Ford’s New Win Initiative—A Win For Diverse Suppliers
Ford’s new initiative seeks to expand the economic benefits of diverse-supplier purchasing.
Ford Motor Company has launched a new initiative to drive the economic benefits of its diverse supplier purchasing deeper into its supply chain and into the communities in which its suppliers do business.
The program, called “Widening the Inclusion Network” or WIN, will accelerate the economic impact that Ford’s Tier 1 sourcing already generates and expand its economic value throughout the supply chains of its Tier 1 suppliers.
“There are a limited number of opportunities to become a Tier 1 supplier to Ford Motor Company and that restricts the economic benefits we can directly provide to smaller diverse firms,” said Cameron Boli, Ford supplier diversity program analyst and WIN program manager. “We’re seeking to remedy that through WIN.”
WIN is focusing its efforts on a targeted group of Tier 1 suppliers who find it challenging to meet Ford’s objectives or who have a new supplier diversity program. Tier 1 suppliers will receive additional coaching, mentorship and training that will help them expand their relationships with and increase their purchasing from smaller Tier 2 diverse businesses. As a part of the WIN program, Tier 1 suppliers will be required to periodically report their progress to Ford.
Historically, Ford’s Tier 2 program measured the subcontracting success of its Tier 1 suppliers solely by their diverse spend. WIN goes beyond the traditional requirement of not only evaluating Tier 1 suppliers’ past diverse spend but their level of involvement with advocacy groups, community outreach and workforce diversity.
By expanding the economic impact Ford has on the world, we believe we can make the lives of more people even better.
“WIN is all about sharing economic prosperity with as many individuals, businesses and communities as possible,” said Boli. “By helping Tier 1 suppliers more effectively subcontract to diverse companies, we can bridge the economic gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers. And that will help us enhance the positive economic effect our diverse spend has not only on smaller suppliers and their employees but on the communities those companies serve. By expanding the economic impact Ford has on the world, we believe we can make the lives of more people even better.”
Ford’s supplier diversity program has an annual goal of at least 10 percent of the company’s overall spend going to diverse suppliers, which includes small businesses and firms owned by women, minorities, LGBTQ entrepreneurs, veterans and disabled veterans and people with disabilities. An economic impact study conducted by Ford in 2017 found that the nearly $10 billion the company spent with diverse suppliers helped create 65,000 jobs, of which 25,000 were with diverse suppliers, and contributed an estimated $16 billion to the U.S. economy.
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