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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZeilinksi et al - Opportunity AcceleratorThe Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs 5/l/2023 To: City Hall of Iowa City City Manager's Office 410 E Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 CMOadmin@iowa- city.org From: Collaborating Team Members on the Proposal Julie Zielinski, Independent Consultant, and Associate Professor of Practice, Tippie College of Business 2215 Willenbrock Circle, Iowa City, IA 52245 319 400 4169 iulieazielinski(& jzmail.com Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar, Principal, Strategic Insights Inc, (Iowa S Corp, TSB, WOSB) 222 3rd Ave SE, Armstrong Development Building, #513, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 319 360 5876 sui (i4strateizicinsi2hts.com Scott Hauser, President, Strategy Solutions Inc. (Iowa S Corp 160117ox Trail Drive NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 319 360 9123 shauser(a,strateaysolutionsinc. com To the Iowa City Council, Re- Business Support System to Serve Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs The Collaborative team of Julie Zielinski, Iowa City based independent consultant and Associate Prof. Tippie School of Business, Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar, Principal of Strategic Insights Inc., and Scott Hauser, Owner and President of Strategy Solutions Inc, is proposing a High Touch -High Tech Solution to enhance the Business Support Structure for Iowa City's BIPOC businesses and entrepreneurs. Our team is proposing to work in a supporting role with the Iowa City leadership as well as other organizations helping to support this grant for Equitable Economic Growth in the Iowa City area. Our collective competencies and experience in coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs, and business consulting, combined with a ready to use state -of -the art digital platform, will bring unparalleled value, speed, and impact to the Iowa City Equitable Economic Growth agenda. stratac, - insights 1 Decision Support The Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs Our team has a deep understanding of the macro and micro environment of Iowa City Entrepreneurs, as well of the entrepreneurial challenges of the BIPOC and disadvantaged businesses in general. Our Digital Platform -The Opportunity Accelerator truly embodies the principles of Democratization of Opportunities and Resources. The Opportunity Accelerator features digital opportunity access, an e-marketplace, an access to capital interface, and a state-of-the-art Learning and Coaching interface in a user-friendly dashboard. The city can include other consultants, advisors, and resources from Iowa City and beyond as needed with the evolving needs of the community. This helps the city be more inclusive with resources and also be in a position to rotate out resources based on usage and feedback metrics. Our team's approach of combining live expert coaching and mentoring augmented by the advanced resources of our Digital Platform will serve as a dynamic Entrepreneurial Resource Center and a great catalyst for underestimated Businesses in the Iowa City area. Below is the specific field of information required for the grant request. 1. Collaborating Team Overview (Detailed Bios enclosed) 1. Julie Zielinski is an Iowa City based independent consultant and Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business, where she teaches courses in the, MBA, BBA, and JPEC programs. Julie worked for ten years as Vice President of Marketing and Strategy with the Entrepreneurial Development Center, where she advised and mentored Eastern Iowa entrepreneurs. 2. Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar, is founder and Principal of Strategic Insights Inc, an Iowa S Corp as well as an Iowa TSB and a WOSB. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and founded Strategic Insights in 2000. Her expertise is Business Strategy, Sales -Marketing Alignment, Market Research, and Advanced Analytics. She is considered a thought leader in the area of Minority Business Development, has published articles in this area, and is a frequent speaker at Conventions on the topic. 3. Scott Hauser is the founder of Strategy Solutions Inc., an Iowa -based strategy and management consulting firm. Prior to starting his own firm, Scott work for many years in various professional settings and obtained his MBA. Scott has been involved in teaching and mentoring entrepreneurs at the University of Iowa for nearly 20 years. Team Email Addresses: Please send all email correspondence related to this proposal to all three collaborators. iulieazielinski(&amail.com; shauser(&strate2vsolutionsinc.com; suinstrate2icinsi2hts.com. Office addresses and phone numbers of all three collaborators are detailed in the first page of this proposal. stratac, - insights a. z Decision Support The Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs Address of Proiect site: This is a Business Support System Project and services will be rendered virtually or at existing Iowa City Entrepreneurial Centers and offices. II. Goal of the Proiect: The goal of our proposed solution is to combine personalized mentoring and