New NLPA Course Tackles Global CSR and Supplier Diversity Challenges

A few days ago I spoke with Charles Dominick, president and CPO of Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA) on the topic of supplier diversity. NLPA has just made available a new course module focused on strategic supplier diversity. This is part of the fourth and highest level of NLPA’s strategic procurement and supply management body of knowledge (SPSM-BOK) program.

作为新课程背后的司机，查尔斯提出了一些行业的观点，并提到了他在他的经验中，甚至在公司中建立了在公司的领导者方面的方案甚至是他们在该地区的方法方面的战术。

这是一个陈述我会同意。有效的供应商多样性计划是在该地区和客户基地中发挥有意义的业务影响的人，这是一个公司积极的。有意义的业务影响也包括顶线增长，产品和服务创新等度量，以及通常与采购相关的其他KPI。查尔斯还发现这是一种看待供应商多样性计划的有用方式，它也反映在NLPA的计划中。

选中框不会驱动结果

如上所述的基督质量可以看出，在大多数供应商多样性计划如何关注“检查框”活动时 - 例如，收集和验证证书和防止欺诈。在辩护供应商多样性部门，大多数人的预算很少，资源很少。但是，很少有公司已经将供应商多样性移动到战略市场份额驾驶努力中。

然而，当供应商多样性计划与战略目标保持一致时，请看看可能发生的事情，就像在这种情况下查尔斯共享。这匹兹堡大学医疗中心，100亿美元的医疗保健组织，在一个地区竞争高标记-owned hospital network is its main competitor. Neither company accepted the other firm’s health care plans, so local customers were confused and frustrated when they lost access to their preferred doctors. To address the negative brand impact from the plan restrictions, UPMC realized that consumers don’t pay attention to marketing campaigns focused on excellent service — this is presumably expected, and not seen as a differentiator.

相反，一旦它在UPMC上突出，消费者会注意CSR和供应商多样性，它创建了一个重点突出了在该领域所做的富国所做的兴处的大广告活动。这对UPMC来说是一个巨大的成功，并让它的竞争对手惊喜。

HR as a Procurement Resource

HR and its employee diversity efforts can also tie in with procurement, as it often does in European organizations. Charles suggests viewing HR as a partner. Have it evaluate suppliers’ hiring practices, for example.

This is an area that can get contentious, however, both from the perspective of influencing business partners internal policies and also in being difficult to manage, as the requirements and laws are often unique to each country. For example, U.S. firms are often interested in the ethnicity of the company owners and this information is then used to steer business to such suppliers. This is something that isn’t legal in many other countries. In the U.K. and in E.U., there are laws that severely restrict the use of preference for such suppliers. In one country you must, in the other you can’t.

除了国际法，全球计划可以建立在有意义的当地业务影响的原则上。这应该在世界各地的任何国家都持有真实，因为可以根据当地规则调整有意义的，同时在考虑采购和采购过程。

International Scale

Especially for global firms, it is critical to have a consistent approach to supplier diversity, something that can be followed throughout the organization, even if local execution might take radically different forms. Training and internal awareness are also critical, the last perhaps the hardest to establish. Much like sophisticated global supply chain risk management (GSCRM) programs, a supplier diversity program also needs to consider the extended supply chain and not just look at isolated segments of the business.

“Supplier diversity was once thought of as merely a way of complying with customer requirements or even just a nice thing to do,” Charles said. “But as today’s leading organizations have demonstrated, supplier diversity done strategically can be a core part of an organization’s social responsibility program and a profit booster to boot.”

Cynical perhaps, but I think Charles might underestimate the degree to which supplier diversity and CSR still get down-defined to mere tactical compliance or fuzzy social obligation by companies. But it is clear that a fresh, holistic take on how the supplier diversity and CSR activities can set a company apart against competitors is needed.

We wish NLPA and Charles Dominick best of luck with the new course, and we invite comments from any reader who has gone through the new addition.