April’s monthly drop-in session focused on the topic of DEI in Supply Chains and Procurement. This discussion-based session focused on where organisations are at with this facet of DEI, what the growth areas are, and how mature organisations have addressed growth areas through best practice.
Most organisations define a ‘Diverse Supplier’ as a business that is least 51% owned by individuals from underrepresented backgrounds.
Monitor spend
35% of organisations completing the Matrix monitor spending on diverse suppliers, this is the first step towards embedding Inclusion into Procurement and Supply Chain processes.
Key benefits
Embedding diversity into your procurement and supply chain management processes has a host of benefits, it can positively impact an organisation’s:
- Innovation and creativity
- Competitiveness and market reach
- Resilience and adaptability (pertaining to supply chain)
- Brand reputation and customer loyalty
Tips: Diversifying your Supply Chain
Set targets
Organisations fed back that their usage of diverse suppliers was not reflective of census data, targets were utilised to “stretch” goals and ultimately to help incrementally bridge gaps.
Get leadership buy-in
Leadership make the key-decisions pertaining to spending therefore having important implications on Inclusive Procurement and Supply Chain Diversity.
IIE members stated that they achieved buy-in from leadership by clearly demonstrating the commercial benefits as well as the quality products that diverse suppliers can bring to the table.
Increase access to opportunities for diverse suppliers
Members found that diverse suppliers don’t always have the knowledge, access, or funds to access opportunities such as tenders with large businesses. They found that running workshops with diverse suppliers to teach them specific skills such as how to bid for a tender with a large organisation made a significant impact.
Increase diversity spend
Track your spending on diverse suppliers and set targets for this. Our members stressed that whilst some assume that diverse suppliers are somehow lesser than their mainstream counterparts they frequently produce high quality products and services.
Make procurement accessible
Across the board IIE members have been given feedback from Diverse Suppliers stating that procurement processes are often unfeasible for diverse suppliers, particularly SMEs. Adapting procurement processes where possible can make a huge difference for Diverse Suppliers, making it significantly easier for them to become part of your supply chain.
Next Steps
We will be creating a resource containing the challenges and solutions discussed during this session which members will be able to access soon. This resource will be a live document so if you have any questions or contributions, please contact us and we will ensure that these are addressed.
Our next monthly drop-in will be focusing on Recruitment, members can join this for free by clicking here. If you aren’t an IIE member but want to find out more please click here to contact the IIE team.
