To continue to improve and expand your supplier diversity program, you need C-suite buy-in on supplier diversity initiatives. If you don’t have the right metrics or reporting strategy on your side, getting those few, but important, votes can feel like an uphill battle.

For the second year in a row, CVM Solutions surveyed supplier diversity professionals and diverse suppliers to gain insight into the supplier diversity industry from both sides. Our 2018 State of Supplier Diversity reports include the results of more than 500 survey responses, giving us an overview of supplier diversity in the United States. Today, we want to dig deeper into the data and take a closer look at what's happening with supplier diversity in the manufacturing sector.

It’s no secret that tracking data is the key to improving your supplier diversity program. In order to understand what’s working and what’s not, you need objective feedback to work from. As an added benefit, reporting on supplier diversity metrics is one of the most effective ways to gain C-suite buy-in on new initiatives and locate new growth opportunities.

We frequently talk about corporate sustainability in terms of environmental impact, but the concept goes beyond reducing carbon footprints and limiting packaging waste. These are extremely important endeavors, but to reach overall sustainability goals—to be truly effective—corporate sustainability must involve the entire supply chain, which, in turn, must incorporate supplier diversity.

As more companies and diverse suppliers become aware of the benefits of supplier diversity initiatives, the number of networking conferences around the globe continues to grow. In addition to being powerful partnership opportunities, these events help business leaders learn how to manage and improve their procurement processes. If you’re looking to diversify your supplier base and grow your business, you should consider putting at least a few of these nine conferences on your calendar.