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Why Supplier Diversity Certification is Important for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

Small business certification offers new opportunities for startups to bid on corporate and government contracts.

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The Benefits of Small Business Certification

1. Access to corporate supply chains.

Although certification is no guarantee of getting the business, it does increase the chances and enables you to compete for these contracts. I find that many companies’ supplier diversity people are true advocates for M/WBEs; WBENC/NMSDC certification and can help solidify the connection, assuring that those firms get requests for proposals and have their opportunity to shine.

They will also gain access to a current list of supplier diversity and procurement executives at hundreds of major U.S. corporations and federal, state, and local government entities. They receive national recognition and opportunities to pursue business deals with corporations as well as other M/WBEs.

These benefits should not be overlooked, especially when competition is tougher than ever.

2. Partnership opportunities.

Quite often a W/MBE may be able to fulfill most of what an RFP asks for, but cannot do the entire project alone due to its size or capabilities. By partnering with another certified M/WBE, the corporation still gets the full value of its expenditure and two M/WBEs have business … a win-win scenario.

After attaining certification, it generally takes a minimum of two years to see results. However, those results can be compelling. Ultimately, certifying your small business can help you to create a partnership with supplier diversity departments and build a powerful path to increased revenue and customer acquisition.

For additional information visit Women Presidents’ Educational Organization and SBA.gov.

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Photo: Target

Heather Cox is the Co-founder of Certify My Company, a consultancy that provides comprehensive administration of all certification paperwork and needs for woman-, minority-, and LGBT-owned businesses. For more information call (973) 272-4159.

 

 

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