Despite the tentative economy, Karen Blackwell, manager of supplier diversity and development for Nestlé Business Services, North America, says businesses are searching for viable suppliers. To that end, Nestlé has supplier programs in place at Nestlé Purina Pet Care, Nestlé Nutrition (which includes Jenny Craig and Gerber as well as PowerBars) and Nestlé Waters North America, among others. Within its operating companies, Nestlé provides vendor opportunities in a range of areas, from construction and raw materials to maintenance, marketing, real estate, and human resources services.
What assets do diverse suppliers bring to the table?
I think minority businesses are really going to rise to the top in innovation. Our operating companies are large, and it is hard for minority businesses to get in because it’s so competitive, but in innovation there is opportunity. Diverse suppliers need to think about the future. It is up to business owners to look for ways to add value to the business that they want to supply their services to. Many times diverse suppliers have a greater connection to trends, public sentiment, and to various segments of the community. As a large company we can’t always keenly identify those needs.
With Nestlé’s strategic sourcing business model, what is the company doing internally to support diverse suppliers’ competitive needs and meet buyers’ product demands?
For the past three years, we’ve held our own supplier diversity conference where we’ve invited both current and prospective minority, women, and small business owners to attend. We share information about one of the operating companies and about our buying categories so that the companies know more about us and what we’re looking for and how we’re tracking. We
also have one-on-one meetings during which they have an opportunity to meet with a particular buyer who buys in a certain category. It’s an opportunity to have that face-to-face contact and for people to have quality time with buyers and suppliers. These conferences are a success. I think our suppliers are strategic and experienced enough to know that you don’t sit down and in 20 minutes walk away with a deal. But what you do walk away with is a better relationship. You know more about that buyer and that buyer knows more about you–moving from contact to contract.On its Website, Nestlé acknowledges that by 2050, the majority of the U.S. population will consist of people from ethnic groups that are now considered minorities, and that certified minority-owned businesses are experiencing similar growth. Internally, what types of programs are in place to recruit, attract, and support minority suppliers?
Something that we do internally is education through action. We have several different supplier diversity teams. We have a representative for all our operating companies and we talk about how to help push the message internally. I’ve done online meetings with all our buyers. We teach them how to use our portal so that they can look for diverse suppliers. We believe that supplier diversity initiatives will be most effective when all buyers understand the program and become engaged. We’re a very tightly run procurement organization. In our environment right now, our buyers are tasked with looking for savings as well as maximizing all the dollars spent. Buyers have lots of responsibility in their area, and with that responsibility comes the work.
I think the biggest problem that the diverse supplier has is getting the buyer’s attention because there are so many competing demands. This time last year our buyers were confronted with increases in the cost of fuel and milk. Two years ago it was corn being deviated from the food chain to the fuel chain–which again affected the cost. But now the ultimate challenge is for our buyers to make sure that they are buying products that allow our foods to be safe, to be well positioned, and to be cost effective in production. That’s why I circle back to innovation. Diverse suppliers must look for ways to help bring value. It will be up to them to look at ways to make a difference.
For more information on supplier diversity at Nestlé, visit www.nestleusa.com/pubcommunity/diversity.aspx.
This story originally appeared in the August 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.