Supplier Diversity takes centre stage as MSDUKCelebrates 100 Corporate Member

Earlier in 2020, I made a call to the FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 firms to join forces with MSDUK and make a commitment to supplier diversity in the UK. Today, we have reached that milestone of 100 corporate members. We are delighted to welcome United Airlines as our 100th corporate member! Supplier diversity in the UK has come of age and takes centre stage within corporate strategy. However, it is time for the corporate world to rise to the challenge and make a real impact that is measurable.

1 in 6 businesses, that is nearly a million business in the UK are ethnic minority owned or led employing over 3m people, which is 10% of UK’s workforce, however, less than 1% of corporate spend in the UK goes to ethnic minority businesses. This has to change.

Investors, stakeholders and consumers are demanding sustainability be built into every aspect of an organisation’s operations. And procurement play an important role to enable an organization's social responsibility and purpose, with the lens focusing on supplier diversity in a framework that is at once inclusive and equitable.

We all know that supply chains of the future will be highly digitalised, led by purpose-driven organisations in an environment defined by resiliency, agility and supplier diversity which encompass not just sustainability and inclusion, but equality at its core.

MSDUK is proud to represent the best of UK’s ethnic minority businesses and as we expand across Europe, we will be engaging with even more diverse group of under-represented entrepreneurs. We offer access to a scaling network of over 2000 ethnic minority businesses, diverse in capability, size and structure, ready to be part of global supply chains by offering innovative products and solutions and bring competitiveness. Economically empowering these businesses generates jobs, creates wealth and drives economic inclusion.

So, as we celebrate reaching this milestone of 100 corporate partners, I am using this platform to call upon them and others to let their supply chain be the gateway to innovation, embrace diversity and inclusion to unlock hidden potential. Give opportunities to the under-represented and socially-economically disadvantaged businesses across the world and drive economic inclusion.

We call upon all our members to consider these pledges to drive supplier diversity:

• Get top leadership to go public with commitment to supplier diversity.
• Make a pledge to double spend with ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) year-on-year for next five years.
• Commit to increase number of EMBs you do business with by 25% every year for next five years.
• Go beyond spend as the only measure of success; invest in EMBs to build your future supply chains.
• Make supplier diversity part of people’s objectives- what gets measured gets done.
• Refine and simplify procurement processes for small and diverse businesses.
• Commit to 30 days payment for small and diverse businesses.

Let us all come together, open doors, offer opportunities and work with a shared purpose of bringing equity and celebrating diversity! Remember, when everyone is included, everyone wins!