National Minority Supplier Development Continues to Grow

The National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc., one of the nation’s leading corporate membership organizations, weathered the recession in 2009 to end the year strong. The year’s highlights include the addition of 30 new national corporate members; the launch of the Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council, an organization modeled after NMSDC; and the certification and recertification of 17,000 Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American businesses.

“The economic downturn in 2009 was difficult for many of our corporate members and minority businesses,” said NMSDC President Harriet R. Michel. “Still, our corporate members purchased more than $100 billion in goods and services from our certified MBEs. Even more promising was the resilience our MBEs showed in maintaining their businesses. Many of them thrived in such a challenging climate, and continued to deliver the quality products and services their corporate clients have come to expect. We are looking forward to a great year in 2010 for our corporate members and minority suppliers.”

Other news and areas of significant achievement for NMSDC in 2009 include:

Retirement announcement: NMSDC President Harriet R. Michel announced her plans to retire after 21 years, at the end of June 2010. A national search is under way for a successor.

A new address: The NMSDC office in New York moved into new office space in June when the lease at its old address expired. The new space at 1359 Broadway is larger to accommodate future staff growth.

International: The NMSDC celebrated the establishment of the Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council (AIMSC) in 2009. The organization is modeled after NMSDC and promotes the inclusion of Aboriginal business owners in the country’s economic mainstream. The Australian government provided $3 million to launch AIMSC. Within the first three months, the organization had recruited 20 corporate members, certified 18 Aboriginal suppliers and posted $3.3 million (Australian) in member spend.

In 2009, NMSDC began working with South African International Business Linkages and the National Business Initiative of South Africa to create a supplier diversity organization there. The South African Supplier Diversity Council (SASDC) launched in January 2010.

MSD China held its first national conference and business opportunity fair. A 22-member NMSDC delegation attended the event, and met with government officials and corporate executives to generate additional support for MSD China.

Corporate Plus®: The program maintained its membership, ending the year with 90 National Corporate Plus members and 50 Corporate Plus Sponsors. The program continues to provide a broad range of non-traditional and traditional products and services. For the sixth consecutive year, NMSDC held a Corporate Plus® Forum during its annual conference. This year’s topic was “What Only a Corporate Plus CEO Can Do.”

Centers of Excellence: South Central Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council (SCOMSDC) held its commencement exercise in August for nine corporations and 19 MBEs. Assessment surveys given at the closeout of this module indicated overall improvement in corporate minority supplier development best practices and MBE operations. Overall, results from the pilot modules and SCOMSDC indicate that participating corporations have improved their best practices rating by 11% and the MBEs improved their business operations assessment by approximately 7%. Two modules – New York and New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council and Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council – repeated their involvement in the program and participated in a revenue-sharing model. MBEs joined these modules during 2009. The Tri-State Minority Supplier Development Council, which services Kentucky and West Virginia, has a COE module that is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2010.

Learning Events: One of the hallmarks of NMSDC’s mission is providing training and learning opportunities through online courses, executive education and seminars. In 2009, hundreds of corporate minority supplier development professionals and minority business owners participated in learning events.

Annual Conference and Business Opportunity Fair: NMSDC’s benchmark forum on minority supplier development was held October 25-28 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The annual event continues to attract leading executives in supplier development and supply chain management, as well as chief executive officers from Fortune 500 companies as speakers, facilitators and presenters. In 2009, more than 5,500 executives, MBEs and supplier development professionals attended the conference.

Minority Business Leadership Awards Dinner-Dance: Each spring, NMSDC recognizes corporations and minority businesses for their long-term accomplishments in minority supplier development. In 2009, NMSDC presented leadership awards to David B. Dillon of The Kroger Company, and two minority business owners – Alex Lopez Negrete of Lopez Negrete Communications and Mike Ricketts of Quality Packaging Specialists International – at the annual event in May.

Looking Ahead: “While we are keenly aware of economic challenges facing our stakeholders, we profoundly believe in the value minority businesses bring not only to their corporate customers, but also to their communities and the entire nation,” said Ms. Michel. “Any economic recovery must include their participation. We count on the continued commitment of our corporate members and on the innovation, solutions, and excellent products and services provided by Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American businesses.”

In 2010, NMSDC will host its annual conference and business opportunity fair in Phoenix, Arizona; provide guidance to support of the growth of its International Program, especially the new organizations in Australia, China and South Africa; and continue to promote minority supplier development as a valuable business practice.