The mission of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council is to significantly increase business relationships between our corporate members and our certified MBEs. We believe that minority business development is a key component of reducing poverty, unemployment, increasing wealth, and integrating American society. You are receiving this email in order to keep you abreast of developments with the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Supplier Diversity Issues and Minority Business Development. If you like what you read please share internally and externally.
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| MBE Performance Survey Results | | Last week, I sent out the Third Annual MBE Performance Survey. We now have the preliminary results of the survey. Here is a summary of the findings: - The proportion of small MBEs with sales under $1,000,000 increased in 2010 from 34.2 percent in 2009 to 46.4 percent in 2010. This perhaps is a reflection of MBE sales slipping in 2010 and the increase in the number of smaller MBEs in our program.
- The percentage of MBEs who expect their sales to decline continued to fall. In 2009, 57.7 percent of MBEs expected their sales to decline compared to 2008. This percentage fell to 18.5 percent in 2010 compared to 2009 sales and declined further in 2011 when only 10.7 percent of MBEs reported that they expected declines in 2011 sales compared to 2010. This indicates that MBEs are perhaps over their worst fears associated with the deep recession.
- MBEs in Distribution and Logistics continue to be the largest sector within the GNEMSDC with over 23.2 percent of MBEs reporting that they are distributors of one form or another. At the other extreme, MBEs in Manufacturing fell most dramatically from 14 percent in 2010 to 0 percent in 2011. This finding requires further investigation, but perhaps is an indication that the recession had a more damaging impact on minority businesses in manufacturing.
- The percentage of MBEs who reported having zero contracts with NMSDC corporate members continued to increase in 2011. Fifty percent of MBEs reported having zero contracts with corporate members in 2011 compared to 42.8 percent in 2010 and 38.8 percent in 2009. These percentages are consistent with anecdotal information of corporate members continuing to cut back on spending and reducing the number of suppliers in their supply chains.
- The length of time MBEs report it takes to secure a contract with a corporate member increased in 2011. In 2010, 37 percent of MBEs reported that it took at least a year to secure a corporate contract. In 2011, 48.2 percent of MBEs reported that it took at least a year to secure a contract.
- The percentage of MBEs reporting that they had received a stimulus related contracts declined in 2011 from 12.8 percent in 2010 to 8.9 percent in 2010. In 2009 only 3.3 percent of MBEs reported having won a stimulus related contract. This finding is consistent with the winding down of the fiscal stimulus program of the American Recovery and Reconstruction Act.
- The percentage of MBEs who had either no change in total employees or growth in the numbers of full-time employees continued to grow in 2011. In 2011 94.6 percent of MBEs expected to either maintain their current level of full time employees. In 2010 79.8 percent of MBEs expected to have either no growth or growth in FTEs. In 2009 this percentage was only 60.9 percent. This pattern reflects greater optimism in business conditions.
- The percentage of MBEs who had applied for a loan from a financial institution and been declined fell from 17.1 percent in 2010 to 5.3 percent in 2011. The loosing up of credit may finally be impacting MBEs.
- The percentage of MBEs who "considered" closing their business declined in 2011 from 18.5 percent in 2010 to 7.1 percent in 2011. Again, this could reflect an improvement in sentiment by MBEs.
- The percentage of businesses who considered major organizational changes in 2011 declined from 44.2 percent in 2010 to 30.3 percent in 2011. Again an indication of improving conditions and sentiment.
- Two new questions were asked in this year's survey:
- Sixty six percent of MBEs reported that they would not be willing to merge their business if it resulted in a dilution of ownership below 51 percent.
- Fifty five percent of MBEs reported that given their current organizational and financial capabilities they could handle contracts valued over $1,000,000.00.
The above findings were also covered by various media sources. To read the on-line press release click here.. |
| NMSDC/GNEMSDC Upcoming Events, Activities and Information | | Please take a close look at the events listed below. The links will take you to detailed information about the events. We will have more information for those events that do not currently have live links, but please mark your calendars and call the office.
Events and Activities - Greater New England MSDC & Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce "Networking Reception" , May 24, 2011 - 5:30 - 8 p.m. at Boston Office
- Behind the Census Numbers - May 26,7:30 a.m to 11 a.m.- The Boston Globe. I will be on this panel along with Hector Bauza of Bauza and Associates.
