As the nation reels from the one-two punch of Covid-19 and long-simmering social and racial unrest, many of America’s large corporations have engaged in public soul-searching. Looking for solutions to address income-, wealth- and health-inequality in distressed communities across the country. While some companies have pledged to spend billions in philanthropic dollars to address these issues, the nation’s largest companies are capable of developing an even more powerful strategy by partnering with minority-owned businesses to generate sustainable local wealth, economic opportunity, and jobs. Each year, these corporate giants spend hundreds of billions of dollars with suppliers on goods and services to run their global operations. They buy everything from IT hardware and software to advertising and public relations to security services to call center support. By consciously and intentionally deploying their existing procurement power for community benefit; sourcing for their supply chain from diverse companies; and refocusing their efforts from simply counting spend to making spend count, partnership rather than philanthropy is a way for corporations to transform communities.
Mark Wilson of Chime Solutions was joined by Beverly Norman-Cooper, Chief Strategist at Reimagining Supply Chain Diversity. Both leaders are partnering to bring supplier diversity and the Chime model to Baltimore City, MD.
