&rsquo;t necessarily the right fit as a prime contractor.</p> <h2>Supplier Diversity in Action</h2> <p>When it comes to eliminating barriers for your suppliers, tracking data and expanding your vendor outreach, procurement technology plays a critical role.</p> <p>For instance, <a href="https://gobonfire.com/client-stories/case-study-great-lakes-water-authority/" target="_blank">Great Lakes Water Authority</a> (GLWA), a leading provider of water and wastewater services in the United States, wanted to launch a small business initiative that would reach out to small business suppliers and bring them into the bidding process. Their previously paper-based process, however, meant that buyers had a hard time getting out of the administrative weeds and make supplier diversity a priority. The bid submission process, which involved manually shipping paper documents, also became a point of frustration for many vendors.</p> <p>By implementing an eProcurement solution, GLWA was able to manage competitive events and collaborate with the market directly through the platform. By streamlining previously tedious manual processes, GLWA had access to a more efficient method of engaging vendors, a broader vendor pool and better means of managing vendor relationships.</p> <p>&ldquo;[eProcurement] has been tantamount in helping us in our outreach to our small business community,&rdquo; said Sonya Collins, Procurement Director at GLWA.</p> <p>For more insights into how your peers are navigating supplier diversity and other priorities and strategies in 2021, download a free copy of the <a href="https://sig.org/state-public-sourcing-report" target="_blank">Bonfire 2021 State of Public Sourcing Report.</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/bonfire" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bonfire</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/request-for-proposal-rfp" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Request for Proposal (RFP)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/eprocurement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">eProcurement</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Three Steps to a More Equitable RFP Process - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/three-steps-to-a-more-equitable-rfp-process"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Sun, 17 Oct 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Omar Salaymeh 2070 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/three-steps-to-a-more-equitable-rfp-process#comments 5 Benefits to Adding Sustainability Measures in Your Contracts (and How to Get Started) https://futureofsourcing.com/5-benefits-to-adding-sustainability-measures-in-your-contracts-and-how-to-get-started <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/5%20Benefits%20to%20Adding%20Sustainability%20Measures%20in%20Your%20Contracts%20.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/5%20Benefits%20to%20Adding%20Sustainability%20Measures%20in%20Your%20Contracts%20.png" title="5 Benefits to Adding Sustainability Measures in Your Contracts " class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2058-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/5%20Benefits%20to%20Adding%20Sustainability%20Measures%20in%20Your%20Contracts%20.png?itok=KM76OaSf" width="624" height="325" alt="5 Benefits to Adding Sustainability Measures in Your Contracts " title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>5 Benefits to Adding Sustainability Measures in Your Contracts (and How to Get Started)</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/contract-provisions-for-esg-in-your-supply-chain">Contract Provisions for ESG in Your Supply Chain</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><em>Jane Zhang and Naz Rahman, ETCH Sourcing</em></p> <p>The value creation challenges we faced decades ago are the same that organizations still grapple with today. The main difference, however, is that the rate of innovation is accelerating daily. So, although studying the past should be a part of your strategy, we need to be careful it does not become a comfortable crutch. We cannot chart a path forward by looking backwards.</p> <p>In this fast-paced environment, we see the innovation of all forms for value-creation that leads the industry to speed through its life cycles at an extraordinary rate. So, how can modern organizations to keep up? Through integrating sustainable measures.&nbsp;</p> <p>For the uninitiated, the concept of sustainable procurement may feel like a laborious and often daunting process. However, executives who are keen on competing understand that time invested in sustainable practices is time well spent. Including sustainable measures in your negotiations and contracts doesn&#39;t have to be time intensive. In this article, we will walk you through five benefits to building sustainable measures into your contracts and how to do so effectively.</p> <h2>1. Strengthened Long-Term Business Strategy</h2> <p>Strategies are made stronger with sustainability. In today&#39;s competitive environment, no organization can successfully grow and endure the landscape without integrating sustainability into its strategy. Sustainability is a business approach to long-term value creation in how organizations operate socially and environmentally. Leaders need to ensure that their organization&rsquo;s strategy and values are reflected throughout its efforts &ndash; this includes its contracts.&nbsp;</p> <p>Leaving sustainability on the backburner can hamper your ambitions to advance, which may cause you to lose clients. Not only will a lack of sustainable strategy impact your bottom line, but you may also feel the impacts on your brand, culture and talent.