What Will You Gain From Increased Tier-1 & Tier-2 Diversity Spend Visibility
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There’s no doubt that building a successful supplier diversity program benefits an organization in many ways, such as driving innovation, improving the bottom line and enhancing a positive brand image.
A supplier diversity program has been considered one of the best business practices in maintaining high moral and ethical standards. To maximize the effectiveness of the program,. procurement professionals are expected to not only build but also grow aggressively and expand a supplier diversity program to maximize the diverse spend.
One of the most powerful ways to scale your supplier diversity program is to analyze, track and manage multi-tier diverse spend and turn it into insights. Yet, it’s easier said than done. According to the Deloitte annual Global Chief Procurement Offer (CPO) survey, supply chain transparency is poor, with 65% of procurement leaders having limited or no visibility beyond their tier-one suppliers.
This article will dive deeper into this topic and why you should take it seriously.
What is Multi-Tier Diverse Spend Reporting?
Diverse Spend, also known as diverse supplier spend, is the dollar amount spent solely with diverse-owned suppliers. It can be measured by a dollar amount or percentage of total procurement spend.
Multi-tier goes beyond your first tier of suppliers and allows you to gain the complete picture of diverse spend in the supplier network within your supply chain. In other words, it collects data on both direct and indirect spend at Tier 2, Tier 3 and beyond.
Tier-1 Tier-2 Supplier Diversity Spend
When it comes to diverse spend, there are typically two main supplier categories: tier-1 and tier-2. Both of them are critical for supply chain success. Tier-1 suppliers, also known as prime suppliers, are those businesses that directly sell products and services to a buyer, while tier-2 provide tier-1 suppliers with the products and/or services that are sold to that buyer.
The Importance of Increased Tier-1 Tier-2 Diversity Spend Reporting Visibility
Implementing multi-tier diverse spend into your procurement practices is one of the best practices to recognize and advocate for underrepresented minority groups as well as diversify the supplier’s workforce. The following points are your competitive advantages if you have transparent multi-tier diverse spend data.
Scale Your Supplier Diversity Program
If you’re looking for ways to increase your diverse spend towards meeting the organization’s procurement goals, tracking beyond your tier 1 diverse spend is the ultimate solution. With full visibility and control, procurement teams not only save a lot of time and money to expand their program but also be able to look at their impacts in a broader view.
It’s fairly common that many small and diverse businesses in the supply chain may not be working directly with major organizations. Instead, they are likely to work with your Tier-1 suppliers. With full visibility and control, you can look at your whole supplier network beyond Tier-1, track and measure how much you indirectly spend and contribute to the community.
More Opportunities For Small and Diverse Businesses
“Without big data analytics, companies are blind and deaf, wandering out onto the web like deer on a freeway.” – Geoffrey Moore.
When having a clear view of your all-tier diverse spend, you take full control of how your tier-1 suppliers are doing and their spend activities. From there, you make a more strategic decision to partner with those Tier-1 suppliers that have subcontractors with diverse-owned businesses. In short, you indirectly support growth and job creation for the community.
Branding
As you expand your diverse spend reporting to Tier-2 and beyond, your program can demonstrate a more significant impact on the community. A strong supplier diversity program will demonstrate your commitment to making the world a better place, more so than just focusing on making money. It is a good branding practice as well as a key selling point when hiring.
Streamline Your Tier-1 Tier-2 Diversity Spend Reporting
The challenges of measuring and tracking multi-tier suppliers are not easy at all. As you don’t directly purchase products or services from Tier-2 suppliers, there is some complexity to tracking this data. The only solution is to engage and coordinate with Tier-1 suppliers to collect and organize this data for every project.
As an organization may have thousands of Tier-1 suppliers and hundreds of ongoing projects, automating the process is a must. SupplierGATEWAY provides one-stop-shop solutions to streamline your multi-tier diverse spend management, then create a simple, intuitive and straightforward report demonstrating your impact.
About SupplierGATEWAY Economic Impact Reporting
Using our on-demand Economic Impact Reporting capability in the SupplierGATEWAY, you can comprehend a big picture of your diverse suppliers’ data, including what business category creates the most impact and what geographic regions are being impacted the most and how many jobs your inclusive behavior is supporting.
Our system leverages the BEA RIMS II model to analyze and summarize the economic impact of your spend in a comprehensive and user-friendly dashboard. To learn more, please visit our site.
SupplierGATEWAY Partners With Hello Alice to Promote Small Business Success
SANTA ANA, Calif., June 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — SupplierGATEWAY and Hello Alice are pleased to announce a partnership to continue promoting the growth of small businesses by leveraging SupplierGATEWAY’s Enhanced Digital Certification™ (EDC) to facilitate the certification of small and diverse-owned businesses, which include women, people of color, U.S. veterans, entrepreneurs with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ owners.
Hello Alice’s community of nearly 500,000 business owners will have an opportunity to acquire a valid certification of diverse ownership, which provides new business opportunities that may otherwise not be available to them.
