For decades, major companies have aspired to help close the wealth gap in the United States by intentionally buying goods and services from diverse suppliers — businesses that are at least 51% owned and operated by individuals or groups of individuals who are part of a traditionally underrepresented or underserved group (e.g., racial or ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ, veterans, and people with disabilities). But a core challenge has chronically impeded these efforts: purchasing corporations cannot find enough qualified diverse-owned businesses with sufficient scale and capabilities needed to meet their requirements. Without adequate scale and capabilities, the diverse suppliers cannot be awarded new business, and without being awarded new business, they cannot gain scale or learn new capabilities.
How Google Approaches Supplier Diversity
To overcome challenges of scale, the company pairs new and veteran suppliers in formal mentoring relationships.
October 28, 2022
Summary.
In their efforts to increase their purchases from diverse suppliers, major companies have encountered a problem: They cannot find enough with sufficient scale and capabilities to meet their needs. This article explores a solution that Google and others have adopted: pairing the diverse supplier with an established supplier in a formal mentoring relationship.