&nbsp;</p> <h2>Best Practice</h2> <p>Build and execute strategies that ensure effective implementation by leveraging stakeholder collaboration, go-to-market tactics and negotiation strategies. Begin with identifying what sustainability objectives are essential to your organization. Then, be sure to establish measurable reporting metrics ​with your suppliers.</p> <h2>2. Proactive Risk Management and Contingency Planning</h2> <p>Be proactive rather than reactive. Incorporating sustainability into your contracts can inspire a greater purpose among your suppliers to open new doors to innovation, new markets and build trust among stakeholders. All while future-proofing your organization.</p> <p>COVID-19 revealed significant challenges with supply chains that were over-reliant on offshore suppliers. By localizing your supply base and contributing to the development of local businesses, organizations can also de-risk their supply chain dependence on overseas productions.</p> <h2>Best Practice</h2> <p>Identify opportunities by leveraging your current strategic direction in conjunction with past, present and forecasted trends. This will help you to identify actionable projects that can increase operational efficiencies, drive value creation and push sustainability objectives.</p> <h2>3. Increased Brand Power and Organizational Citizenship</h2> <p>Even though numerous companies believe that sustainability is an area of competitive advantage, only 24% have acted on this belief. This low adoption rate is both alarming and an opportunity for today&rsquo;s industry leaders to create waves in today&rsquo;s industry standards. Compliance is holistic. It is not just a &ldquo;nice to have&rdquo; but a &ldquo;must-do.&rdquo; Consumers today are pushing brands to be compliant to be considered. Therefore, a move toward adopted sustainable practices is crucial to building a long-lasting brand.</p> <p>Leaders who anticipate this change and embrace it as an opportunity will not just imagine the future; they will create it! Remember, change is not possible without the right talent to drive it. Therefore, to enable a positive change, you must identify your internal champions. Empower them, create and lead new initiatives, and inspire those around them.&nbsp;</p> <h2>Best Practice</h2> <p>Enhance and invest in supplier development programs that will allow for a sustainable growth strategy. These opportunities encourage participation from local suppliers and entrepreneurs and has the added benefit of strengthening your local supply chain and brand recognition. Training, mentoring, and access to resources boost supplier capabilities and drive continuous business growth, while increasing customer loyalty.</p> <h2>4. End-to-End Supply Chain Transparency</h2> <p>As consumer expectations increase and transparency becomes more demanding, organizations need to act sustainably throughout every step of their supply chain. This is the bare minimum. Greenwashing is no longer acceptable.</p> <p>Transparency is vital for assessing and improving sustainability practices. You cannot judge without transparency. Open environments not only help to establish transparency but also lend themselves well to aligning stakeholders. The key to transparency among suppliers and stakeholders is open communications. Approach this with the values of disclosure, clarity, accuracy and accountability.</p> <h2>Best Practice&nbsp;</h2> <p>Manage supplier relationships and performance to ensure contract compliance and integrate sustainability KPIs into supplier relationship management (SRM). This approach captures and allows for reportable and measurable results that can be reiterated and improved upon during annual evaluations. Sustainable procurement is about more than just checking the box, it is about creating tangible and measurable impact in the world you operate in.</p> <h2>5. Embrace and Empower Supplier Diversity</h2> <p>There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every organization varies, with distinct goals and scope. This means that just because one supplier worked for an opportunity does not mean it will work for the next.</p> <p>Welcoming new suppliers also brings a diversity of thought to the table. You can tap into their unique insights and leverage a strategic partner you may not have had before. Keeping your doors open in the discovery process leads to a higher return on investment (ROI) from their procurement, lowers operating costs and lowers supply chain risk.&nbsp;</p> <h2>Best Practice</h2> <p>When analyzing categories of spend that are typically high risk, look for opportunities to provide a carve out to explore diverse suppliers. For example, a call center agreement that captures both external client-facing services as well as internal organization-facing services may be split to allow for fair competition among smaller diverse suppliers with lower risk services such as internal services.</p> <h2>Conclusion</h2> <p>The bottom line is that doing good is good for business. The hurdles of sustainability are not as daunting as it seems. Many business problems in today&#39;s market have been seen for hundreds of years and can be solved with a strong foundation of supplier contracts that are well balanced and set clear expectations while delivering lasting value to all parties. Integrating sustainability into your contracts creates actionable, tangible and measurable impact. In order to get ahead tomorrow, you must start moving today.</p> <p>Need ideas on where to start? We have created an <a href="https://www.etchsourcing.com/sustainableprocurementdatabase" target="_blank">open-sourced tool with a library of sustainable procurement ideas</a> along with step-by-step walk-throughs that connect the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UNSDGs) to popular spend categories.