Top 5 Uk Corporates
DIVERSE SUPPLIER 41
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Top 5 Uk Corporates
TOP 5 UK CORPORATES FOR SUPPLIER DIVERSITY
Engage UK Networks Ltd, established in 2006, is a not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to raising awareness of procurement opportunities for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic( BAME) enterprises, including women and disabled-owned businesses. Engage raises awareness through its quarterly magazine which is the only publication in the UK and Europe that focuses solely on business and supplier diversity issues. The magazine is distributed to business owners, corporates, business schools, universities, colleges, libraries and other ethnic minority business networks.
Engage is also committed to creating platforms whereby large private and public sector organisations can openly and actively interact with SME / BAME’ s as a means of lobbying, challenging and finding solutions to the barriers that still exist within the private and public sector procurement process.
The companies listed in the Engage UK Top 5 all have one thing in common, a real deep commitment to engaging with diverse suppliers and a willingness to pro-actively demonstrate this commitment through tangible actions.
The engage criteria for inclusion and ranking in the Top 5 were as follows:
• Shared Engage platform with BAME and other minority-owned businesses to examine and challenge barriers to private and public sector procurement
• Hosted Engage BAME business networking events
• Facilitated access to procurement teams by having procurement officers available at networking events
• Support for Engage magazine through sponsorship, corporate subscription and advertising
Engage is delighted to announce:-
No. 1 Merrill Lynch No. 2 PricewaterhouseCoopers No. 3 Lehman Brothers No. 4 EDF Energy No. 5 Lloyds TSB
Congratulations, Merrill Lynch, engage applaud you for opening your doors to London’ s BAME and other minorityowned SME’ s.
TOP SUPPLIER DIVERSITY TIPS
Any company looking at diversifying its supplier base must first identify who its existing suppliers are( in terms of ethnicity of ownership, size, gender, disability etc.) and think about how it will monitor this information in future for new suppliers.
As well as a strong management commitment to supplier diversity, buyers within procurement teams need to understand why diverse suppliers are important for the firm and how they can go about making it happen across the business
Ensure procurement processes are as accessible as possible for BAME SMEs with no unnecessary complications or barriers.
Communicate with BAME SME’ s on how to go about approaching a big business to supply goods or services, perhaps by providing information specifically for small suppliers on company websites
Facilitate networking opportunities between company procurement teams and minority-led businesses through events and workshops
Notes: Any private / public sector organisation searching for minorityowned businesses can access the Engage database at www. engagemagazine. co. uk and locate diverse suppliers by product / service / postcode / region / industry.
ISSUE SIX 2008 engage | uk