A diverse supply chain benefits public sector organisations and allows leaders to promote ethical practices to foster a sustainable and welcoming environment. However, many sourcing professionals struggle to meet diversity and inclusion requirements, especially when conducting manual searches to find suitable suppliers.
To address this issue, many organisations are turning to eSourcing software. This sourcing solution simplifies meeting diversity and inclusion requirements while simultaneously targeting qualified, trustworthy suppliers and products. This article explains how eSourcing can help with supplier diversity and how to optimise ethical sourcing in your strategic procurement process.
What is eSourcing?
eSourcing describes the process where an organisation electronically sources products from suppliers. This software uses electronic business processes and software systems to help organisations identify, assess, and select suppliers.
eSourcing also allows businesses to manage supplier relationships electronically rather than scheduling in-person meetings to discuss a supplier’s products. Advanced eSourcing software lets leaders connect through email, video conferencing, and other internet communication.
How Does eSourcing Promote Supplier Diversity?
eSourcing is an excellent and ethical sourcing method that promotes diversity and inclusion throughout the entire procurement process. eSourcing facilitates the identification and selection of diverse suppliers and promotes diversity in the following ways:
- Allows sourcing professionals access to report on supplier diversity based on accurate, real-time data
- Assesses all prospective suppliers to determine if they meet preset rules and diversity requirements
- Centralises all supplier information to simplify the procurement process
- Simplifies correspondence between organisations and vendors to discuss diversity requirements and engage with a diverse range of suppliers
- Identifies suppliers with diversity certifications
- Ensures a transparent and fair procurement process using objective criteria to evaluate suppliers and award contracts
- Providing a source for electronic communication to give all suppliers a fair chance no matter where they are
- Includes objective criteria to prevent bias and discrimination
What are the Benefits of a Diverse Supply Chain?
Promoting diversity and inclusion through an ethical sourcing process helps organisations access various benefits to meet diversity requirements and improve the company’s dynamic purchasing system. Consider the following advantages of a diverse supplier network accessible through eSourcing platforms like Delta eSourcing.
Increases Your Profit and Economic Impact
Supplier diversity can significantly increase your organisation’s overall profit and economic impact. By inviting diverse suppliers into the tender management process, companies can fairly represent their audiences.
Organisations that put 20 percent or more of their spending toward diverse suppliers attribute as much as 15% of their annual sales to their diversity efforts, and these efforts can foster a higher return on investment (ROI).
Provides Multiple Procurement Channels
More suppliers mean more procurement opportunities and a supplier diversity strategy can open the doors to multiple procurement channels to build an inclusive and comprehensive supplier database. This database can simplify the eSourcing process significantly by showing you suppliers you can trust.
With access to different procurement channels, organisations can increase their opportunities to invest in high-quality products by developing relationships with diverse suppliers.
Simplifies the “13 Stages of Procurement” Cycle
A diverse supply chain and eSource system help organisations simplify the “13 stages of procurement” cycle that companies often struggle to navigate. These 13 stages can be broken down into the following:
- Defining the needs of your organisation
- Conducting market analysis
- Creating a procurement plan
- Navigating the pre-procurement process with market testing
- Creating detailed documentation
- Selecting suppliers to participate in a tender process
- Issuing tender documents to selected suppliers
- Evaluating and validating suppliers’ bids and tenders
- Awarding and implementing contracts to chosen suppliers
- Handling warehousing and logistics
- Measuring contract performance and identifying opportunities for improvement
- Practising supplier relationship management (SRM)
- Managing assets
Lowers Your Spending Amount
By sourcing products from diverse suppliers, you can lower your overall spending by selecting from suppliers with varying prices and service quality. Promoting supplier diversity and inclusion helps companies optimise their procurement process by driving competition to lower direct and indirect costs.
Allows Access to New Markets
Reaching untapped markets is essential for any organisation, and a diverse supply chain can open the floodgates to new opportunities. Implementing a supplier diversity strategy makes it likelier that you will attract new markets and convert new customers, boosting your company’s overall revenue. You can find suitable products and tap into their networks and consumer base by reaching out to more suppliers.
Shows Your Company’s Commitment to Its Customers
Staying committed to your customer base is vital to keep your organisation sustainable. You can demonstrate your company’s values and morals by promoting supplier diversity and inclusion. Consumers expect their favourite organisations to prioritise social responsibility by promoting diversity in business decisions.
Given the significant amount of UK consumers that prefer to purchase from brands with robust ethical practices, commitment to ethical sourcing is essential for companies to reduce the risk of losing their primary customer base.
Mitigates Over-Reliance Risks
Relying on a select few suppliers to provide your organisation with necessary products and services can cause issues down the road due to over-reliance. Over-reliance on specific vendors leaves your organisation vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that could snowball into significant financial losses. A broader range of suppliers to select from through an eSourcing system ensures that businesses mitigate over-reliance risks to optimise their dynamic purchasing process.
Helps You Keep Up with Changing Demographics
Customer bases are growing increasingly diverse–Gen Z is considered the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in history. Businesses must adopt new practices by promoting diversity to keep up with shifting customer demographics and stay committed to change.
Diverse consumers have increasing purchasing power, and working with diverse suppliers shows your organisation’s values in providing consumers with ethical sourcing and an inclusive supply chain.
Master Ethical eSourcing With Delta eSourcing
Organisations can promote supplier diversity and inclusion to access various benefits and build a loyal customer base. Promoting diversity and inclusion throughout your supply chain is possible through eSourcing–however, companies need to select trustworthy providers with advanced eSourcing solutions to streamline their purchasing process. Providers like Delta eSourcing provide everything organisations need to promote supplier diversity and drive social and economic impact throughout procurement activities.
Delta eSourcing provides the best eTendering solution to promote ethical sourcing for public sector buyers looking to source products and services from diverse suppliers. Delta eSourcing has everything your business needs to meet diversity requirements and implement a strategic procurement process. Request a free demo from Delta eSourcing today to learn more about the eSourcing process.
