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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| Eastern Bank Joins GNEMSDC as a New Corporate Member |
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 On behalf of the GNEMSDC board of directors, we welcome Eastern Bank
as a new GNEMSDC corporate member. Eastern Bank is the largest independent, mutually owned bank in New England. "We offer banking, investments and insurance all under one roof, and we pride ourselves on working harder to understand our customers' needs so we can deliver these services in a committed and personal way."
We look forward to working with Eastern Bank and introducing them to our network. |
| GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting At TJX August 23 |
 TJX will be hosting the GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting on August 23, 1:30 to 4:30 PM.
This is an excellent chance for MBEs to learn about opportunities at TJX and with other corporate members. At this Quarterly Meeting we will also have a presentation from the Massachusetts Export Center. Please register by emailing sjames@gnemsdc.org.
We are also planning a very special session that will focus on how smaller MBEs can partner with other MBEs to successfully win larger contracts from corporate members. We have heard on numerous occasions how difficult it is for Category 1 MBEs to not only win contracts, but get the attention of large buying organizations. The key to success for many MBEs is to partner with other firms and grow from there. The Quarterly Meeting will explore concrete examples of how to do this successfully.
And to top things off, TJX, our corporate host, will have a full contingent of buyers who will conduct one-on-one sessions with MBEs to discover opportunities at TJX.
To view the preliminary Agenda Click here. Also check your email for the invitation to this event.
If you are an MBE and have experienced this frustration, this is the Quarterly for you to attend.
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Upcoming Events
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There are several events coming up on our calendar that are designed specifically for MBEs to learn about corporate opportunities. In order to help you organize your own calendars and keep things straight, we have begun sending out invitations using Constant Contact. This way we can include directions, agendas, share with you who else is attending, and allow you to register. If it seems like we are busy, it is because we are. As I like to tell people, business is a contact sport. We know how busy everyone's schedule is, but these are events often hosted by our corporate members with the expressed purpose of finding out more about you and your business with the ultimate aim, to make you a valuable supplier to their companies. Here are some events you should consider:
- 2012 Upcoming Events
- August 9 - Purchasing Managers Association of Boston -Click Here for Registration Details This event is co-sponsored by the PMAB, the MBDA Boston,and the GNEMSDC. The keynote speaker is Mark Faulkner from Partners Healthcare. Mark is a senior procurement executive at Partners Healthcare. Both MBEs and corporate members are invited.
- August 10 - Franklin Covey Webinar on "What the CEO Wants You to Know: Building Business Acumen" at 9 am and 2 pm. Limited to 50 participants and is free. If interested contact Brandon Stone at brandon.stone@franklincovey.com. We thank the GNEMSDC MBEIC Education Committee for this event. If you are interested in attending this event, call the CT office for the call-in information. Only certified MBEs and corporate members can participate in this program.
- August 14 - Franklin Covey Webinar on "Closing the Execution Gap" at 9 am and 2 pm. If interested in this webinar contact Brandon Stone atbrandon.stone@franklincovey.com. This event is limited to 50 participants and is free. We thank the GNEMSDC MBEIC Education Committee for bringing you this event. Interested certified MBEs can call the office for the call-in information. Only certified MBEs and corporate members can join the call.
- August 23 - GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting at TJX in Framingham, MA from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm.
- August 31- MBDA CEO Roundtable - At Raytheon 8:00 am to 11:30 am. Come and meet other MBE CEOs and learn about opportunities at Raytheon from the Raytheon procurement team.
- September 12-14 - GNEMSDC Business Opportunity Expo and Conference at MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
- September 17-18 - PA-DE-NJ MSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Conference - Caesars Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ - I will be a keynote speaker at this event on September 17. For more information visit affiliate.nmsdc.org/panjde/app/template/index.vm.
- September 29 - Joslin Latino Diabetes Initiative Inaugural Benefit Concert and Reception. Click Here for More Information The GNEMSDC is proud to support improving the health of all residents in Boston.
