Policy FIN-PURCH-13: Utilization of Historically Underrepresented Diverse Suppliers establishes the expectation that efforts will be made by the Purchasing department to solicit quotes from diverse suppliers whenever possible.
What type of company is considered a diverse supplier? There are many categories that a company may fall into including:
- MBE: Minority-owned Business Enterprise
- WBE: Women-owned Business Enterprise
- VBE: Veteran-owned Business Enterprise
- SBE: Small Business Enterprises (as defined by the US Small Business Administration)
The term “XBE” is used to refer to all types of diverse businesses.
Purchasing and Supplier Diversity, departments within the Office of Procurement Services, work together to identify and engage diverse businesses across the state of Indiana and the US. Supporting historically underrepresented suppliers helps the university’s business reflect the diverse communities where its campuses are located, in addition to meeting the spend goals established by the State of Indiana.
What can you do to help diversify your spend?
Use the Diverse Supplier Search Tool
The Diverse Supplier Search Tool provides a searchable list of Indiana Department of Administration (IDOA)-certified businesses. Enter the good or service you’re looking for and review a list of potential suppliers. Found a company you want to work with? Remember to search BUY.IU to see if they will need to complete supplier registration to work with IU.
Another option is submitting a Support Form using the “Suppliers” and “Help locating a diverse supplier” options. Describe what you’re trying to purchase and a member of the Purchasing team will contact you.
Look for the "*Diverse" tag in BUY.IU
Did you know that over 80% of IU purchases are made from a catalog supplier like Guy Brown, CDW-G, and others? The next time you place a catalog order, try ordering from a new supplier with the “*Diverse” tag.
For example, an order from DOT Scientific or NETA Scientific supports a diverse business!
Request a spend analysis from Supplier Diversity
Interested in learning how your Responsibility Center or department’s historic performance when it comes to diverse spend? Contact the Supplier Diversity team via their group account, XBEpower@iu.edu. Supplier Diversity will work with Purchasing to export spend metrics and help identify future opportunities.
Want to learn even more? Check out the Supplier Diversity website or contact the Supplier Diversity team by emailing XBEpower@iu.edu.