Hacking Supplier Diversity: Cracking the Code for the Business Case: Revenue Generation, Economic Impact, ROI

For over fifty years, proponents of supplier diversity have discussed the positive effect on revenue that comes from using underrepresented suppliers. The problem lies in proving such assertions. For far too long, contracting with businesses owned by women, minorities, and those identifying as LGBTQ has been viewed as a “feel-good” act of corporate citizenship—one that rarely survives the next economic downturn.

Hacking Supplier Diversity represents the first time the myriad benefits of a diverse supply chain have been thoroughly detailed and documented. Diversity and Inclusion expert Scott A. Vowels, PhD, redefines supplier diversity, focusing on three core issues:

• The economic impact of diverse suppliers
• The ways in which a robust supplier diversity program is a revenue enabler
• The formula for calculating the return on investment of a supplier diversity program

A comprehensive and informative read, Hacking Supplier Diversity does for supplier diversity what Jim Collins’ Good to Great and Built to Last did for how companies do business. Utilizing a keen sense of humor and expert storytelling, Vowels makes a definitive argument for supplier diversity as a business imperative.

Scott A. Vowels, PhD, began his career managing procurement and sourcing processes for manufacturing environments at General Motors and has accumulated over thirty years of experience in procurement and supplier diversity.

Vowels led the Northern California and Alabama Minority Supplier Development Councils to national prominence. While in those roles he performed the first ever MBE Economic Impact Study for Northern California and oversaw a federal Minority Business Opportunity Center for the US Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency.

A prolific speaker, author and panelist, Vowels cofounded and moderated the Bigger Discussion video series Future of Supplier Diversity. He currently manages an award winning supplier diversity business unit for a top-five Fortune 100 company and has been declared one of the Top 45 Most Influential Figures in Supplier Diversity History by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

A former world-ranked tennis player, Vowels travels frequently and resides in Oakland, California.