coaching with the Digital Opportunity Accelerator Platform to help Iowa City's underestimated and disadvantaged businesses. Our approach would help scale these businesses by connecting them to more opportunities, providing them with more equitable access to capital and credit, ongoing skills development, training, coaching, mentoring, and networking. The Opportunity Accelerator can be adapted to the Iowa City environment to help start, grow, scale underestimated businesses and spearhead innovation. In essence, this program combines personalized and highly skilled mentoring and coaching with a digitally scaled access to contract opportunities, business advisory services, and much needed access to credit and capital. Access to reliable and timely credit and capital are major barriers to growth for underestimated business. The Opportunity Accelerator as a digital platform can greatly help mitigate some of these traditional barriers, thereby paving the way for more equitable economic growth. III. A description of how the project builds community resiliency following the COVID-19 pandemic by building capacity to serve residents of the community. Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar at Strategic Insights Inc, has conducted several research studies on challenges facing disadvantaged businesses, especially in the post pandemic environment. Her research has consistently shown that resilience is built with a "gestalt" approach. Entrepreneurship is the single biggest way to build wealth in historically disadvantaged communities. Starting a new business with seed funding is just the start. Sustaining these businesses takes ongoing mentoring, coaching, advisory services, and most importantly access to capital and credit. The digital platform "Opportunity Accelerator" was designed with the above research findings in mind, post pandemic. It has a track record of helping disadvantaged businesses grow. Mentoring, coaching, and digitally enhanced access to advisory and capital and credit resources can help new BIPOC start-ups as well existing BIPOC businesses that have a desire to grow. The digital interface can also enable partnerships between BIPOCs and other successful large and medium sized businesses if so desired. The Opportunity Accelerator is a custom designed platform developed by Strategic Insights Inc. for scaling business support to disadvantaged businesses and entrepreneurs. The Opportunity Accelerator improves many parts of locally owned businesses by giving them resources that include small business technical assistance, community navigating services, and similar support networks. The Accelerator also enables equitable opportunity access, networking, better access to credit and capital, and enhanced access to training, mentoring, and coaching. The stratac, - insights 3 Decision Support The Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs platform that was developed by Strategic Insights can be white labeled and adapted to Iowa City demographics within 30-45 days and can be accessed as a SaaS subscription. This will help Iowa city launch a comprehensive digitally enabled business support program within a relatively short period of time and without a huge drain on capital and human resources. This is a highly sustainable long term impact approach that could well become the cornerstone for equitable economic growth of underestimated communities in the Iowa City area. This High Touch -High Tech approach would make Iowa City a true regional leader in equitable economic growth. The Opportunity Accelerator Platform can be adapted to the Iowa City environment to help start, grow, and scale businesses, and spearhead innovation. It also offers new and existing area businesses national and global access to opportunities and markets and capital with relative ease. The Collaboration team on this proposal would like to propose a live demo of the Opportunity Accelerator as part of the proposal presentation. This could help demonstrate how the process of mentoring and coaching would be interlaced with the Opportunity Accelerator to provide a great lift to underestimated area businesses. Features of the Opportunity Accelerator 1. Opportunity matching with potential buyers with the ability to connect to buyers globally, if needed, and the ability to connect directly to state, local, and enterprise ERP systems. 2. An E-Marketplace for sellers to access potential buyers and markets around the globe and receive bookings and payments on the platform. 3. An Access to Capital and Credit interface which can be populated with lending institutions from Iowa City, and outside the city to make targeted capital and credit more readily available to disadvantaged businesses. The interface also includes an Advisory Services function that can be populated with preferred business services advisors. This application will provide the Iowa City leadership the option to include a broader range of on demand sponsored or otherwise business advisory services providers from the area and beyond. The city can charge a fee and thus make this also a revenue stream for other social services. 4. A state-of-the-art Coaching and Mentoring interface with mobile application. 