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/contract-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Contract Management</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/united-nations-sustainability-development-goals" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">United Nations Sustainability Development Goals</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/etch-sourcing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ETCH Sourcing</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="5 Benefits to Adding Sustainability Measures in Your Contracts (and How to Get Started) - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/5-benefits-to-adding-sustainability-measures-in-your-contracts-and-how-to-get-started"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Fri, 24 Sep 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Jane Zhang 2058 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/5-benefits-to-adding-sustainability-measures-in-your-contracts-and-how-to-get-started#comments How to Recognize and Manage Supplier Red Flags https://futureofsourcing.com/how-to-recognize-and-manage-supplier-red-flags <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/How%20to%20Recognize%20and%20Manage%20Supplier%20Red%20Flags.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/How%20to%20Recognize%20and%20Manage%20Supplier%20Red%20Flags.png" title="How to Recognize and Manage Supplier Red Flags" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2052-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/How%20to%20Recognize%20and%20Manage%20Supplier%20Red%20Flags.png?itok=TjlR_ksl" width="624" height="325" alt="How to Recognize and Manage Supplier Red Flags" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>How to Recognize and Manage Supplier Red Flags</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/do-you-trust-your-supplier-data">Do you trust your supplier data?</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Global trends, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have taught procurement professionals the value of identifying supplier red flags and mitigating the risks they may pose before it&rsquo;s too late. To do this, some organizations are making local buying their top priority, while others are committing to consolidating their supplier lists or further diversifying as their needs demand.</p> <p>Since reevaluating supplier portfolios and understanding where and how suppliers are falling short of the mark is easier said than done, it can be valuable to understand what exactly you&rsquo;re looking for when examining your existing portfolio of suppliers and attempting to determine if any red flags are waving in the breeze.</p> <p>While weighing those red flags will ultimately come down to your supplier and product needs, it&rsquo;s helpful to know where to start when it comes to thinking about your options and protecting your investments. Here are a few helpful things to consider during your evaluations.</p> <h2>Look at Employee Turnover Rates</h2> <p>True, you might not care very much about the executives in charge of your suppliers&rsquo; operations and day-to-day business, but if your supplier is constantly hiring for a slew of positions, that could be a sign of financial instability or a lacking workforce.</p> <p>If a supplier isn&rsquo;t able to keep their employees and their facilities operating consistently, there could be disruptions in their ability to deliver what they promise, and that is a concern.</p> <p>You don&rsquo;t have to go incredibly in-depth on this; a simple Indeed or LinkedIn search of the company&rsquo;s open positions should tell you everything you need to know. It&rsquo;s a simple step that can save you a lot of money and anxiety along the way.</p> <h2>Examine the Price of Goods</h2> <p>Speaking of money spent, if you notice that your suppliers are bidding ridiculously low, that could also be a red flag. If you&rsquo;re putting something out for bid and a supplier&rsquo;s response is quick and cheap, it&rsquo;s likely a sign that the supplier is trying to get quick cash instead of actually building long-term working relationships.</p> <p>Especially in a post-COVID-19 world, this is a concern for many procurement professionals. It&rsquo;s no secret that suppliers across industries are struggling to recover from the global disruptions the pandemic caused, but if your suppliers are borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, it&rsquo;s not worth risking that your organization may be short-changed by this practice in the long run.</p> <h2>Consider External Factors</h2> <p>To be fair, it&rsquo;s not just business practices and hiring or firing that could be throwing up red flags when it comes to your suppliers. Variables such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic can also impact suppliers.</p> <p>For example, in states like Florida &ndash; where vaccination rates are relatively low and COVID-19 cases are relatively high &ndash; it is likely that suppliers will be impacted since, statistically, not everyone will be showing up for work six months from now. At the end of the way, it&rsquo;s likely many procurement professionals will be wary of doing long-term business in those states.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s a similar issue with climate change. In Seattle &ndash; and all up and down the West Coast, for that matter &ndash; wildfires and extreme dryness are not just an environmental problem, but a supply chain risk as well. If a building, cables or vehicles fall victim to these fires, that spells trouble for organizations relying on these suppliers.</p> <h2>Take Stock of Suppliers</h2> <p>A weak pun, but an important concern; if your supplier is listed with the New York Stock Exchange and their stock appears to be in trouble, be wary &ndash; that could spell trouble on the horizon for all parties involved.