Diversity needs to be less talk and more action.
Our infographic shows supplier solutions, community impact, and redefining the rules of engagement:
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Why You Need Supply Chain Diversity
For decades lean supply chains have been key to doing business across industries, but now supply chains must adapt
2020: The Year Of Supply Chain Disruption
- In 2020, issues became so widespread that the general public started talking about supply chain
- Shortage of basic necessities
- Toilet paper
- Food items
- PPE
- Plans for vaccine distribution
- How will a vaccine be distributed to more than 300 million Americans?
- Can we manufacture the vials, syringes, and other items needed?
- Shortage of basic necessities
- BUT, COVID-19 started affecting businesses long before it reached pandemic scale
- In early February, US businesses were already seeing supply chain disruptions
- 70% were assessing their suppliers – trying to figure out which were in lockdown
- By May, 97% of businesses worldwide were impacted by pandemic-related supply chain disruptions
- 81% reported lower demand for their products
- 76% reported revenue was reduced — by an average of 23%
- “[S]mall companies are at the mercy of larger retail buyers and suppliers sometimes, they do get less focus and attention, especially when production is lower at the other end. So bargaining power definitely creates some risk for smaller companies.” — Avinandan Mukherjee, Dean of the Lewis College of Business at Marshall University
- In early February, US businesses were already seeing supply chain disruptions
60% of business closures during the pandemic are now permanent
Who Was Hardest Hit?
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- In the first 2 weeks of the pandemic, small businesses in high rent zip codes laid off more staff
- High rent: 65%
- Low rent: 30%
- From March to June, high-income households were more likely cut back their spending
- Top 25%: -17%
- Bottom 25%: No change
- From February to April 2020, minority business ownership declined by nearly 2X as much as white business ownership
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- Black: -41%
- Immigrant: -36%
- Latinx: -32%
- Asian: -26%
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- In the first 2 weeks of the pandemic, small businesses in high rent zip codes laid off more staff
- A Set-Back For Racial Equality?
- “The negative early-stage impacts [of the pandemic] on minority- and immigrant-owned businesses, if prolonged, may be problematic for broader racial inequality because of the importance of minority businesses for local job creation, economic advancement, and longer-term wealth inequality,” — Robert Fairlie, Professor of Economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz
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- At the same time, public outcry for diversity and equality exploded
- In 2020,
- 70% of Millennials chose to shop with brands that demonstrate diversity inclusion
- 60% of people said brands’ reaction to protests would influence their buying decisions in the future
- 53% of young adults* said they would never work for a firm that failed to speak out during the protests
- In 2020,
- At the same time, public outcry for diversity and equality exploded
Companies promised more diversity — Now they need to follow through
Diversity Is Good For Business
- Diversity Leads To Innovation
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- Companies committed to diversity initiatives are more innovative
- More product innovations
- More new patent filings
- More citations on patents
- “Diversity makes us smarter.” — Katherine W. Phillips, Senior Vice Dean of Columbia Business School and the Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School
- Companies committed to diversity initiatives are more innovative
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- When Businesses Uses Local Suppliers, Communities Flourish
- Diverse suppliers often have access to goods or services through alternative channels — due to unique local knowledge and relationships
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- “When we get to the other side, companies are going to be operating differently” — Mark Cuban
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- Diversity Consortium
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- Finding, vetting, and onboarding diverse suppliers for corporations
- Helping diverse suppliers expand their reach and grow their business
- Giving back to local communities
1 in 3 companies are unprepared to move beyond diversity compliance and embrace diversity as a business strategy
Redefine the rules of engagement with Diversity Consortium
Sources:
https://www.bain.com/insights/supply-chain-lessons-from-covid-19/
https://blog.cvmsolutions.com/how-to-find-diverse-suppliers-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
https://hbr.org/2020/03/coronavirus-is-a-wake-up-call-for-supply-chain-management
https://news.ncsu.edu/2018/01/diversity-boosts-innovation-2018/
https://gender.stanford.edu/news-publications/gender-news/how-does-diversity-spur-innovation
https://retailwire.com/discussion/do-retailers-need-trickle-up-economics-to-beat-covid-19/