A solid supplier inclusion program can deliver huge benefits to your business, and not just in terms of image. When you integrate it into your business strategy, supplier inclusion can meet demands of previously untapped markets, boost revenues, fosters competition within your company, and drive local and national economic growth.

1. Expand Your Customer Base

You have the potential to access a boundless multi-ethnic, multicultural customer base. When you partner with diverse suppliers, your business gains a competitive advantage by satisfying the demands of evolving consumer demographics. Customers are more likely to purchase your products or services when they see your business is in tune with their personal values.

2. Foster Competition Among Your Supplier Base

Searching for a more diverse set of suppliers drives healthy competition among them as they work to win
tenders with your company. Competitiveness on pricing and service levels can keep procurement costs down while increasing innovation and supplier value to your company and your customers.

“We use supplier diversity as a strategic differentiator for positioning ourselves for opportunities,” HJ Russell CEO, Michael Russell, told Hire Ground, “To be frank, it’s the number one differentiator in the marketplace.”

3. Drive Innovation

Small businesses generate up to 14 times the patents per employee than larger firms. Diverse suppliers are small- to medium-sized businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, or LBGTQIA individuals. The creative solutions that these companies bring to the table, along with their varied resources, generate innovation that will ultimately benefit your end customers and your bottom line.

4. Increase Marketing Visibility

Positive press is an easy win for your marketing efforts; your supplier inclusion success stories will help your communications team engage new potential customers. Tracking, measuring, and reporting on your diverse supplier base will help your company gain customer recognition for your supply chain inclusion program and its positive impact; your metrics and reports also help your efforts to secure continued consumer support for your brand and products.

5. Provide Significant Savings

Using a diverse group of suppliers can save your company money. Most diverse suppliers are small businesses, which typically offer greater flexibility, lower cost structures, and superior customer focus to gain an edge over their enterprise competitors. A smaller, more agile supplier is less likely to be tied down by restrictive policies, innovation-stifling bureaucracy, or red tape

Today, inclusion and diversity are vital to your endeavors to stay ahead of your competition. Leading businesses understand that the key to success lies in their ability to attract new customers through innovative processes. Using your inclusive supplier base to achieve this success marker will help you increase profits and hit your strategic procurement goals.

Hire Ground has created a tool that enables you to build, track, and measure your supply chain inclusion program. See how the Hire Ground platform can help you develop and strengthen your diverse supplier
base as it advances your organization’s business strategy.

Written by Hire Ground
on July 15, 2019

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