</p> <h2>Be Prepared to Diversify</h2> <p>Recognizing supplier red flags is one task but responding to those red flags is another issue entirely. In order to properly respond to concerns raised as a result of supplier practices, procurement professionals should prioritize having a diverse population of suppliers &ndash; and supplier information &ndash; at their fingertips.</p> <p>Reaching out to other companies who work with suppliers is a great way to gather a significant amount of information from third-party sources who might be able to speak to elements of their business practices you may be concerned about. It&rsquo;s also a great avenue through which to understand where your peers are sourcing from and if there&rsquo;s an opportunity to diversify.</p> <p>Resources that provide unified and updated supplier data can also assist in crafting a broad and diverse roster of suppliers. That way, if you do encounter red flags, you&rsquo;ll be able to easily pivot from one supplier to another.</p> <p>Ultimately, there are many factors that go into assessing if a supplier&rsquo;s red flags are enough to keep you from doing business with them. By examining potential threats and risks and having diverse suppliers at your fingertips, you can ensure you&rsquo;ll be prepared for anything &ndash; even the most disastrous worst-case scenario.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/tealbook" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tealbook</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-data" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">supplier data</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-relationship-management-srm" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="How to Recognize and Manage Supplier Red Flags - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/how-to-recognize-and-manage-supplier-red-flags"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Mon, 13 Sep 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Stephany Lapierre 2052 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/how-to-recognize-and-manage-supplier-red-flags#comments How Diverse Suppliers Can Leverage their Status with Large Enterprises https://futureofsourcing.com/how-diverse-suppliers-can-leverage-their-status-with-large-enterprises <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/How%20Diverse%20Suppliers%20Can%20Leverage%20their%20Status.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/How%20Diverse%20Suppliers%20Can%20Leverage%20their%20Status.png" title="How Diverse Suppliers Can Leverage their Status with Large Enterprises" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1973-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/How%20Diverse%20Suppliers%20Can%20Leverage%20their%20Status.png?itok=lX8zM9ka" width="624" height="325" alt="How Diverse Suppliers Can Leverage their Status with Large Enterprises" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>How Diverse Suppliers Can Leverage their Status with Large Enterprises</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/a-brief-history-of-the-enterprise-approach-to-supplier-diversity">A Brief History of the Enterprise Approach to Supplier Diversity</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/7-tips-to-shape-the-future-of-supplier-diversity-in-the-enterprise">7 Tips to Shape the Future of Supplier Diversity in the Enterprise</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>To continue the previous conversation on diversity and inclusion (see my other articles on the <a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/a-brief-history-of-the-enterprise-approach-to-supplier-diversity" target="_blank">enterprise approach to supplier diversity</a> and how to <a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/7-tips-to-shape-the-future-of-supplier-diversity-in-the-enterprise" target="_blank">shape the future of supplier diversity</a>), I&rsquo;d like to look at the other side of the coin: What can suppliers do to help enterprise clients improve their diverse supplier inclusion, selection and support practices? Some recommendations I would offer from my experiences and observations may help shed some light.</p> <h2>1) Obtain Supplier Diversity Status</h2> <p>I have witnessed many suppliers that do not want to highlight their diversity status and have even underplayed it. I&rsquo;ve also seen suppliers that prefer to utilize non-diverse client-facing team members or set up the team in a traditional, stereotyped manner.</p> <p>These stereotypes have led many diverse-owned businesses to shy away from getting an independent certification that validates their diversity status. Also, there is a bit of principle at the heart of the matter, too. Why does an organization need to pay another organization to prove that they are diverse? That would like me needing to provide written proof that my ancestry is Indian or that I am a woman.</p> <p>This practice has led to fees for validation that many small or diverse businesses cannot afford in order to access enterprise opportunities. That doesn&#39;t sound like being inclusive in 2021. Also, on principle, it is not appropriate to use it as the only validation means to prove that a supplier is diverse.</p> <p>With that in mind, it is crucial to highlight that many enterprises have made it a requirement to have diversity certification from independent bodies. Instead, I would recommend that procurement teams establish a simple, self-certification process as an acceptable diversity certification instead of putting the burden on a small supplier to gain independent certification.</p> <p>I also recommend that suppliers visit their local city business office to seek ways to gain a diversity certification. Many will have suggestions to demonstrate diversity status and offer tips localized to your community. Suppliers can take ownership to show their diversity status that won&rsquo;t cost thousands of dollars to accomplish. As a supplier or a procurement team member, if you are looking for a form to help suppliers self-certify, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/purveek/" target="_blank">please reach out to me</a>, as I am happy to share some of those well-established resources.