“We look forward to bringing this offering to our New Majority owners,” said Carolyn Rodz, co-founder and CEO of Hello Alice. “Too often, these owners are excluded from access to opportunities and resources that can positively impact their business. This certification can open doors to many opportunities that these owners have traditionally been denied access to.”
The mission of SupplierGATEWAY and Hello Alice align as they look to support the success of small and diverse businesses.
“We have a singular goal of enabling millions of diverse businesses to get certified quickly and inexpensively,” said Ade Solaru, CEO of SupplierGATEWAY. “We believe EDC can help jump-start aspirational small businesses in the Hello Alice’s community to create the economic impact we all want.”
SupplierGATEWAY is a leading cloud-based, instant-on, low-priced digital supplier management platform, which automates and simplifies supplier and vendor management. SupplierGATEWAY’s tools and solutions can be deployed individually or in any combination, and easily integrated with existing AP/ERP infrastructure.
The tools and solutions capabilities encompass Supplier Registration and Enablement, P2P Sourcing & Procurement, Supplier Management, Financial Risk Monitoring, Supplier Compliance Management, Corporate Responsibility/Diversity and Vendor Credentialing.
Hello Alice is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow. With a community of nearly 500,000 business owners in all 50 states and across the globe, Hello Alice is building the largest network of owners in the country while tracking data and trends to increase the success rate for entrepreneurs. Our partners include enterprise business services, government agencies, and institutions looking to serve small- and medium-business owners to ensure increased revenues and promote scale. A Latina-owned company, founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, we believe in business for all by providing access to all owners, including women, people of color, veterans, and everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit.
SupplierGATEWAY Partners With Certify My Company To Expand Business Opportunities Through Diversity Certification
SANTA ANA, Calif., June 24, 2021 – SupplierGATEWAY and Certify My Company are pleased to announce that they have entered into a partnership to offer organizations a more accessible way to connect with small, diverse businesses by leveraging SupplierGATEWAY’s Enhanced Digital Certification™ (EDC), an all-digital certification platform.
This partnership enables Certify My Company to work with SupplierGATEWAY to expand its capacity to help corporate clients connect with small diverse businesses, including sole proprietors, that are currently not certified.
“Many of our clients have been asking for this for some time,” said Heather Cox, Co-founder and President of Certify My Company. “EDC represents the solution we have been looking for. It is a fantastic product, especially for small businesses.”
The rapidly changing digital landscape has revolutionized every aspect of business. EDC represents an innovative digital certification process for the e-commerce age.
“EDC provides an opportunity for 4 million minority and 11 million diverse businesses that are currently not certified to get certified online quickly and inexpensively,” said Ade Solaru, CEO of SupplierGATEWAY. “We are excited to work with Certify My Company to create an expanded opportunity for small businesses to grow and prosper.”
For more information about EDC, please visit our website.
About SupplierGATEWAY:
SupplierGATEWAY is a leading cloud-based, instant-on, low-priced digital supplier management platform, which automates and simplifies supplier and vendor management. SupplierGATEWAY’s tools and solutions can be deployed individually or in any combination, and easily integrated with existing AP/ERP infrastructure.
The tools and solutions capabilities encompass Supplier Registration and Enablement, P2P Sourcing & Procurement, Supplier Management, Financial Risk Monitoring, Supplier Compliance Management, Corporate Responsibility / Diversity and Vendor Credentialing.
Certify My Company is the premier supplier diversity consultancy specializing in diversity certifications. We support entrepreneurs through their certification journeys as well as the corporations they serve. By strategically leveraging supply chains, corporations can meet and exceed their diversity goals; Certify My Company is the trusted partner for Fortune 1000 supplier diversity initiatives.
Media Contact: Leanne Strickler 949-525-9205 Contact Us.
Enhanced Digital Certification: a Fast, Easy, Affordable Small Business and Diversity Certification
Getting your diverse business or small business certified expands the pool of opportunities to do business in the public and private sectors. However, less than 5% of of small and diverse businesses don’t have certification. At SupplierGATEWAY, we wanted to figure out why this problem was so common despite the benefits that come with being certified.
Current Challenges
According to the Small Business Administration, there are more than 4 million minority-owned businesses in the U.S., yet only a fraction have pursued acquiring a certification due to the cost, time and documentation required.
On average, it takes around 90 days for a business to be certified as a diverse- owned or small business. The cost can be from several hundred to more than a thousand dollars based on the location and its size. The long and involved process process along with cost dissuade many business owners from getting certified at all.
At SupplierGATEWAY, we understand these challenges, and our goal is to constantly figure out the best solutions to business challenges. We understood that having a certification for diverse and small business owners that was easy to apply for and cost-effective would help increase the number of small and diverse businesses that are certified. This would not only ease the burden on suppliers trying to make an economic impact in their communities, but also help buyers looking for certified suppliers to work with.
Today, we’re thrilled to say that our new Enhanced Digital Certification (EDC) program is a timely, cost-effective and practical solution to a pressing challenge. EDC gives you the power to create new opportunities for your business to attract and engage buyers looking for diverse-owned suppliers.
