A question not only for business-to-customers (B2C) companies. About 15% of the population in the EU have a disability, 54% are women, 10% of the population in the EU are from a non-white ethnic minority, and 7.1% of the population identify as LGBTIQ+ (US figure).
Amazon’s “2022 State of Business Procurement Report” found that 84% of business-to-business (B2B) buyers say their organization plans to increase the purchasing budget for Black-owned or other diverse-owned businesses, and 63% said sustainability is a top purchasing goal.
With about 50,000 suppliers, ABM has made a conscious effort to improve its Diversity, Equality & Inclusion program. The company has hired a chief culture officer and created an equity council. Over the past five years, ABM has seen its diverse supplier base grow more than 150%. Read more: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/buying-local-may-boost-business-dei-initiatives
Another way to engage with diverse owned businesses are mentorship programs. One of them is MGM Resorts, who supports, in addition to its supplier diversity framework, the development of business skills and growth capacity of diverse businesses through its yearly Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program, an eight-month program designed to identify and address critical business development gaps for diverse-owned businesses to compete in a global supply chain. Through the program, which has a goal to graduate 150 diverse-owned businesses by 2025, business leaders are given the tools to enhance operational efficiencies, harness financial management and elevate leadership acumen.
Meijer as another example, continues its commitment to local and diverse-owned businesses and brings more products from local and diverse-owned businesses to its customers. They want to ensure their vendors represent their customers in terms of both diversity and geography across their stores.
Now, what is your goal for 2023?