WASHINGTON, DC – June 9, 2021 – The state of Supplier Diversity and Procurement took center stage on the second day of the virtual CelebrASIAN Business + Procurement Conference, held June 9. The deep-dive discussions from Fortune 500 subject-matter experts and practitioners were held to benefit minority businesses who want to be part of the billion-dollar supply chain of these major corporations.

Among the participating Fortune corporations were Nationwide, T-Mobile, and Trane Technologies. The panelists discussed how supplier diversity evolved through federal reforms, how much corporations spend on supplier diversity, and how they develop and partner with diverse suppliers, among other salient points.

“This is the time for supplier diversity programs to live up to their potential,” said Susan Au Allen, USPAACC National President & CEO. “Since former President Richard M. Nixon began the minority business program 50 years ago, it has evolved into what is now known as ‘Supplier Diversity’ and it has steadily gained momentum. Today, major corporations are stepping up their engagement and are directly targeting diverse groups in the minority community. This is a win-win scenario.”

Presenter Tarun Puri, Senior Director, Procurement and P2P Advisory, The Hackett Group, added: “There is an energy and force up the C-Suite and board level of organizations to develop and advance supplier diversity programs that never existed previously for many organizations.”

Allen also traced how USPAACC has worked for over 30 years on minority business development with major corporations, governments and large non-profits. “USPAACC has been focusing on Supplier Diversity for more than 20 years now – long before it became the talk of the business community,” she said. “Through inclusion and allyship, USPAACC is poised and determined to take the growing Asian American businesses on this journey and keep paving the way for their continued success.”

“We will show you the way to corporate supplier diversity programs. Come and get certified as an Asian American and minority-owned business,” Allen added.

To learn more about CelebrASIAN Business + Procurement Conference, follow link here. For more information about USPAACC, click here.

ABOUT USPAACC: Founded in 1984, the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) promotes, nurtures and propels economic growth, innovation, and job creation by opening doors to procurement, educational and professional opportunities for Pan Asian Americans and their business partners in corporate America, the federal, state and local governments, and the small and minority business communities in the United States, Asia-Pacific, and the Indian Subcontinent regions. National office in the Nation’s Capital | Regional Chapters: CA, TX, GA, NY, IL, DC-MD-VA.