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. |
GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting & Business Card Exchange | GNEMSDC Holiday Business Card Exchange CT. Hosted by Aetna, Inc. Thursday, December 1, 2011, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Location: Aetna Inc, 151 Farmington Avenue Hartford, CT 06156 Registration is required. RSVP by emailing jclarke@gnemsdc.org Deadline to register is November 27, 2011. **When you email us for this event please let us know if you have any special dietary needs.
GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting & Holiday Business Card Exchange will be hosted by Citizens Financial Group Inc. Wednesday, December 7, 2011, Quarterly Meeting: - 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm Holiday Business Card Exchange: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm Location: Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 1 Citizens Plaza (13th Floor) Providence, RI 02093 Please note - There will be a charge for parking. You can park at the Citizens parking garage, if that garage is full you can park at the Providence Place Mall. Once you are in the building security will check you in and you will be escorted to the elevator, security will have to punch in access for you to enter elevator. You will need to take the elevator to the 12th floor. DO NOT GET OFF THE ELEVATOR UNTIL YOU REACH 12TH FLOOR. Once on the 12th floor, get off the elevator, walk towards spiral stair case and go up to the 13th Floor.
GNEMSDC Holiday Business Card Exchange MA Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Copley Place Sky Lobby (Dartmouth Street Shops) 100 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02116 RSVP by emailing jclarke@gnemsdc.org |
MBE Showcase from Trade Expo 2011 - Sayers |  This week we feature Sayers. 27 years ago, former professional football star and entrepreneur Gale Sayers set out to create a technology services business based on the core values that shaped his outstanding success on the playing field - focus, teamwork and trust.
Since that time, Sayers has grown into an industry-leading IT services and solution provider, offering the latest and most sophisticated technologies, while staying true to our founder's original vision. Over the past three decades, we have established a powerful track record of success, highly personalized service and lasting client relationships. We have averaged a 95% customer retention rate for the past 15 years.
Companies stay with Sayers because we deliver. We create customized, thoughtful solutions to meet your needs - not off-the-shelf approaches, or technology you don't need. We partner with world-class vendors. We transfer knowledge to our clients. Our senior professionals are focused, customer-driven and among the most experienced in the business. We are an independent, minority-owned business committed to our core values and to producing exceptional results for our customers.
View Presentation |
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: - December 1, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm - GNEMSDC Holiday Card Exchange - CT Location to be determined
- December 7, 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm - GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting at Citizens Bank, Providence RI (see article above)
- December 7, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm - GNEMSDC Holiday Card Exchange - RI at Citizens Bank following GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting (see article above).
- December 13, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm - GNEMSDC Holiday Card Exchange - Boston, Sky Lobby, Copley Plaza, Boston
- December 14, 5:45 - 2011 We Are Boston Gala at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer Street, Boston
Information and Presentations: |
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Opportunities with Corporate Members | |
And Finally II & Essays on Minority Business Development |  The Book is Now Available in Paperback!
Click here to Order Book Today!
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 Book Table of Content |
Boston MBDA Business Center News - Certification 2.0 | 
While the Boston MBDA Business Center has limited capacity and a very targeted goal of helping Category 2, 3 and 4 MBEs get large contracts, there is something in our approach that will be great for all MBEs. We are on the verge of a revolution in the approach the GNEMSDC is taking for MBEs of all sizes. I am calling it Certification 2.0. But first let's look at Certification 1.0. In the early days of the NMSDC and MBE certification, our corporate members were looking for an independent cost effective organization like the GNEMSDC to verify the legitimacy of the business as a MBE. The benefit of certification was that these MBEs would be provided access to corporate opportunities and programs designed to assist in their development. This approach worked well for the first 30 or so years until corporations discovered and embraced the concepts of strategic sourcing and global sourcing. Combined these two approaches viewed procurement as a profit center as opposed to just an administrative function of the organization. Strategic and global sourcing forced buying organizations to rationalize their supply chain by looking carefully at every supplier to make sure that they were getting the maximum value from that supplier. Suppliers that could be replaced by higher value suppliers were eliminated from the supply chain and new suppliers were heavily scrutinized. Senior procurement managers were on the path of reducing the number of suppliers and looking in every corner of the world for world class competitive suppliers. This approach had the unintended consequence of putting strategic and global sourcing in direct competition with the mission of increasing the numbers of MBEs in the supply chain. Corporations realized that there were substantial resource costs to adding and vetting new suppliers. In this environment, which shows no signs of abating, MBEs have to demonstrate far more than their minority business status. Corporate buyers are looking for MBEs who can deliver high quality, cost competitive goods and services with little or no risk to the corporation. It has been my experience, that this is the source of frustration for MBEs who want to enter corporate supply chains and the supplier diversity professionals who are there to assist them. Certification 1.0 is simply not good enough in this new reality. This brings me to Certification 2.0. Instead of wishing for a return to an earlier time, I am convinced that in order for the GNEMSDC to remain relevant we must not only certify that a business has certain racial and ethnic characteristics, but that these businesses also possess an ability to deliver at very specific levels of contracts. What we are offering all certified MBEs and all MBEs who enter into the Boston MBDA Business Center is a rigorous assessment that will demonstrate to potential corporate buyers that the MBE has strengths and weaknesses, but can deliver at a certain level based on verifiable contracting experiences. The assessment will look at the largest and most recent contracts the MBE has performed along with feedback from customers. The assessment will look at the financial health and performance of the MBE. The assessment will look at actual contracts to show where the MBE has performed work so that corporate buyers can easily determine if the MBE has the capacity for local, regional, national or global work. The assessment will focus on the information technology strengths and weaknesses of the MBE. The assessment will look at the quality systems in place within the MBE firm to demonstrate that buyers are only buying what is of value. The assessment will review the quality and depth of management of the MBE firm. These and other factors are what corporations are insisting on before access to their supply chains is granted. I realize that no firm welcomes this type of invasive approach unless there is a clear benefit. The benefit of Certification 2.0 is that MBEs and the GNEMSDC will be able to vouch for MBEs based on their qualifications to perform. The assessment will without question show that every company could use help in some area. The GNEMSDC will offer direction and support for MBEs who need help. We will do this by identifying corporate mentors, paying for tuition to programs that address gaps, and providing face to face strategic consulting. We cannot force any MBE firm to provide information about their company. I also know from experience, that MBEs are particularly secretive when it comes to their financial performance. This is understandable, and the GNEMSDC will maintain the highest level of confidentiality with MBE data. However, MBEs must also understand, that what they want to protect is often required by corporate members. There really are no secrets anymore in business. So in coming weeks, we will be sharing with MBEs the assessment questions. Next week, I will discuss how the assessment ties into the Vendor Management System the GNEMSDC will unveil in 2012. At the end of the day, organizations like the GNEMSDC either become ever more relevant to our corporate members, or they simply go away. I have no intention of letting us simply fade away. US Commerce.Gov, Article - Boston MBDA Business Center Opens to Assist Minority Businesses Boston MBDA GNEMSDC Business Center Grand Opening pictures by Tom Ficklin |
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