9 minute read
DIVERSIFYING SUPPLY CHAINS TAKES COMMITMENT AND CONTINUED LEARNING
WBE Canada’s Excellence Awards showcase and celebrate achievements in supplier diversity amongst our certified WBE community and our corporate and government organizations. We are pleased to share with you our 2021 winners and their thoughts on the future of women-owned businesses in supplier diversity in Canada.
LORENA DIAZ TOP VOLUNTEER AWARD
As Ventures and Acquisitions Program & Project Management Manager at Accenture, Lorena Diaz has been a volunteer on WBE Canada committees since 2018. She is highly engaged, willing to step into whatever role is necessary, is always prepared with creative insights to tackle whatever she takes on, earning the respect of her peers and those she works with on the WBE Canada Team. Lorena’s commitment to WBE Canada and her eagerness to work with others while representing Accenture, one of WBE Canada’s founding corporate members, is incredibly valued by all who have the privilege to know and work with her.
WBE Canada: Why is volunteering for WBE Canada important to you? And what impact does volunteering have on your role at Accenture?
Volunteering and participating on committees at WBE Canada is important because it represents and promotes unity among member corporations who are all working together to benefit women-owned businesses.
My active participation in WBE Canada helps me realize the hard work WBE Canada is doing to support women-owned businesses and definitely helps me in my role at Accenture.
Accenture is a founding member of WBE Canada so it’s very rewarding to be a part of and see the results from their commitment to supplier diversity and WBEs.
THE ROUNDTABLE 2021 RISING STAR
Founded in 2007, the Roundtable has operated as a women-owned business since that time. Headquartered in Toronto, the Roundtable helps leaders build the mindsets they need to navigate change, disruption and growth. A recognized team and group coaching authority, the Roundtable’s innovative group coaching programs deliver learning that is entirely relevant to today’s workplaces and empowers leaders to coach each other. Over the course of the last two years, the Roundtable has experienced tremendous business growth, doubling its business year over year. A notable portion of this growth has come from a significant project with two WBE Corporate members.
WBE Canada: 2021 was an incredible year for the Roundtable. What would you say was your key pivotal moment?
the Roundtable:
The key pivotal moment for us was when we had a large client (and WBE member) reach out to ask us to bid on a leadership program that they were hoping to launch in the Fall of 2020 and run through 2021.
After several incredibly difficult months, it was amazing when we won that project. It re-energized our team and was the first of a series of programs that started to flood in through the Fall and into 2021. We had been speaking with that client for close to two years about their leadership needs and it was just fabulous timing that they were ready to launch just when we were most in need of a boost.
During 2021, Bell further enhanced their Supplier Diversity Program by leveraging all of WBE Canada’s tools and resources at their disposal as a Corporate Member. From implementation of key strategies, through augmented internal communications, Bell championed Supplier Diversity across all departments internally with the result that full time staff is dedicated to manage their SD Program including tracking and reporting.
WBE Canada: How did the pandemic and the ongoing disruptions to corporations like Bell, affect your commitment to solidifying your supplier diversity program? Bell: Bell’s supplier diversity program was established in 2014 and since the beginning, our motto has always been "every action matters". Over the years, we have continued to refine and push forward our business case for supplier diversity – keeping aligned with Bell’s DEI values and initiations. Our continual investments have helped evolve our program, step-by-step. Corporate memberships, sponsorship & participation at industry events, new tools and resources, and enhanced communications are all things that have helped us get to a point where we have a stable, structured program. We are thrilled to have launched our Tier 2 reporting program in 2021 with a select group of suppliers to push the conversation further.
ANN GOMEZ 2021 WBE LEADER
Ann Gomez is passionate about contributing to the diverse community. She is committed to both learning and driving positive change, doing her part to promote diversity within her community and in parallel with her work. As the owner of Clear Concept Inc., a training company, Ann is always coming forward to lead workshops with empowering messages and practical support, helping her fellow women entrepreneurs grow and succeed together.
WBE Canada: What advice do you have for newly certified WBEs in order to succeed within the WBE community as well as in their businesses?
My biggest piece of advice is to build connections across this incredible community. Invest the time to get to know people. Consider how you can get involved and contribute to this community.
Also, be clear on what you are selling and who your target market is. This will help your supplier diversity partners at corporations and government organizations help you navigate through their organization. Finally, persistence is important. Relationships are built over time. Keep showing up, keep adding value, keep exploring opportunities and business will come your way.
MANDY LUNN 2021 WBE LEADER
In her role as VP Strategic Sustainability and Innovations at Universal Geomatics Solutions Corporation, Mandy has taken the company from passive to passionate in its approach to D&I. Acting as a role model in a traditionally male dominated industry, and with her support, influence and encouragement, Universal Geomatics Solutions Corporation became a majority female-owned organization with two thirds of its executive team being women - a statistic previously unheard of in the land survey industry in Canada. WBE Canada: What advice do you have for women-owned businesses trying to break through in a male-dominated industry?
