- By Wilfred Smith

There are a lot of fascinating stories emerging from the corporate world of supplier diversity programs, but one of the most remarkable has to be the efforts going on within Ernst & Young. The organization divides itself into four geographic areas, one of which is the Americas and includes the United States and Canada. Though the two countries have many similarities, they are a world apart in terms of the maturity of the supplier diversity programs.

In the U.S., supplier diversity has been addressed legislatively for government contracts with goals and reporting established. In Canada, there are no legislated initiatives and goal setting by corporations is voluntary. The gap between the two approaches to supplier diversity may not be narrowing at the government level, but they are certainly narrowing at the corporate level for the organization. This is largely due to the efforts of people like Rosemary Weppler, Supplier Diversity Analyst for the U.S. and Canada and Lori Benson, Strategic Sourcing Director for Canada.

Weppler and Benson may work in different countries for the same company, but they have the same goal, which is to expand the supplier diversity programs in their respective business operations. After meeting at a workshop held by the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) two years ago, the women have been regularly working together to build strong diversity programs in both countries. They are fortunate because Ernst & Young has a corporate culture of inclusiveness and diversity, meaning, internally, the support from organizational members is strong.

Optimizing Value There are some enlightening characteristics about Ernst & Young’s supplier diversity programs. Suppliers are reviewed on a North American basis so that certification in either country is recognized. U.S. certification by federal or state agencies and Canadian certification by CAMSC or WEConnect are needed before a supplier can sign up online as a minority or woman owned business. What is exciting for the Canadian side of the business is that the website was the door Aboriginals and visible minorities needed to get the attention of Ernst & Young.

Ernst & Young uses a broad definition for diversity that includes women and all people of colour including Aboriginals. However, there are no guarantees that come with approval. As Benson points out, “The bidding process is the same for Aboriginal and visible minority owned businesses as it is for non-minority owned firms. The suppliers still have to compete and prove they can do the work. The opportunity for diverse suppliers is a door opened so they have a chance to compete when they might not have had a voice before.”

One of the many barriers women and minority employees have traditionally faced is gaining access to potential customers. Via technology, supplier diversity managers can now cast a wide net as online registration gives visibility to suppliers. Weppler makes it clear, though, that she is interested in attracting minority and women suppliers who can optimize Ernst & Young’s value, the value of the supply chain and the value of diversity as a national initiative. To achieve this goal, she is building a strong diversity platform that includes suppliers from any of the 30 countries in Ernst & Young’s America’s area.

Of course, it will take time to expand the supplier diversity program to include other countries besides the U.S and Canada. However, the U.S. program is starting from an advanced stage, while the Canada diversity program is still in its relative infancy. Benson has worked diligently to develop a supplier diversity program, but it takes time and effort. When asked if she has a message for corporate Canada, the response was, “Just get started. Initiating a supplier diversity program doesn’t bring immediate returns because it takes some steps to get there. The benefits in the long haul make it worthwhile.”

Reaching Out to Suppliers

The work to expand the Ernst & Young’s supplier diversity program have included joint efforts. Weppler and Benson are adamant that building a strong supplier diversity program requires reaching out to the suppliers and providing the training and networking opportunities needed. For this reason, the women professionals have offered workshops with names like Best Practices in Supplier Diversity and Things Don’t Go Exactly as Planned. In addition, Benson facilitated a joint supplier education session called Three Sides to the Procurement Dialogue at which CAMSC representatives spoke. This type of session breaks down even more MWBE access barriers because education and training sessions are ideal networking opportunities.

Two important lessons can be learned from Ernst &Youngs efforts to build supplier diversity in the U.S. and Canada. First, corporate leadership must understand what supplier diversity means to the organization. The value must be clearly understood and goals should be set from a leadership perspective. Supplier diversity must be an integral component of corporate teamwork and best practices and not a stand alone program that is disconnected from the rest of the business. The diversity program must reflect an overall commitment to total quality, which is why the supplier diversity efforts of Ernst &Young in the U.S. and in Canada are blended. Canada supplies the U.S. and the U.S. supplies Canada, and each country operation recognizes the other’s certifications.

The second lesson is that corporations must go to the suppliers. As Weppler said, “Supplier diversity is not about just writing a cheque. You have to go to meetings, meet the suppliers, get involved and get on committees.” A good example of this lesson put into practice is found in the Centres of Excellence program in the New York/New Jersey area. Six Ernst & Young MWBE suppliers completed the Centres of Excellence program and were more knowledgeable and more prepared to compete at the end. Mentoring is a natural step once suppliers have been identified.

Make Some Noise

According to Benson, one of the biggest challenges an organization must deal with in building a supplier diversity program is learning how to make enough “noise” so that supplier diversity becomes a part of the buying community requirements. Community consciousness must be raised. One step Ernst & Young took in Canada was to ask suppliers to respond with information about their diversity component. In the U.S., this information is often collected because of compliance regulations. Compliance regulations don’t exist in Canada, but that only means a Canadian business must take the initiative. The result has been a growing awareness of supplier diversity in the community.

How do you judge success? Though some type of metrics should be used, the best answer to the question can be unexpected. Benson believes success is achieved when the organization’s leadership or community members approach the person managing supplier diversity to ask questions or request to participate in the supplier diversity program. It means the program has moved past the need to convince people that diversity and inclusiveness are important to business and community success.