- Monday, June 13, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Supplier Diversity Summit 2011 from 8:30 am - 2:00 pm at the Stamford, CT office. The day will include a keynote address form Leonard Greenhalgh, Professor, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, insightful presentations, impactful workshops, and an opportunity for you to meet with Pitney Bowes stakeholders to discuss procurement opportunities. Space is limited, attendance is limited to 1 (one) person per company and registration will close June 6, 2011. Directions & Parking information will be sent out once we get closer to the date of the event. To register for this event & to see the agenda please visit- http://www.pb.
- The GNEMSDC RI Regional Advisory Committee is holding a corporate reception at Citizens Bank in downtown Providence on June 14 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The RI RAC has invited local RI companies that are not GNEMSDC members to join us for this cocktail reception to learn more about the GNEMSDC. All GNEMSDC corporate members are welcome to join us. Call Andie Kim at 617-578-8900 for more details.
- MBE Hospital Opportunity Expo- Connecticut Hospital Association and GNEMSDC, June 23, 2011 - Aqua Turf Club - Contact the officce if you are interested in attending this important event.
- NMSDC Quarterly Meeting, Westin Copley Boston, July 18-21. (This meeting is for Regional MSDC Presidents, Regional Council Corporate Chairpersons, Regional MBEIC Chairpersons and NMSDC executive leadership. MBEs and corporate members who are not a part of the NMSDC leadership are welcome to register for luncheons and networking/cruise dinner on Boston Harbor, July 20. There are also advertising and sponsorship opportunities, call the office for details.)
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| Non-GNEMSDC Events | | Most of these activities our corporate members, MBEs and Council staff have been invited to attend. The links will take you to detailed information about the events. If you have events and activities that you want to share with our network send us a PDF file at least two weeks before the event. We reserve the right to publish or not publish events and activities. |
| Golf Alert! GNEMSDC Supplier Golf Classic - July 15 - SOLD OUT!!!! | | 
The GNEMSDC Supplier Diversity Golf Classic is coming to Lyman Orchards Golf Club on Friday, July 15. The event is SOLD OUT! We are asking for sponsors to provide us with the names of their guests by June 15. Due to the limited space, we will not be able to hold your slots if you do not send your names to the office by June 15. One of the main attractions of this event is getting MBEs and Corporate members together. If you are interested in a fun afternoon of golf, networking, food, drinks and relationship building and are not registered, we can put your name on a waiting list. If you would like to donate any items for our very popular raffle, please contact the office (888-874-7114). We are also looking for volunteers. Volunteering is a great way to meet hundreds of guests. We are SOLD OUT Again! 2011 Supplier Golf Classic Co-Chairs: Larry Wooten and Jere Eaton Contact Volunteer Coordinator 2011 GNEMSDC Supplier Golf Classic |
| Opportunities with Corporate Members | | If you are a corporate member, and want the Council to spread the word about your opportunity we would be happy to do that for you anonymously and for free! |
| NMSDC Quarterly Meeting in Boston - July 18-21 | | The GNEMSDC will be hosting the NMSDC Quarterly Meeting in Boston at the Westin Copley from July 18 through July 21. We welcome the NMSDC executive staff and the leadership from the 36 regional councils. Some of the corporations represented in the national leadership as chairs of regional councils include the following: - Verizon Wireless
- Macy's
- Sempra Energy
- Disney
- Southern Company
- Lilly
- Brown - Forman
- Exxonmobil
- Ahold USA
- Aetna
- Ford
- Black & Veatch
- Ameren
- Lockheed Martin
- Turner Construction
- Shewin Williams
- Honda USA
- Conoco Phillips
- Pepco Holdings
- PNC
- Johnson and Johnson
- Volkswagon
- Johnson Controls
- Centerpoint Energy
These are a few of the companies we expect to join us in July. GNEMSDC corporate members and certified MBEs are welcome to join us for the luncheons on Tuesday and Wednesday and on the Cruise of Boston Harbor on Wednesday, July 20. See the link for registration information. This should be a great event for the region as we showcase Boston, our corporate membership and our outstanding MBEs. |
