‘ Reggie’ coined the phrase
SUPPLIER DIVERSITY 27
‘ Reggie’ coined the phrase
What is a diverse supplier *?
In the UK- A diverse supplier is a company / trader which is at least 51 % owned, controlled or operated by one or more individuals who are members of an ethnic minority group, are women, or are disabled.( Source: London Development Agency)
In the US – A diverse supplier is a business which is at least 51 % owned, controlled and operated by a diverse member or members, and be within the size standards for the business’ s industry set by the Small Business Administration and / or certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
Small businesses, minority businesses, womenowned businesses, service disabled veteran-owned small businesses, veteranowned small businesses, and HUB-Zone businesses( business located in high unemployment areas) all qualify as diverse suppliers.
Reginald Williams
are a few barriers I see that will affect the success of supplier diversity in the UK. Firstly there needs to be a general consensus among all effective groups. A consensus of working together, which is something I currently don’ t see taking place within the UK. There is no real uniform action, but instead a disjointed effort by individuals in the UK
“ Secondly, the consensus must most certainly include business women, who are growing at a much faster rate than men. The signs are there that women are very important to the supplier diversity case.“ Thirdly, it needs to be made certain that there is broad-based public support for supplier diversity. What the public think is what people do. We need key individuals to speak out as advocates.”
He also says there is a lack of information about supplier diversity and how positive it can be to the UK.“ No-one has seen evidence of supplier diversity
working well,” said Williams. This sort of information needs to be publicised, the success stories needs to be uncovered. He also cites limited communication as being another barrier to the success of supplier diversity within the UK.“ There needs to be a national conference on how we can continue to improve the inclusion of women and minorities in the supplier diversity chain!”
But Williams believes the UK does have at least one advantage over the US- the European Union( EU)- which he describes as a“ rainbow of different cultures and people”.“ Being part of the European Union you have a much larger number of people and businesses to target than the US,” says Reggie,“ but still no-one has seized upon this. Unfortunately there is no initiative within the EU that focuses on business diversity but there needs to be. It would have a huge impact all round.”
He also says there is a lack of information about supplier diversity and how positive it can be to the UK.“ Noone has seen evidence of supplier diversity working well,” said Williams.
ISSUE SIX 2008 engage | uk