THIS IS A MUST READ!

Your computer is probably blowing up just like mine. . .with constant challenges to DEI, and, by association, Supplier Diversity - impacting the work that we all do.

This recent pushback stems from the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions and, by extension, political groups seeking to make DEI a political issue.

The confusion created by these unwarranted attacks has made supplier diversity even more difficult both internally and externally, and these challenges cannot be ignored.

For this reason, let me offer a path forward to assist practitioners like myself to address these barriers in today’s uncertain pre-election environment.

I know that as a servant leader you are committed to expanding the base of stakeholders by playing an active role to define our mission. To that end. . .these high-level suggestions are compelling and irrefutable. They clarify any misinformation on the role we play and the desired outcomes that we work to achieve:

• Supplier diversity is an organizational priority that ensures partnership with our broad multiracial, multicultural customer base. It’s essential to our growth and survival.

• Minorities, women, and other diverse groups over-index as contributors to the economy both as customers and business owners. Therefore, our economic success is contingent upon theirs.

• The diversity ecosystem positions supplier diversity as a pillar that drives inclusion and creates brand value. . .because there simply is no better way to grow our customers than to be business partners with them.

• Supplier diversity is not affirmative action in any way. It is a voluntary process that is not government regulated, nor does it guarantee selection of a vendor. Rather, it ensures “competitive access” and inclusion in the procurement process.

• As we know, the world we live in equally distributes talent. . .it does not equally distribute opportunity! We must create the change we want to see.

• Business opportunity is achieved through intentional actions made possible through collaborative engagement as a tool of supply chain. Our goal is to expand competitive access by casting a wider net that considers customer value derived through diversity. It does not require that we compromise our expectations for performance.

• Supplier diversity is governed by several important factors that are highly valued and none of these requires us to lower the bar or compromise our expectations for performance.

• We make a conscious effort to consider each supplier’s unique track-record, cost, history, capabilities, and even socio-economic background in an effort to include every customer as our business partner. All of this is guided by our focus to return “shareholder value”.

• But supplier diversity succeeds because of shared interpersonal and business synergies that lead to shared ownership and create shared results. This means more efficient services, improved products, cost reduction and best value decision making.

• Our investment in the customer represents the core of our mission as we take a deeper dive into actionable strategies that generate brand appreciation. This can only be achieved when we promote broader participation through partnerships that yield definitive results.

• More importantly, there is a direct correlation between a company’s public image on matters of inclusion that translates directly into marketplace success. You have undoubtedly reviewed the research completed by McKinsey & Deloitte.

  
  

• The leading corporations that we have worked with –    

  

  ALL embrace diversity in their supply chain strategy by investing in growth opportunities among their fastest growing market demographic - minorities and women. In effect, the company grows as the customer grows. This is compelling and it is irrefutable!

  
  

This business case sets supplier diversity apart from any element of diversity in the affirmative action argument. For these reasons, our path forward means far more than a numbers game. Business diversity is an element of customer value that invests in organizational success through partnerships that generate both social and economic returns.

We will not be deterred by actions of the Supreme Court or by any unauthorized political group that seeks to erect barriers to business inclusion, because our primary measurement of success is based on the success of our customer.

Reginald Williams of Procurement Resources Inc. is Consultant to Corporate Management on Supplier Diversity working with leading corporations including several members of the Billion Dollar Roundtable. This “Call to Action” summarizes the continuing importance of supplier diversity following the recent Supreme Court decision striking down Affirmative Action on June 29, 2023. He makes no excuses for his commitment to supplier diversity as a tool of servant leadership.