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Minority Supplier Network

Background and History

The Business Council's Supplier Diversity Module was started in 2002 to accelerate the economic development of ethnically diverse businesses and expand the ethnically diverse entrepreneurial community, with initial emphasis on Black-owned businesses. The module is a supplier network that brings together ethnically diverse businesses with corporate and public-sector firms to explore business opportunities and create business relationships. As of December, 2009, the module had generated $135 million in revenue for 21 participating ethnically diverse businesses.

The underlying need for the module stems from the disparity between the revenues of ethnically diverse-owned firms compared with those of others in the metro area. While ethnically diverse firms make up 6.5% of the total companies in the Milwaukee region, only 1.3% of total revenues in the metro area are produced by ethnically diverse firms.

Corporate Participation

Corporations currently participating in the supplier diversity module include:

Harley-Davidson
M&I Corporation
Manpower
Marquette University
MATC
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
MillerCoors
Northwestern Mutual
Rockwell Automation
UPS
We Energies

Ethnically diverse businesses currently participating include:

E.R. Abernathy Industrial, Inc. (industrial, safety and construction supplies)
Ardor Agency (background & drug screening)
Barrientos Design & Consulting, LLC (architectural, civil & structural engineering services)
Belonger Corporation (mechanical contractors)
CHRYSPAC (packing services/manufacturers)
Coleman & Williams
Connection Strategies Enterprises
Cross Management Services, Inc. (business consulting; event planning and real estate development)
Custom Services Plastics (plastic injection molding)
Dairyland Electric Company
GAFCO
Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan (attorneys)
Hurt Electric, Inc. (electrical contractor)
Keystone Travel Services (full service travel management firm and call center)
Bob Lanier Enterprises (advertising specialties)
Manutec, Inc. (metal fabricator)
Nisha Group (janitorial/security guards)
Penebaker Enterprises (roofing)
Red Brown Kle' (advertising and marketing)
The SITE Group (workforce management, payroll services & temporary staffing)
SysLogic (computer software design & consultants)
Victory Personnel Services, Inc. (temporary, permanent staffing)

Contact us to see how your business can participate

If you are interested in participating and are a business owner (ethnically diverse-owned business, corporation or large or midsize company), please email, mail or fax your company name along with contact person and business description to:

THE BUSINESS COUNCIL (TBC)
756 N. Milwaukee St. Suite 400
Milwaukee, WI 53202
p: (414) 287.4142
f: (414) 271.7753
e: dturner@mmac.org

Key benefits of the supplier diversity module

There are a number of important benefits for ethnically diverse businesses, corporations, and large and midsized companies that participate in the supplier diversity module:

Build new business relationships between ethnically diverse companies and corporate and public-sector organizations
Develop capacity and scale for ethnically diverse firms
Create access to new companies and markets for ethnically diverse businesses
Accelerate business expansion opportunities and job creation
Provide needed educational resources to both ethnically diverse and corporate firms looking to participate in supplier programs
Contribute to prosperity and wealth in the ethnically diverse community