5. A Digital Demand Generation and Market Intelligence application to help Iowa City businesses learn about trends and opportunities relevant to their industry Overall, our High Touch -High Tech approach mentors nascent and mature underestimated businesses and connects them with unique opportunities they would have not had otherwise. The program is focused not only on starting new businesses, but also on sustaining them long term, creating more resiliency for the business community. This helps address the revolving door issue many communities face with entrepreneurship in underestimated groups. stratac, - insights 4 Decision Support The Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs Screenshot of the Opportunitv Accelerator Dashboard detunlNArr.lnipl•.i ll,�l+l}• x 4. .. _..._ -� C Y hitli.://oVi>Urtl u'�Il vi•�i,.�i. i. ,... „ail � #'�` t7 O I U �._i (•, oflla 5•�I>4� �l Rork i i � •.�„ P out stratEDgicinsights Decision Support Opportunity Accelerator Hub-E)emo ��r�rrirlrtr! Search by: t.; Y� I ytlort � � •� ,..� J WAMW! _�♦ 7 Opportunities Posted Screenshot of the Access to Capital Interface Dashboard CAPITAL SUITE Hone PQ Tools Advisors Capital Sources Capital Seekers Valuations More More Capital Access. More Deals Done. A Full Suite of Capital Transaction Tools Help your clients Lend / Invest / Acquire Borrow for, fund, or borrow, raise, sell marketplace sell your business Get results Predictably Quick Connect with Pre -Qualified fund -seekers Choose ADVISOR at registration Choose CAPITAL PROVIDER at registration Testing the waters? What is my business worth? Pre -Qualify for and find the best deal Choose CAPITAL SEEKER at registration How much can I borrow? Find out what your business might be worth Pre -qualify your business for borrowing Valuation:• • Already Registered? Login insights i 5 Decision Support The Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs Opportunity Accelerator and High Impact Participant Mentoring Proposal Budget Pricing One-time start-up costs: One-time adaption fee for the Opportunity Accelerator $150,000 Includes needs analysis -based customization to Iowa City entrepreneurs and providers, Uploading of Registering Entity information, ongoing Support Per participant served costs: Option #1 - Access to Opportunity Accelerator Digital Platform Annual business subscription - includes Access to Opportunities, Access to $1,500 Capital and Credit, E-marketplace to Sell and Collect Payments, and On Demand Advisory Services and Ongoing Support Option #2 — A. Access to Opportunity Accelerator Digital Platform and Premium Professional Mentoring Annual business subscription - includes Access to Opportunities, Access to $1,500 Capital and Credit, E-marketplace to Sell and Collect Payments, and On Demand Advisory Plus: Six virtual high impact mentoring sessions customized to each business participant: PLUS B. Market planning mentoring: I.) market opportunity analysis II.) marketing plan development III.) product/service branding, promotion and sales IV.) distribution PLUS C. Business formation and foundation mentoring: I.) business formation and initial funding Il.) start-up opportunity and growth projections III.) accounting, finance, and human capital IV.) financing and investors growth capital Features B & C $2000 Total Option #2 Pricing per business participant served 1 $3,500 Other Investments -The Opportunity Accelerator was developed with an initial investment of $475,000 by Strategic Insights Inc over a period of 18 months in 2021-2022. stratac, - insights Decision Support The Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs V. Execution of the vroiect. preliminary timeline for the estimated date to be completed: Task Timeline Needs Analysis Completed 30 days from Approval Adaptation of the Platform to Iowa City Completed 30-45 days after completion of requirements Needs Analysis Orientation and Roll -out 90 days from kick off VI. A statement about the organization's ability to perform appropriate grant and financial management, including any related experience managing city, state, or federal grant funds. All team members have experience managing grants and fulfilling grant requirements. Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar has worked with the National Minority Supplier Development Council in fulfilling requirements of the MBDA (Department of Commerce) grant on "Access to Capital." VII. A description of all work related to the project that has been completed to date, if any, including any secured funding, contracted professional services, property, land acquisition, grant, loan activity, etc. As stated in the sections above, The Opportunity Accelerator was designed based on in-depth research of the challenges facing minority and other disadvantaged entrepreneur groups. The platform is well tested and ready to be adapted to Iowa City requirements. The Opportunity Accelerator was developed with an initial investment of $475,000 by Strategic Insights Inc over a period of 18 months in 2021-2022. VIII. Any other information, including letters of support, the submitting agency deems appropriate. As the funding entity, no letters of support should be sought from City of Iowa City staff or elected officials. Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar, Strategic Insights Inc. won the "Wells Fargo Grant for Cybersecurity" in 2021. This grant went towards Strategic Insights proposing a detailed plan of action on helping disadvantaged businesses be cybersecurity ready as part of contract readiness for Wells Fargo and other organizations. Dr, Suj Chandrasekhar collaborated with MIT Sloan School in 2018, on a Value Management Study based Strategic Planning for the National Minority Supplier Development Council Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar serves on the Advisory council for Diverse Manufacturers Supplier Council. Latest Thought Leadership Publication in the January `23 issue of Supply Chain Brain enclosed. stratac, - insights 7 Decision Support The Opportunity Accelerator as a Business Support System for Iowa City Based BIPOC Businesses and Entrepreneurs Team References 1. Rebecca Neades, Vice President Government Affairs, Green State Credit Union, rebeccaneades(& areenstate.ora 2. Jim Koch, Market Relationship Manager, BerganKDV, iim.kochaBerjzanKDV.com 3. John Smith, Chairman, CRST, ismith(d),crst.com Thank you for your consideration, Collaborating Team Members Julie Zielinski Suj Chandrasekhar Scott Hauser THANK YOU stratac, - insights _ 8 Decision Support Julie Zielinski Associate Professor of Practice and Consultant University of Iowa Tippie College of Business Julie joined the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business Marketing faculty full time in August, 2022 after a 30 year career in business, consulting, and adjunct teaching. She teaches both undergraduate and M.B.A. courses in Consumer Behavior, Product Management, Marketing Management, Marketing Strategy, and Corporate Strategy. Julie joined the University of Iowa after 20 years in executive leadership roles, consulting engagements, and adjunct teaching. Julie spent ten years as Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at the Entrepreneurial Development Center, Inc, where she helped entrepreneurs discover key customer insights and prioritize market growth opportunities, then translate these strategies into executable business plans to build their brand's unique competitive advantage in the marketplace. Her experience includes work with numerous B2B and 132C companies. Prior to the EDC, Julie held a 16-year corporate marketing and strategy career with HNI Corporation, where she held executive leadership roles in strategy, marketing research, product management, branding, and new product development. Through her independent consulting work, Julie has helped many local, national, and international businesses identify unique competitive brand advantage and pursue creative and actionable growth strategies. Julie holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa. STRATEGY SOLUTIONS 1 ', (: 0 R P U R A I P. I SCOTT HAUSER AND STRATEGY SOLUTIONS, INC. BIO SCOTT HAUSER STRATEGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Strategy and Management Consulting — Performance Improvement Services Executive Summary • Experienced business professional with extensive real -world experiences • Expertise in strategy, operations, finance, accounting, and consulting • Dedicated results -orientated professional motivated by challenges and accomplishments Consulting Areas of Focus Provide executive level consulting services including project management, decision analysis, accounting and administrative function assessments, profit enhancement, strategic planning, organizational effectiveness/structure advancement, business acquisition and sale advice, and other top management advisory services. Consultinq Activities Some of Scott's successful engagements have included the following types of high -value professional advisory services: • Enhance project and change management efforts to help critical and complex initiatives be accomplished in a timelier manner • Provide financial analysis and decision modeling assistance to evaluate the attractiveness and feasibility of large critical decisions • Serve as a temporary or fractional chief financial officer ensuring accurate financial reporting and effective financial management • Coach business owners on understanding their value drivers and identifying tactics to increase their company's value • Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of various accounting, finance, and other administrative functions • Investigate lower than desired performance/profitability and identify specific improvement recommendations • Facilitate advancement planning processes including annual operational and strategic long- range plans • Assist key executives with organizational structure and top management team advancement activities • Advise Boards on governance, effective oversight and other special projects • Provide business acquisition analysis, sale advice services, and merger integration support • Recommend focused key performance indicators for management's efforts to drive performance • Facilitate financial institution selections to obtain additional financing and optimal services • Perform forensic accounting and investigation services to support potential litigation situations STRATEGY SOLUTIONS, INC. 319.360.9123 STRATEGIES, TACTICS AND shauser@strategysolutionsinc.com 1601 FOX TRAIL DRIVE NE ANALYSIS