- October 28-31 - NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair - Denver, CO. For more information visit www.nmsdc.org.
- November 15 - Supplier Diversity Best Practices Day at Fenway Park, Boston, 8:00 am to 11:30 am. Join us for this joint meeting of MBEs and corporate members to demonstrate case studies of the best practices of minority supplier development in New England. There is limited space for this meeting. Contact Joanne Wang to register at jwang@bostonmbdacenter.com.
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| MBE Smart-Track GNEMSDC Supply Management Portal is Now Open |
Over 60 Certified MBEs have signed up to participate in the new supply management portal! We appreciate this interest in a new way for corporate America to identify and conduct business with high quality MBEs. Our next step will be to educate our corporate members on how the tool can save them time, effort and money, while increasing their MBE spend.
We are pleased to announce that the Smart-Track GNEMSDC Supply Management Portal is now open. This exciting new program will allow corporate buyers to go to one portal in order to identify and contract with certified MBEs. Only certified MBEs are in the system assuring that corporate buyers will be able to count every dollar spent via the system as MBE spend. And the system documents critical performance data that corporate buyers are looking for.
Here is what is going to happen next:
1. MBEs interested in having their companies profiled in this transactional solution must contact Jerilynn Clarke at jclarke@gnemsdc.org.
2. She will check the status of the MBE and if the MBE is currently certified with the GNEMSDC we will email the MBE a link to a sign in form.
3. The MBE will complete the form. All required fields must be completed.
4. Once completed, the MBE's form will be uploaded into the database of certified MBEs.
5. Corporate members will be contacted and instructed on how to access the portal once we have a critical mass of MBEs covering a wide array of goods and services. Only GNEMSDC corporate members will be allowed in the system. National NMSDC members who want to participate in the program will have to provide service points to the GNEMSDC.
6. Corporate members will then be encouraged to utilize the system to purchase directly from MBEs.
7. The system will also act like an "Angie's List" with corporate members given the opportunity to rank their experiences with MBEs they have utilized.
We have the names and emails of over 20 MBEs currently. They will receive notification and the link to begin completing the portal application to Smart Track this week. Other MBEs interested in participating in the innovative approach should send an email to jclarke@gnemsdc.org.
Our sincere hope is that this new program will encourage corporate members to utilize certified MBEs for projects and opportunities. We know that this will not be a one shoe fits all solution for all corporate procurement, but we feel that this solution will help corporations initially with smaller, one-off, or unique procurement opportunities. We have heard repeatedly from smaller MBEs of the difficulty they have accessing corporate supply chains. We believe this system will have particular benefits for high quality Tier 1 and Tier 2 MBEs. Later on with development of the system ,we hope to develop the capacity to facilitate larger more complex opportunities.
The Smart Track system was also designed to address the needs of corporate members to have a technological solution that takes the MBISYS system to the next level. Right now MBISYS is limited to only one person within a corporate member's team. We encourage our corporate members to share this portal with all members of their procurement team. The system will allow for us to report back to supplier diversity managers their procurement team's use of the system. Secondly, corporate members will benefit from the one-stop-shop aspect of the system. Once we start transacting business and corporate members begin to provide feedback on their experiences with MBEs, the system will generate momentum and support the development of the best MBEs, thus encouraging MBEs to shine, as I know they already do. And finally, the system will have detailed performance and certification information about MBEs in the system. Right now, MBISYS only shares information on certification. This program will focus on performance, certification is a given.
The GNEMSDC is on the cutting edge of MBE development. We are hoping you give this a try. We want to hear back from you as we strive to constantly improve this system.
