Southwire is committed to identifying diverse businesses and including them in our procurement process. We consider supplier diversity an important aspect of a sustainable supply chain. Part of our Strategic Sourcing team, our Supplier Diversity program ensures that Southwire identifies:

• Qualified small businesses and those owned and operated by minorities, females or veterans in our strategic sourcing/procurement processes
• Opportunities to foster the development and advancement of diverse businesses, when and where practicable.

Members of the Strategic Sourcing team travel to business fairs in search of potential suppliers. The team meets with business owners to discuss their capabilities, then promotes their expertise to the leaders of each internal business segment. In addition to our approved supplier list, Strategic Sourcing maintains a list of potential suppliers to be included for future bids.

Southwire is a member of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council, as well as the Greater Women’s Business Council. Both organizations are regional chapters of the National Minority Supplier Development Council and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, respectively. Our affiliation with these diverse business groups allows us an opportunity to network and benchmark best practices. Part of our strategy to grow the Supplier Diversity program is to pinpoint existing suppliers who have identified as woman or minority owned and encourage them to pursue certification. Having an affiliation with both certifying agencies allows Southwire to act as a liaison for suppliers who are ready to grow their businesses through certification. Our efforts resulted in increased spend with small and diverse businesses year over year; from $129M in 2015 to $375M in 2019. Small & diverse businesses make up 20% of our approved supplier base.

These efforts are combined with ongoing D&I initiatives with a goal is to educate employees, suppliers and customers about Southwire’s overall commitment to diversity.