Supplier diversity

Not to be confused with Supply chain diversification.

Supplier diversity refers to the use of minority-owned businesses as suppliers, and a supplier diversity program is a proactive business program which encourages such use within an organisation's supply chain. Minority-owned includes black and minority ethnic business ownership, women owned, veteran owned, LGBT-owned,[1] service disabled veteran owned, historically underutilized business, and Small Business Administration (SBA)-defined small business concerns.[2] The Hackett Group refers to "approximately 16 categories" covering various aspects of supplier diversity.[3] It is not directly correlated with supply chain diversification, although utilizing more vendors may enhance supply chain diversification. Supplier diversity programs recognize that sourcing products and services from previously under-used suppliers helps to sustain and progressively transform a company's supply chain, thus quantitatively reflecting the demographics of the community in which it operates by recording transactions with diverse suppliers.

  1. ^ Locke, G., Remarks at Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Annual Business and Leadership Conference, 19 November 2010, archived 26 November 2010, accessed 16 December 2023
  2. ^ Small Business Administration, Small Business Size Regulations, accessed 31 March 2016
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hackett was invoked but never defined (see the help page).