| AT&T Increases Spend with Diverse Suppliers by 34% in 2010 | | NEWS RELEASE - For More Information Contact: Maria Schnabel, maria.schnabel@att.com | | Dallas, March 23, 2011 AT&T spent $9.2 billion with minority, women and disabled veteran owned enterprises in 2010, as part of its initiative to bring diverse vendors to its supply chain. The figure represents 18.8 percent of its total procurement and a 34 percent increase from the year before. AT&T's 43 year-old Supplier Diversity initiative promotes, increases and improves the quality of the overall participation of minority, women, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises in its supply chain. AT&T has one of the most aggressive goals in the industry, working to reach 21.5 percent of its procurement with diverse suppliers. Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) provided $6.6 billion worth of goods and services to AT&T while Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) provided $2.5 billion and disabled veteran-owned enterprises (DVBEs), $115 million. "We're proud to report these figures not only because they indicate a noticeable trend in the right direction for our Supplier Diversity sending record, but also because they were generated during challenging economic times," said Marianne Strobel, Executive Director, Supplier Diversity. "We made a determined effort to continue to bring diverse suppliers into AT&T despite the trimmed budgets we had to work with," she added. AT&T was recognized by the NMSDC as the Corporation of the Year in 2010. |
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| And Finally II & Essays on Minority Business Development |  Discover the keys to minority business development, learn about author, read author's blog, and more... Order this great eBook at www.drfredmckinney.com Why you should buy? Minority business owners who are looking for practical advice on better managing their enterprises will find a wealth of information in the book. And anyone interested in the best practices in supplier diversity will find the book instructive and inspiring. ***All of the proceeds for the book will be donated to the GNEMSDC. So this is a great way to have your own personal record of this historic time and support the Council. And since all proceeds are going directly to the GNEMSDC your purchase is tax deductible. Our plan is to only sell the book on line. You can read it on all I-Pads, other tables, cell phones and computers. Your purchase supports the work of the Council. Thank you for your support. View eBook Table of Content |
| And Finally... | |  Yesterday morning instead of looking through the sports section of the Sunday paper for a summary of the previous day's baseball games I opened my I-pad and went to MLB.com. For those who do not follow baseball, this week is a week when teams from the American League play teams from the National League in what is called Inter-League play. It creates some interesting locational games that would otherwise only happen in the unlikely occurrence that both of those teams made it to the World Series. So this week Oakland is playing San Francisco and Washington is playing Baltimore, and St Louis is playing Kansas City, and Cleveland is playing Cincinnati and of course the NY Yankees are playing the NY Mets. This is not a commercial for MLB or Apple; I am not being paid for what I am about to say by those who benefit by what I say. My first impression was that I had died and gone to heaven. I have been a baseball fan ever since I can remember - anything! When I was a young fan I always read the Sunday morning sports section to catch up on which players had the highest batting average, the most home runs, and the lowest earned run average. I quite simply was a baseball data nerd. I could name the top home run hitters before I learned the pledge of allegiance. So seeing a searchable database of major league players, teams and statistics was like an unexpected holiday.
My second impression was that this was another example of the unrelenting pressure of technology on business models and business strategies. Baseball fans will continue to read newspaper reports on their favorite teams, but new fans have long ago by-passed newsprint for on-line information. Newspapers as a result are becoming the horse and buggies of the digital age. That is not to say that they will all end up on the trash heap of history. It is likely that some enterprises in the print media business will continue to grow and thrive, but it will not be because of print. The survivors in this industry will survive because they adapted to the technological changes and the demands of consumers. There is no difference for any industry that faces rapid technological change. Remember how much fun it was to go to a Borders or a Barnes and Noble and then swing by Blockbuster Video to rent a DVD. All companies must be aware of how technology is impacting their strategy and their profitability. Without this cold hearted analysis, technological change will bury your business regardless of how well managed or capitalized you are. Adam Smith the founder of modern economics reportedly liked to tell his students of royal birth, "the consumer is king". Now I know where I can go to quickly find out, "Who is in first - place"; to paraphrase a classic baseball comedic skit all because of technology. All MBEs need to know how technology will impact their businesses and then make changes in their strategy now- before it is too late. In your service, Dr. Fred |
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