</p> <p><em><a href="https://sig.org/blog/resources-supplier-diversity-programs" target="_blank">&gt;&gt;Read More: Resources for Supplier Diversity Programs&lt;&lt;</a></em></p> <h2>2) Boldly Communicate Supplier Diversity Status</h2> <p>Some supplier organizations tend not to publicly bolster their diversity certifications and only mention it privately when it is clear that diversity status may help on a bid, typically for government contracts. It is time to embrace diversity status. Make it easy for sales teams and enterprise clients to access your diversity status and certification.</p> <p>The easiest way to do this is to boldly display the certification or self-certification on your website where it is easily accessible. In my experience, there have been many suppliers that missed opportunities because the diversity status information wasn&#39;t readily available to decipher, or procurement teams didn&#39;t have adequate investments to identify diverse supplier pools. So, make it easy on both ends: be bold and take pride in your diversity status as something to be celebrated and not hidden.</p> <h2>3) Be Mindful of Your Lack of Diversity and Work to Improve It</h2> <p>I can tell you from experience that procurement and business teams are turned off when they visit a prospective diverse or a supplier highlighting their diversity and inclusion values on their website and the only thing on the leadership page is predominately men with no minority leadership members. I have even been to supplier sites that did not have a restroom for women. Someone had to guard the door outside so that I could use the men&#39;s bathroom!</p> <p>Just because a supplier is culturally diverse, it doesn&#39;t take away the need to demonstrate diversity within the organization. Being a person of Indian ancestry, I&rsquo;ve visited many supplier websites that feature only male representation of the leadership team. This shouts to the lack of diversity consideration, despite claiming diverse organization status. The same rings true for other types of diverse organizations, so being mindful of diverse representation is a critical element of moving forward in the future.</p> <p>Simply put, diverse or not, your website represents your principles, who you are as an organization, and reflects your awareness and importance for diversity, regardless of the country your business is based in or clients and geographies you support.</p> <h2>4) Highlight your Successes with Existing and New Clients</h2> <p>Consider creating a &ldquo;showcase page&rdquo; of projects that highlight success with enterprise clients across the various industries your companies have invested to support and grow. If your sales or account teams wait for the &ldquo;governance&rdquo; session with executive leadership to highlight accomplishments, it&rsquo;s a missed opportunity since many executive leaders don&rsquo;t have the time to meet with every supplier.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s time to retire that page of the old-school sales playbook. It&#39;s more important to highlight your successes and improvement areas up front than to wait for a seat at the table. When it is the right time, you may get that executive meeting to continue building on the relationship. As a supplier, if you get that seat, be mindful of using it to demonstrate your ability to partner with all internal stakeholders such as procurement, operational teams and not just the business executive team.</p> <p>Good leaders and executives trust their suppliers and procurement teams to work effectively and problem-solve together. If executives have to get involved in solving every problem their respective organizations encounter, then that organization&rsquo;s supplier or vendor management practices are not mature. The supplier needs to take the first step to show how best practices application can help improve their ability to work together effectively.</p> <h2>5) Be Clear and Protective About What you Can (and Cannot) Deliver</h2> <p>Too often, suppliers undertake activities they know are a challenge to deliver because they need to make the sale. Larger supplier organizations are much more prone to do this, resulting in &ldquo;B,&rdquo; &ldquo;C,&rdquo; or even &ldquo;D&rdquo; team players being assigned to the project, which creates a challenge for everyone to have a successful outcome. In such scenarios, clients feel they have to throw good money after bad simply because it&rsquo;s too hard to walk away with the investments that have already been made.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s a mistake to think that enterprise stakeholders will forget such scenarios. In fact, they will carry bad experiences with them for the rest of their career. I have heard from many stakeholders about how &ldquo;X supplier&rdquo; did a terrible job 10 years ago and the supplier will not get an opportunity for consideration. Unfortunately, enterprise memory is deep and long, so being short-sighted does more harm than good when suppliers take on projects they know will be a challenge to deliver.</p> <p>This type of organizational memory creates more damage for small or diverse organizations that may not have the resources to fix the problem. My recommendation is to be honest with the client and yourself about the ability to deliver to the client&#39;s expectations. You will be better off being disappointed in not earning the business than being challenged to fix the project, deliverables, reputation and perception that will have a long-lasting impact.