Mandy: Excellent products and services will speak for themselves… as long as the market knows of them! Networking to make new contacts on a weekly basis will help you generate new leads and innovative ideas for your company.
Within your own operations, make sure that you are improving diversity, equity and inclusion internally, and review your own supply chain to make sure that you are providing opportunities to diverse vendors.
MICHÈLE LEDUC 2021 WBE LEADER
As President, Creative Director and Strategist of Zipcom Communications based in Montreal, Michèle is a true champion of women-owned businesses, offering support and thought leadership through her participation at WBE Canada events, offering workshops and providing advice and input to WBEs through the many challenges they face, especially during the past year. Is it her one on one relationship with fellow WBEs that has earned her immense respect not just amongst her fellow WBEs but as a contributing and insightful member of the WBE Canada Board.
WBE Canada: The Pandemic has resulted in different approaches in how Brands communicate. What do you see as the key to creative communication as we enter year three of the pandemic? How do brands maintain engagement with their clients?
Michèle: Covid has changed everything. From the way we live to the way we shop. In the first wave, many communication campaigns and media plans had to be revised and, in some instances, cancelled. Suddenly, it was no longer about enjoying fresh lobster but rather how to buy lobster while minimizing contamination or how to return your rental in a safe way or how to buy clothes when fitting rooms were closed. Consumers moved to digital in an unprecedented way and brands
The Best-In-Class Supplier Diversity Technology.
Take your Supplier Diversity Program to the Next Level!
SUPPLIER DIVERSITY DATA SERVICES
responded in turn. They maintained engagement with their clients by being attentive to their needs and adapting to changing consumer culture. Now in year three of the pandemic, we are still not out of the woods. And so, brands that continue building trust through transparency about safety measures and aligning with their client concerns will be successful in maintaining engagement with their clients.
LISA ROSS 2021 SUPPLIER DIVERSITY LEADER
Lisa Ross, Supplier Diversity Manager at Magna, is consistent and diligent in her commitment to the actions she will take on behalf of WBE's. She is passionate about advancing Supplier Diversity within her organization. She leads with poise, honesty, and authenticity. She is focused on helping suppliers better understand their relationship with Magna and its customers and the importance of being a quality WBE supplier. Lisa was heavily engaged with WBE Canada in 2021 - actively participating in events and providing insights to other Corporates around developing SD programs
WBE Canada: You engage WBE suppliers of all sizes; what is the most important quality womenowned businesses need to have in order to be successful in working with corporations like Magna? And how much importance do you place on WBEs attending networking events such as WBE Canada Roundtables?
Lisa: It’s difficult to pinpoint just one so I’ll provide some advice from one of our Indirect Commodity Managers. Be professional and upfront about your strengths, and honest if your business isn’t capable of meeting our current needs. Be proactive and learn ways to improve so you are ready for the next opportunity.
I think it’s very important to attend the various networking events because it keeps a familiar face in front of people and because you never know when an opportunity is going to come up for their product or services. Contacts change at companies so it allows you to keep your information updated and also gives you the chance to re-engage with companies.
ROBINSON GLOBAL MANAGEMENT INC. 2021 TOP WBE SUPPLIER
Robinson Global Management Inc. is a multidisciplinary management consulting firm specializing in public sector procurement, dispute resolution, process risk review, negotiation and contract management. RGM has enjoyed incredible growth over the past 3 years in part due to increased customer and shareholder value through the development of new business lines external to the Canadian region, in the US and Caribbean which focuses on innovative, ethical and sustainable procurement. Extending their offerings outside of their core services for SMEs, including many other WBEs, is designed to increase focus on womenowned businesses seeking to pivot or add public sector procurement into their portfolios. WBE Canada: If you could pinpoint the one attribute RGM has that has led to your on-going success, what would it be and how has WBE Canada contributed to that success?
Andrea: One word - DYNAMIC. – Our team has shown that we are able to be both responsive to the changing needs and opportunities of our consulting industry while being efficient and creative in our offerings and approach over the last two (2) years.
WBE Canada supported RGM when it had just completed its first year in existence by providing a network of common-minded, determined women to lean on and leverage to gain a better understanding of how to build and market the business successfully for the long term. However, of all the many contributors to RGM’s continued success that WBE Canada has provided, it is the repeated access to pitch coaching for improvement, and the partnered access to potential government and corporate buyers that the WBE Canada team tirelessly creates on a regular basis for its WBE community that played the biggest part.
It is one thing to know that you have a great idea, service or product to change or improve your chosen industry, or a way to better support the broader community through your offerings, but it is the access to the buyers and industry leaders that allows those ideas to become fully realized. This has been and continues to be WBE Canada’s impact on RGM.