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Author Maggie Anderson to Speak at GNEMSDC Trade Expo
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 Author and MBE activist, Maggie Anderson has agreed to be the keynote speaker on Friday, September 14 at the GNEMSDC Sponsors Luncheon. Mrs. Anderson has become a national advocate for minority businesses as a result of her work on the "Empowerment Experiment". The experiment started as a teaching lesson for her children and family, and turned into a crusade as she and her family attempted to survive by buying products only from African American owned enterprises. Her story has been picked up by PBS, Black Enterprise, CNN, CNBC, The Huffington Post and has attracted attention globally. Mrs. Anderson has also become a powerful advocate for corporate supplier diversity. |
Jeffrey Fox To Speak at GNEMSDC Trade Expo
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Back by popular demand, author, consultant and sales guru, Jeffrey Fox will be speaking at the 2012 GNEMSDC Trade Expo. If you missed his presentation two years ago, you missed one of the highest rated programs we have ever hosted. At the time, Mr. Fox had just published the book "How to Be a Fierce Competitor". Now Mr. Fox's visit is timed perfectly for the release of his new book: "The Transformative CEO".
For over 25 years, Jeffrey Fox has been helping clients grow revenues and increase gross margins. Jeffrey is founder of Fox and Company, a management consulting firm that shows clients how to dollarize their value proposition to overcome the price objection and to shorten the sales cycle. Fox has written eleven best-selling business books that have been translated into over thirty languages.
Jeff is the author of "How to Become CEO," which was on the NY Times, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Knight-Ridder, Amazon.com, best seller lists. His books have been best sellers in France, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia. His book, "How to Become a Rainmaker," was selected as one of the 100 best business books ever written. His "Dollarization Discipline" was selected as one off the top thirty business books of 2006. He is a popular speaker, appearing regularly before senior management groups and sales forces. Jeff is a graduate of Harvard Business School. Fox and Company is in Chester, CT.
To view press release on Mr. Fox and the GNEMSDC Trade Expo click here. To view the preliminary agenda for the entire program, click here. Annual Sponsors will need to call the office to submit the names of their attendees. There are sponsorship opportunities available for the event and registration isopen now, see the link below. Also, look for an email invitation later this week with registration information. This Trade Expo is the largest three day program in the northeast focusing on MBEs and corporate supply chains.
Registration for the Trade Expo, September 12-14 will open July 8.
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NMSDC Success Story - General Motors Company, LLC and the Ideal Group, Inc.
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 General Motors Company has had a successful minority partnership with Ideal Group of Detroit, Michigan for 21 years. Ideal Group consist of five companies that provide general contracting, indirect material and services to GM.
The very first purchase order from GM was issued in 1991 for small miscellaneous steel jobs under $10,000. Since that time, Ideals's business with GM has grown to an annual contract value of $120 million.
The success of the relationship is due to Ideal's excellent customer service, quality, competitiveness and delivery of projects. Ideal Contracting, one of the Ideal Group companies , has won GM's Supplier of the Year award five times for completing hundreds of low-dollar construction projects throughout southeast Michigan. The firm did an outstanding job of working with multiple customers and delivering all projects on schedule while continuously reinforcing the importance of safety with their employees.
Ideal Group supports GM initiatives. When General Motors Company rolled out a Safety Program, Ideal included their families and children in a Safety Poster program; they have conducted and participated in safety symposiums. Their safety record is one example of the many ways they add value to the General Motors program.
Ideal Group is one of General Motors' graduate mentored suppliers actively engaged in the community. Frank Venegas, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, served as the co-chair off the General Motors Supplier Diversity Council for six years and is currently a member of the GM Supplier Council. Various Ideal members participate on several GM work streams aimed at improving processes and overall supplier relationships. In the community, Ideal supports several organizations such as Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation (DHDC), Detroit Cristo Rey High Schoool and CHASS Helath Center. In 1995, the firm and three other Detroit metro suburban businesses formed the Hispanic Manufacutring Center (HMC) on the site of the former Cadillac plant on Clark Street in Detroit. Each company- supoorted by GM contracts - moved a successful trhiving business from the suburbs to Dettroit. HMC's mission is to create communityy welath through family -sustainng jobs. Ideal Group's headquarters are located on the site today.