</p> <h2>6) Share Data, Knowledge and Insights from Your Diversity Tracking</h2> <p>Be transparent with the enterprise team about using other suppliers in the supply chain. Often, suppliers choose not to reveal that they are sub-contracting the work out to other suppliers, which can lead to distrust by the client, both in procurement and the business.</p> <p>Help the enterprise understand why, for some needs, you would need to go outside of your organization and negotiate in good faith fairly. When someone does not negotiate in good faith and attempts to be sneaky it creates long-lasting damage that might be irreparable. The same goes for the procurement or business team members entrusted with negotiating in good faith and fairness. Without it, co-existing to create partnership-based solutions cannot occur.</p> <p>Suppliers can leverage enterprise diversity goals to demonstrate their interest and desire to expand diversity. The open dialogue becomes a catalyst for larger suppliers who may not be diverse by committing together to expand and improve the supplier diversity pipeline and creating a support structure that allows the enterprise and the diverse businesses to thrive.</p> <h2>7) Invest in Making Your Diverse Talent Successful</h2> <p>Supplier organizations need to ensure their diverse talent is successful by providing access, opportunities, visibility, support, mentorship and sponsorship. Notice that I separated sponsorship and mentorship. The latter implies that the diverse resource lacks something or needs an adjustment to their capabilities to be successful. The former implies that we shouldn&#39;t create mini-me&rsquo;s or robots that all look, feel and act the same way. Instead, we welcome individuality and cherish the diversity of thoughts and experiences from all of our employees who contribute to the supplier and client organizations&#39; success equally.</p> <p>The notion of diversity and how organizations can improve equity, inclusion, and belonging is an in-depth and over-due dialogue. Forthcoming, I will share tips and approaches to how the procurement, vendor management and supplier risk management functions can improve diversity as a future discussion topic.</p> <h2>Closing Thoughts</h2> <p>Improving supplier diversity in enterprises will require us to think differently. Enterprise business leaders, the procurement functions, and supplier communities should look at the events of 2020 as an opportunity to reset and reengage in a more meaningful way. When it comes to diversity, it should be viewed as an open dialogue to shape what it means collectively to support diversity initiatives in large enterprises.</p> <p>Since diversity is a critical element of our future, I am hopeful that some of my observations and tips are useful for others. I would encourage others to share their strategies from business teams, suppliers and procurement partners to push for diversity, not just a far-fetched dream but a new reality that we all embrace.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/di" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">D&amp;I</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/diversity-and-inclusion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Diversity and Inclusion</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/diversity-certification" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Diversity Certification</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="How Diverse Suppliers Can Leverage their Status with Large Enterprises - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/how-diverse-suppliers-can-leverage-their-status-with-large-enterprises"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Purvee Kondal 1973 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/how-diverse-suppliers-can-leverage-their-status-with-large-enterprises#comments 7 Tips to Shape the Future of Supplier Diversity in the Enterprise https://futureofsourcing.com/7-tips-to-shape-the-future-of-supplier-diversity-in-the-enterprise <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/7%20Tips%20to%20Shape%20the%20Future%20of%20Supplier%20Diversity%20in%20the%20Enterprise.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/7%20Tips%20to%20Shape%20the%20Future%20of%20Supplier%20Diversity%20in%20the%20Enterprise.png" title="7 Tips to Shape the Future of Supplier Diversity in the Enterprise" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1956-EiiBq3wtTgc"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/7%20Tips%20to%20Shape%20the%20Future%20of%20Supplier%20Diversity%20in%20the%20Enterprise.png?itok=sFEWoi_q" width="624" height="325" alt="7 Tips to Shape the Future of Supplier Diversity in the Enterprise" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>7 Tips to Shape the Future of Supplier Diversity in the Enterprise</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/a-brief-history-of-the-enterprise-approach-to-supplier-diversity">A Brief History of the Enterprise Approach to Supplier Diversity</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/how-supplier-diversity-is-working-in-the-real-world">How Supplier Diversity is Working in the Real World</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>My last article was an overview of how <a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/a-brief-history-of-the-enterprise-approach-to-supplier-diversity" target="_blank">large enterprises have historically approached supplier diversity initiatives</a> and why they have underperformed.</p> <p>This article will focus on ways the enterprise can improve diverse supplier inclusion, selection and support practices. I recommend that teams consider leveraging some of these tips best fitting for their respective organizations.