What Is EDC?
Enhanced Digital Certification™ (EDC) is a fast and inexpensive way for small and diverse businesses to get certified as a small or diverse-owned organization while at the same time exposing them to new opportunities afforded by being in the SupplierGATEWAY network.
EDC is gaining widespread acceptance by some of the most prominent advocates of inclusive purchasing, including Amazon, Home Depot, Target, and Nike- all of whom also seek to create new economic impact at scale. By digitizing and streamlining the diversity certification process, we have made it easier, faster and much less costly to achieve your diversity or small business certification.
If your business belongs to a small and/or minority-owned category, EDC is the go-to program for becoming certified as a diverse-owned business.
Takes As Little As 15 Minutes From Beginning To Approval Stage
With EDC, the whole certification process is optimized with a simple, clear, easy-to-follow digital form. Even your identity verification is done online, making it convenient for you to securely attest to your declarations and representations. If you have the required corporate documents ready, you can complete your application in 15 minutes.
EDC Process
After filling out the application, verifying your identity, business information and completing risk and compliance checks, you will receive an email if your application was successfully completed. While your certification is subject to audit, the normal process takes under 72 hours!
Access To Your Certification 24/7 Regardless of Location
“Congratulations! Your application has been approved!”
With your Enhanced Digital Certificate in hand, you also get something significant to your future customers – peace of mind. The EDC was developed for the digital world – complete with QR Code-based validation of your certificate, which enables your clients to conveniently verify your business category and diversity certification status, 24/7 and at no cost. Use the code on your email signature line, website or marketing collateral to quickly and confidently let customers know your organization is diverse-owned and operated.
Enhanced Digital Certification (Sample)
Everything your customers need to know about your business’ diverse ownership is in this digital certification. They can look up your business information by
Scanning your QR code OR
Entering your certification ID in their SupplierGATEWAY portal OR
Accessing the SupplierGATEWAY EDC Validation API connected to their ERP and purchasing systems.
We have made it easier for companies looking to do business with diverse suppliers to validate their diversity ownership status – the rest is up to you!
Detailed business information after scanning QR Code (sample)
The total cost is only $25, or even FREE
The entire EDC program was conceived with a singular objective – create new opportunities for diverse-owned and small businesses. That philosophy carries over into the price. The EDC is available as an annually paid certification or is simply included as an added benefit for SupplierGATEWAY premium Supplier Platform subscribers.
If you are a supplier and currently in…
Cost
Premium Plan
FREE
Free Plan
$25
Participate in the sponsored program paid by EDC corporate sponsors
FREE
Our premium subscribers will enjoy all the supplier features from SupplierGATEWAY as well as the opportunity to certify your business for free.
Automated Renewal Notification
Your EDC is valid for one year. But don’t worry! Our system will send the notification to remind you, and your only task is to update your information to get EDC renewal in no time.
We Made Small and Diverse Certification Fast and Easy. Time For You To Get The Most Out Of It!
“We have a singular goal of enabling millions of diverse businesses to get certified quickly and inexpensively. We believe EDC can help jump-start aspirational small businesses to create the economic impact we all want,”- Ade Solaru, CEO of SupplierGATEWAY.
SupplierGATEWAY Introduces Enhanced Digital Diversity Certification
SANTA ANA, Calif., June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — SupplierGATEWAY announces the launch of its diversity certification program Enhanced Digital Certification™ (EDC). EDC is an innovative, fast and inexpensive way for small and diverse businesses to get certified while at the same time exposing them to new opportunities afforded by being on the rapidly growing SupplierGATEWAY network.
As more companies in the private and public sector seek to engage certified diverse suppliers, EDC represents an optimal certification solution for diverse businesses that may have previously opted out of certification due to the cost, complexity or length of existing traditional certification processes.
SupplierGATEWAY’s EDC leverages digital technology to provide a fast, reliable and cost-effective process that establishes and certifies majority ownership of a minority or diverse business.
EDC certifies all diverse classifications that apply to suppliers and vendors, including minority-owned, women-owned, LGBT-owned, veteran-owned and disability-owned businesses. The EDC certification can be easily verified by scanning the QR Code on the certificate via a login to the SupplierGATEWAY platform or electronically through an API connection.
The launch of EDC has attracted interest from organizations, including global brands keen to implement initiatives to grow their diverse and inclusive supplier base.
SupplierGATEWAY is a leading cloud-based, instant-on, low-priced digital supplier management platform, which automates and simplifies supplier and vendor management. SupplierGATEWAY’s tools and solutions can be deployed individually or in any combination, and easily integrated with existing AP/ERP infrastructure.
The tools and solutions capabilities encompass Supplier Registration and Enablement, P2P Sourcing & Procurement, Supplier Management, Financial Risk Monitoring, Supplier Compliance Management, Corporate Responsibility / Diversity and Vendor Credentialing.
SANTA ANA, Calif.