In 1996, Genral Motors was the proud sponsror of the first DHDC graduating class. The class considsted of 40 southwest Detroit residents employed at HMC; all had completed their DHDC work-study curriculum. Other GM suppliers have located in the same general area and have an unstructured business organization known as the Clark Street Technolgy Park. In September 2011, the Clark Street Technology Park suppliers hosted one of GM's most successful Ride and Drives, a five mile route througout southewest Detoroit.
This story was one of the many success stories featured in the 40th Anniversary NMSDC Awards Gala booklet. All of the stories can also be found at www.nmsdc.org. |
GNEMSDC Trade Expo One-on-One Meetings September 13
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 We listen! One of the most productive aspects of our Business Opportunity Fair and Conference is the one-on-one Program. Last year we tried something new, and it worked. But we also had to give up the very successful One on One meetings between MBEs and Corporate members. This year we are going to do both the MBE showcases and the one-on-one meetings. On the morning of Thursday, September 13 we will have MBE showcases. There is still room for MBEs to sign up to make 20 minute presentations on their companies. After lunch, we will hold the one-on-one meetings between MBEs and corporate members. We are asking corporate members sign up to sit at a table for three hours to meet with MBEs. Corporate members can share with us information on what they are looking to procure, and perhaps more importantly, what they are not looking to procure. This way we can make sure that both the MBE's time and the corporate member's time is used wisely.
Two years ago we set up over 1,000 meetings between MBEs and corporate members. I know that some of those MBEs who met with corporate members are now doing business with each other. It works!
Please contact Jerilynn Clarke at jclarke@gnemsdc.org to sign up for the one-on-one meetings. Both corporate members and MBEs must be registered to participate. On-line registration is now open. Corporate members are encouraged to ask some of their prime contractors to also register for this event. This will help them, help you and help some MBEs and the Council at the same time.
We are also looking for MBEs and corporate members to serve on the Trade Expo Committee. If you are interested contact Arvin Chaudhary (Nadicent Technologies) arvin.chaudhary@nadicent.com or Ruth Johnson (TJX) at ruth_johnson@tjx.com. Arvin and Ruth are the Trade Expo Committee Co-Chairs. There is also a specific request for MBEs and corporate members to consider joining the Trade Expo Marketing Sub-Committee led by Cheryl Clarke (NU). Contact Cheryl at cheryl.clarke@nu.com if you are interested.
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| Yosuke Ochiai Joins GNEMSDC as Intern |
 We are very happy to introduce Yosuke Ochiai to our network. Yosuke is working in our Boston office answering the phone and supporting both the GNEMSDC and the MBDA Business Center. Yosuke is a student from Tokyo, and is a student at the Embassy CES Language Institute in Boston. Yosuke is working on his English proficiency.
Please be patient when you call and Yosuke answers the phone. He is volunteering his time, learning the English language, and learning more about you. And, if you want to work on your Japanese, he will be happy to assist you. Arigatou gozaimasu. |
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And Finally...
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An estimated 70 percent of the world's population is watching the Olympics. If you are anything like your fellow Earthlings, you too have been fascinated by some of the stories of this Olympiad. One common theme that pulls at our heartstrings is the story of the underdog. While with great national pride we want to see our own win the gold, we are captivated by the story of the athletes, the teams, the countries that cannot match the resources of the major competitors, yet they pull through against great odds. The double amputee from South Africa is one such story. The Lithuanian basketball team pushed the new "Dream Team" to the limit. These are stories that remind us that while we might not ever be good enough to perform in future Olympic games, we can perform our own little miracles if we dedicate ourselves to excellence. The athletes in these games reaffirm the importance of persistence, perseverance, and performance. These are the same lessons successful MBEs have learned. Success does not come from winning all the time, or even most of the time. Just as MBEs and corporate members do not win every bid opportunity, the Council has lost in its effort to win grants and RFPs. We must learn from these setbacks and use them as we prepare for our future success. It is the path that matters. Success is what happens along the way.
In your service,
Dr. Fred
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