</p> <h2>1) Leverage Category or Business Reviews</h2> <p>Partner with the business stakeholder as part of the annual business or category review to discuss inclusion, award and supporting structure of smaller or diverse suppliers. Use the existing and developed cadences with your business partners to gain commitments to jointly improve these metrics to benefit the organization by partnering on opportunities.</p> <p>Leverage Procurement&rsquo;s network and business team knowledge to identify diverse suppliers that can be included in your sourcing events. However, also be mindful that not every project may turn into a sourcing event or an opportunity to change suppliers. Some sourcing events will lend themselves to this consideration but in complex sourcing or business scenarios, it may be difficult. However, these budget holders can still help improve supplier diversity by asking existing vendor partners to improve their respective diversity practices.</p> <p>The enterprise can seek measurable commitments from these suppliers, such as increasing diverse resources supporting your account and doing business with diverse suppliers supporting your enterprise in the second-, third- or fourth-tier supply base.</p> <h2>2) Communicate to Bring Awareness and Seek Feedback</h2> <p>Create a communications plan to bring awareness of how and why supplier diversity can help the organization and the communities in which we live and work. While words like &quot;supplier diversity,&quot; or &quot;MWBE,&quot; &quot;MBE&quot; and the rest mean something to the Procurement community, it is essential to remember that these are all foreign to the business teams. So, let&#39;s make it part of our training and partnering plan for the year to bring awareness.</p> <p>As noted on the previous point, include in your communications the multi-tier supplier diversity goals so that everyone can be on the same journey together. Seek feedback on strategies to improve supplier diversity from your stakeholders. The willingness to have the dialogue opens up an excellent opportunity to build partnership for a joint goal of improving supplier diversity.</p> <p><a href="https://sig.org/blog/resources-supplier-diversity-programs" target="_blank"><em>&gt;&gt;Read more: Resources for Supplier Diversity Programs&lt;&lt;</em></a></p> <h2>3) Highlight Successes</h2> <p>Consider creating a &quot;rodeo&quot; or &quot;showcase&quot; opportunity forum highlighting how well the diverse and smaller suppliers are doing in your organization to other internal stakeholders and the executive leadership team. These diverse suppliers will have more consideration opportunities by other business areas for inclusion for upcoming spend decisions with these showcases.</p> <p>Diverse and smaller suppliers are often more creative in execution approaches than larger suppliers because the latter are bound by rules and restrictions where nothing can be done or communicated to customers without a series of approvals at the highest levels. In contrast, the smaller and more diverse suppliers are more nimble, agile and can react faster. So, highlight out-of-the-box thinking, creativity, and partnership for success in your project or organization.</p> <h2>4) Identify and Track Diverse Suppliers</h2> <p>If your organization has the support for it, tap into platforms and tools to help identify diverse suppliers and their capabilities. If your organization does not have the budget or support to consider such modern Procurement practices, create a simple tracking spreadsheet or a database to capture diverse suppliers and their capabilities. Allow business stakeholders and enterprise end-users to easily access the information to understand which diverse suppliers already have agreements with your enterprise.</p> <p>Some Procurement teams are getting creative by leveraging no-code tools and other methods to gain insights into their existing supplier base capabilities, monitoring and communication needs. For an organization lacking leadership, vision, support or investments, these may be great ways to start making progress or there is always the good old spreadsheet.</p> <p>If you are using creative methods or tools, please share to benefit the broader Procurement, business and supplier communities.</p> <h2>5) Share Data, Knowledge, and Insights</h2> <p>Create or make data and insights accessible to your business stakeholders. One of the challenges Procurement organizations have historically suffered from is &quot;hoarding information,&quot; where pertinent knowledge is only available to a select few, usually with the Procurement or business personnel engaged and not the entire organization.</p> <p>I must point out that Procurement has never really been given the right level of investments in tools, processes and resources since it has been considered a &quot;<a href="https://www.sdcexec.com/sourcing-procurement/press-release/21138157/mckinsey-company-do-you-know-what-your-procurement-function-canand-cantdo" target="_blank">low budget</a>&quot; function. This has resulted in a lack of domain-centric leadership, support or the necessary tools that allow wider distribution of information, data and analysis across the enterprise.</p> <p>Procurement teams should consider leveraging existing &quot;supplier registration&quot; or &quot;onboarding&quot; processes to capture supplier diversity status if not already being captured. For an enterprise already tracking supplier diversity metrics with a good program in place, you already have many diverse suppliers to engage with for opportunities. The key will be to bring broader visibility to who these suppliers are, their capabilities and how well they have been performing for your organization.