TO ADVANCE PROPRIETARY CEDAR RAPIDS, IA 52402 YOUR ORGANIZATION STRATEGY SOLUTIONS 1♦ L b R P U R A. 1 U SCOTT HAUSER AND STRATEGY SOLUTIONS, INC. (continued) Experiences Prior to Strateav Solutions, Inc. Scott has 30 plus years of professional experience in a variety of business settings. Immediately prior to Strategy Solutions, Inc., Scott was a Senior Director, Strategy and Management Consulting - Performance Improvement Services at RSM US LLP (formerly McGladrey) for many years. Scott has also been in a variety of other positions, including Director of Administrative Services, Finance Manager, and Senior Auditor. These experiences have resulted in Scott having a practical implementation focused approach to advisory services, business consulting, and implementing change. Education and Certifications • Master of Business Administration, with honors — University of Iowa/University of Northern Iowa • Bachelor of Arts in Accounting, with minor in Computer Science - University of Northern Iowa • Certified Public Accountant • Certified Managerial Accountant Communitv Involvement • Adjunct business professor/business mentor at the University of Iowa • Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids • Goodwill of the Heartland Board Member • Emeritus University of Northern Iowa College of Business Administration Executive Advisory Board Member • Past Junior Achievement Board Member • Past YMCA of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Area Executive Committee Board Member • Past Cedar Valley Montessori School Board Member Strateqv Solutions, Inc. Scott formed Strategy Solutions, Inc. in 2004. Strategy Solutions was created to provide strategy and management consulting advisory and implementation services to organizations who are trying to improve, advance, and grow. Strategy Solutions, Inc. is an Iowa S-Corporation and is fully authorized to become your long-term business partner. Entitv Information: EIN:71-0974692 STRATEGY SOLUTIONS, INC. 319.360.9123 STRATEGIES, TACTICS AND shauser@strategysolutionsinc.com 1601 FOX TRAIL DRIVE NE ANALYSIS TO ADVANCE PROPRIETARY CEDAR RAPIDS, IA 52402 YOUR ORGANIZATION Dr. Sui Chandrasekhar is founder and a principal at Strategic Insights, a business strategy and consulting firm based out of Washington DC. Strategic Insights specializes in Market Research, Data Analytics, Strategic Planning, Training & Development, Marketing, Sales, and New Product Development strategies. Suj helps organizations design and implement transformational data driven initiatives in the areas of Supplier Diversity, Marketing and Sales, and New Product Development. She works with corporations to optimize investment in the areas of Growth strategies and Innovation by leveraging state of the art technology platforms. She is a frequent speaker at company and industry events. Her clients include a number of Fortune 500 companies across several industries. Suj is co-author of the HBR classic "Ending the War between Sales and Marketing" with Philip Kotler and Neil Rackham. Her work and research with Phil Kotler and Rob Walcott on Marketing and Product Development have been featured in the Wall Street Journal and MIT Sloan Review. She is currently working on a global research project on value management in Supplier Diversity. She is a contributing author to the book "India's Global Powerhouses." 1 Strategic i n s i g l �� Suj came to the US on a Fellowship to obtain her Ph.D. in Organizations and Strategy from the University of Iowa. She worked with Prof. Jim Price(student of Robert Merton) and Prof. Frank Schmidt (the pioneer of Meta analysis). Suj is well trained in the Mertonian tradition in Sociology as well as in advanced analytical frameworks. Prior to coming to the US, Suj obtained her B.A. in Sociology from Stella Maris College, Chennai and a Masters in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Suj started her career as a Research Analyst in the Media industry. She worked on Customer Engagement Research and Strategic Planning projects for major Media clients including The New York Times and Nielsen Corporation. In 2000, Suj established Strategic Insights with a focus on research and analytics driven strategic planning, Growth Strategies, and New Product Development. The firm also provides Sales Training for clients in a variety of industries. Suj was one of the contributors to the development of the Challenger Sales training program. Suj is currently working on a Value Management study to help major corporations optimize their efforts in Supplier Diversity. 