25 years of MatchMaker: Meet some of the faces behind our diverse supplier community
Earlier this month, Stellantis North America headquarters was buzzing with excitement as we hosted our 25th annual MatchMaker program. Over 1,000 participants joined in, including more than 325 diverse business owners. This event is one example of our continued work to build and foster a diverse supply base - helping diverse businesses grow and thrive in their communities.?
MatchMaker has generated more than $4 billion in new business opportunities for diverse-owned businesses since its inception in 1999, including minority-, women-, veteran-, LGBTQ- and disability-owned businesses, HUBZone, 8a, as well as small businesses.???
More than 225 Tier 1 supplier decision makers attended the event along with Stellantis purchasing, supply chain and supplier quality representatives across commodity areas. During the event, we spoke to a few of the business founders and leaders that have been impacted by the MatchMaker program over the years.? ?
ChemicoGroup executive vice president David MacLeod said their company has participated in every MatchMaker since the program began.??
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“MatchMaker has had a changing effect on our business over time,” he said. “When we first started, it helped us grow. We met people. We networked and we found new opportunities, and that still happens today, but now we go beyond that. Now we're looking for diverse suppliers for our company as we've grown. So it's got a double effect for us and we're excited to participate every year that Stellantis holds it.”?
Tracey Campbell, vice president of business development for Motor City Travel, said her company has been involved with MatchMaker for the past 20 years.?
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“MatchMaker has allowed us to have access to companies and diverse businesses that really has grown our business exponentially,” she said. “We have secured so many partnerships, and we have those partnerships still today. We're still doing business with companies that we met at MatchMaker over 15 years ago. We have secured over $30 million in business with MatchMaker, and it has really impacted our business and helped us reach success in new heights.”?
She described the program as “exciting.”?
“Stellantis’ commitment to supplier diversity is beyond amazing,” Campbell said. “They are always looking to help us in any way that we can grow our business, and we've made some great connections through this program.”?
?Varchasvi Shankar, president and CEO of V2Soft, also said it was his 20th year of coming to MatchMaker.??
“This is a great opportunity for all minority companies to interact with the large Tier 1 suppliers to get business and build relationships,” he said. “You want to be here.”
Since the inception of the company’s supplier diversity program in 1983, Stellantis has purchased more than $100 billion from diverse-owned suppliers. Last year, Stellantis spent $9.3 billion in North America with diverse suppliers. Over the past 12 years, the company’s High Focus program, which strategically works with suppliers to ensure they are meeting their diversity goals and objectives, has generated more than $6.7 billion in diverse spend.?
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1 个月Stop ?? the nonsense on help us grow ! Your destroying a once great car company that my grandfathers worked for ! Really simple ?? Make cars here in North America ???? and make cars people want.
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1 个月To Stellantis Leadership: I have been without my Fiat for over two months following an accident that was not my fault. While the dealership has done everything they can, they are at the mercy of Chrysler/Stellantis for the necessary parts. The delays in securing these parts and the lack of communication from your company have been incredibly frustrating. What I don’t understand is why it’s impossible for anyone at Chrysler/Stellantis to tell me if the parts even exist, where they are, and when they’ll be shipped and delivered. Despite making regular payments on my vehicle, I have no clear answers or timeline for repairs. Repeated calls to my case manager go unanswered, and customer service has failed to help, with calls often disconnecting after long waits. This lack of professionalism has left me considering extreme measures, including repossessing the vehicle and pursuing legal action if this matter is not resolved immediately. I was once a proud Fiat driver, but now I strongly regret purchasing from your company. I am sharing this publicly in the hope that urgent action will be taken to resolve this.