</p> <p>For an enterprise that hadn&#39;t considered supplier diversity programs until only after the events of 2020, they are likely far behind in other foundational areas needing investments with other leadership priorities to resolve. For those enterprises, if supplier diversity now ends becomes an important metric that the CPO and business leaders are being held accountable to, but without additional investments, a simple spreadsheet that is widely available to the organization through an Intranet portal will still be a good starting point to consider for making progress.</p> <p>If your organization is successfully working with diverse suppliers, I would encourage you to share who they are and their capabilities with the broader Procurement community and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/purveek/">myself</a>.</p> <p><em><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4557967/" target="_blank">&gt;&gt;Continue the Conversation: Join Future of Sourcing&#39;s LinkedIn Group&lt;&lt;</a></em></p> <h2>6) Tailor the Enterprise Supplier Diversity Program as &quot;Fit for Use&quot;</h2> <p>We will need to reconsider how to make our supplier diversity program fit for use in the enterprise to make it successful. It means that we cannot apply a &quot;one-size-fits-all&quot; approach and expect it to provide its intended outcomes. Enterprises ask many small and diverse suppliers to accept the &quot;take it or leave it&quot; aspects around two key issues that bring difficulties:</p> <ul> <li><strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">Length of net-payment terms:</strong><span style="font-size: 13.008px;"> Going back to the cost of capital, capital accessibility and cash flow considerations, since small and diverse suppliers do not have a pile of cash or equity to tap into, getting paid in a reasonable time frame is essential.</span></li> <li><strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">Unlimited or large insurance liability requirement:</strong><span style="font-size: 13.008px;"> Like the net-payment terms, many large enterprises spend significant time and resources attempting to negotiate unlimited insurance provisions that are counterintuitive, only to conclude that it isn&#39;t realistic for small and more diverse suppliers.</span></li> </ul> <p>For both of these, I would recommend that the CPO, the CFO or the CRO responsible for these requirements partner to create fit-for-use metrics to modernize these past practices. Past practices will otherwise continue to perpetuate the notion that small or diverse suppliers cannot work with a large enterprise.</p> <p>I would welcome sharing with the broader Procurement community from those who have developed a more sophisticated method to refine our long-standing practices.</p> <h2>7) Invest in Making Your Supplier Partner Successful</h2> <p>Just as the organization and functional leaders have to invest in their employees to make them successful, the same also applies to making our suppliers successful.&nbsp; We have to be mindful of not doing the same when it comes to our suppliers and do a better job at partnering to make them successful.</p> <p>Business stakeholders and Procurement teams should invest the time and effort to help supplier teams navigate through organizational norms and provide the support necessary to succeed. For the most part, this means spending time with them so that both sides can get to know each other, provide feedback, and be open to receiving feedback on areas that cause unnecessary burdens for diverse suppliers to succeed.</p> <p>Interestingly, this isn&#39;t something we need to do more of or do differently with diverse or smaller suppliers, but rather invest the same amount of time and effort we put into larger suppliers to help them succeed. Such best practices are already established in well-run organizations as a norm across the supply chain, regardless of the size. Still, perhaps we need to be more mindful of it when smaller or new suppliers are chosen to support the enterprise since their success determines ours.</p> <h2>Closing Thoughts</h2> <p>The events of 2020 made it crystal clear that diversity will make or break an organization. The success of the enterprise will be determined by the level of diversity its executive leadership embraces, evidenced by actions and transparency provided through metrics that drive accountability.</p> <p>We all have a choice as leaders and as individuals to shape the future for a better tomorrow by providing our skills, knowledge, and efforts to improve the communities in which we live and enterprises where we work. Being a leader in helping change requires courage, dialogue and a tenacity to never give up on our vision of the desired future. Diversity is a critical element of our future across our communities and the world, both in our employees and suppliers. I am hopeful that some of my observations and tips are useful with at least the latter and encourage others to share their tips to make diversity initiatives successful.</p> <p>Stay tuned for Part 3 of this article, which will focus on ways that suppliers can help achieve diversity goals and increase their access to opportunities.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Diversity</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/key-performance-indicators-kpis" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/di" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">D&amp;I</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/diversity-and-inclusion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Diversity and Inclusion</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="7 Tips to Shape the Future of Supplier Diversity in the Enterprise - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/7-tips-to-shape-the-future-of-supplier-diversity-in-the-enterprise"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Tue, 06 Apr 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Purvee Kondal 1956 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/7-tips-to-shape-the-future-of-supplier-diversity-in-the-enterprise#comments