2 Strategic i n s i g l �� Article by Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar, Supply Chain Brain Think Tank RSS The Biggest Problems with Supplier Diversity Programs and How to Fix Them Jon uary5, 2023 Dr. Sui Chandrasekhar. SCB Contributor Organizations of every size are setting lofty goals and allocating money and time toward supplier diversity programs, recognizing that disadvantaged groups should get a bigger slice of their vendor pies. Is it working? Probably not as well as they'd like. A robust 85%of Fortune 100 companies have dedicated programs designed to source goods or services from companies helmed by women, veterans, people of color and other non -majority groups, according to a recent report by MIT Sloan Management Review. Yet only 59%of that segment reports how much they source from diverse suppliers. And how much do they utilize? A mere 10% of their supplies and services come via diverse firms. The most common complaint I hear from companies is: "We can't find vendors who meet the criteria." In response, organizations throw even more resources at the traditional outreach and development. But the problem isn't funding. It's program design While well intended, most existing programs are far too generic and badly designed. They don't focus on building pipelines based on specific diverse supplier competencies. The result? They don't yield significant ROI for companies — or significant increases in contracts for diverse suppliers. It's time for companies to increase their diverse vendor base — and their RO1 — by using a systems -based design to identify and develop sustainable pipelines of contract -ready suppliers. This approach, applicable to industries and individual organizations alike, is critical given how much the digital age requires supplier reskilling. Here's how to go about it: Achieve Better ROI by Designing a Diverse Supplier Competency Demand Map Currently, most organizations try to find at least one diverse supplier to bid on every RFP. While this is commendable, the challenge is to find suppliers who are both qualified and contract -ready. You can achieve better RO1 if you first assess supplier competencies, then follow through with targeted recruitment and development programs. Let's use the hypothetical example of a manufacturer that has projected it needs 40 more suppliers who have expertise in data analytics over the next five years. As their CPO, you and your team should: Set targets for the percentage of diverse suppliers that would be part of the new supplier base. Perhaps a reasonable goal would be 20%, or eight vendors. Assess the gaps between your company's goals and what its current diverse suppliers can provide. Let's say this manufacturer currently only has one or two with competencies in data analytics. • Map out a targeted short- and long-term outreach and pipeline development program for new diverse suppliers by identifying those that can be engaged as Tier I or Tier 11, as well as the others which need development to become contract -ready. • Engage with other companies in your industry to help you improve supplier diversity. Together, you can gauge gaps in supplier competencies and invest in programs and development centers that can get these vendors contract -ready. An industry -level approach can result in better ROI for all. • Add targeted competency and capacity building goals as metrics on your supplier diversity dashboards. It helps your company remain accountable. Make Better Use of Your Tier 1 Suppliers Companies don't have to do everything themselves to reach diversity goals. They can —and should —use their clout with prime vendors by insisting those prime vendors hire and develop diverse suppliers to perform a certain proportion of the contracted work. This use of indirect spending is a smart and efficient way of broadening your ecosystem. It also helps you meet diversity goals since you're able to allocate work to companies that are too small to meet your own company's size -restriction criteria. For example, as a CPO at our hypothetical manufacturing company, you can include a clause in your contract with a prime vendor that 10% of their spend must go to companies run by under -represented groups. If possible, help that prime vendor by giving them a list of pre - qualified providers you've already identified. Leverage Your Organization's Other Social Justice Initiatives A systems -based approach comes full circle when CPOs connect their supplier diversity programs with their organization's other social justice initiatives, such as groups dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), corporate social responsibility (CSR), orfoundation and community development. First, meet with these groups and demonstrate how your supplier program impacts economic inclusion by promoting equitable access to the company's contracting opportunities. Then agree to partnerwith one or more of these groups. Ask them to help you form alliances with external foundations and funds that can provide your diverse potential suppliers with preferred access to capital, credit, re-skilling, and training. Trickle -Down Impacts A well -designed, systems -based program can be the single biggest catalyst for wealth creation and entrepreneurship for disadvantaged groups and communities. It can have a transformational impact on promoting social equity in society at large and in local communities. Read more: Four Compelling Reasons to Integrate Diversity Into The Rethink of Your Supply Chain Your RO1 grows as well. When companies' use more diverse suppliers, they report higher supplier innovation and competition, as well as lower costs, according to a 2021 survey by TealBook and Jaeeer. Anyone who works in sourcing, procurement, or supply management, from the CPO on down, can make a significant impact on diverse communities when they take a systems -based approach. Dr. Suj Chandrosekhar is a founder and principal at Strategic Insiahts Inc.