A desire to grow the number of qualified diverse vendors used by the company and achieve the enterprise diverse spend goal created an opportunity to use a creative way to connect vendors and business areas within the company with spending needs. An additional challenge was hosting this as a virtual event, which was new and different both for the company and the participating vendors. However, it worked very well and vendors were appreciative of the opportunity to participate virtually. 

The Supplier Diversity (SD) team solicited business areas across the enterprise and viable, certified diverse businesses/vendors to participate in a “Matchmaking” event with the intention of making connections and generating contracts. The event gave business areas the opportunity to meet and hear pitches from competitive women and minority owned vendors that supply products and services that align to their buying needs. Over the course of three days in May, 18 vendors and four departments participated in virtual sessions using Skype technology. The SD team hosted the sessions, which lasted 30 minutes each. Vendors appreciated the opportunity to participate virtually.

Depending on the type of engagement, the contract lifecycle can vary and typically takes some time to complete; however, after the event, we had immediate results, including one signed contract that has increased our diversity spend by almost $1 million, and another potential contract in the works. Relationships with department buyers were enhanced, with a renewed commitment to engage the Supplier Diversity team in the initiation/exploration phase of the buying process. ​

Debra Rodgers