Supplier Diversity

The Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) of the Red Cross is designed to strengthen our organization and our communities by proactively seeking women, minorities, disabled veterans, veterans and other business enterprise suppliers (WMDVBE) who represent the communities we serve. By providing equitable opportunities for WMDVBE suppliers, the Red Cross derives multiple benefits. Not only do we contribute to the economic vitality of the communities we serve but also our organization benefits directly from a broader selection of competitively priced goods and services.

American Red Cross Recognized as a 2022 NMSDC Forefront 50

The Forefront 50 are NMSDC corporate members that are leading the way to create greater economic access and equity for systematically excluded entrepreneurs of color.

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Benefits to Partnering with the Red Cross

The SDP is integrated as part of our Supply Management (SM) team's daily business activities. Through the program, our Category Leaders and Business units are able to build relationships with WMDVBE suppliers and facilitate access to bid and contract opportunities.

Benefits of the Red Cross SDP include:

Advocacy - Internally, the Supplier Diversity team works to ensure that diverse suppliers gain visibility and have 100% inclusion in all sourcing, contracting, and procurement decisions made by SCM.
Outreach - Our team actively seeks to establish relationships with diverse suppliers through business networking, business fairs, matchmaker sessions, supplier diversity workshops, electronic and print communications, and participation in supplier events nationwide.
Certification Support - We encourage and direct suppliers to gain certification of their WMDVBE or small business status from National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBENC), National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), National Veterans Business Development Council (NVBDC), United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), and US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC).
Mentoring - The Supplier Diversity team advises and guides diverse suppliers to prepare and position their businesses for maximum access to bid and contract opportunities with the Red Cross.
Referral - Our team actively communicates with WMDVBE’s by referring relevant Requests for Proposal and other potential business leads.

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Working Together

As part of the largest humanitarian network, the American Red Cross has need for a variety of products and services to help deliver on our mission. Category examples include:

Administrative Products & Services
Benefits
Corporate Functions
Disaster Supplies & Services
Fleet
Food & Beverage
Freight & Logistics

Human Resources
Information Technology
Marketing
Medical Products & Services
Real Estate
Safety Supplies & Services
Travel

Certifying agencies and supplier classes we currently partner with to broaden our diverse supplier opportunities:

Minority-Owned (MBE)
Woman-Owned (WBE)
Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
Disabled-Owned Business (Disabled)
Veteran-Owned (VET)
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned (SDVET)
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual (LGBT)
Ability One (AbilityOne)

Alaskan Native Corp/Indian Tribe (ANC/IT)
Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business
Historically Black College & University (HBCU)
8(A) Small Business (8A)
Small Business (SBE)
Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)
Disadvantaged Business (DBE)
HUBZone (HUB)

View how these supplier classes are defined.

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Resources

Terms and Definitions

Our supplier diversity process provides WMDVBE an opportunity to compete and participate in Red Cross procurement activities. While developing and promoting mutually beneficial relationships between our organization and suppliers, we are able to fulfill Red Cross operational requirements/needs at best quality and value.

An “Enterprise” is any business which fulfills the definition of Minority-Owned Business, Woman-Owned Business, Disabled Veteran-Owned Business, and Disabled-Owned Business. Enterprises must be certified by an acceptable agency, including without limitation, the Small Business Administration, the NMSDC Affiliated Council, or the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (“Agency”), etc.

Tier 2 Program

The American Red Cross Tier 2 Program exists to maximize opportunities for minority-owned, woman-owned, or veteran-owned business enterprises (WDMBEs) to participate as suppliers of products and services to the Red Cross. The Tier 2 Program serves as an enhancement to, and not as a replacement for, existing efforts aimed at increasing meaningful opportunities for WDMBE.

Tier 2 Tracking:

Tier 2 purchasing is a relative term in that it is a function of who is the customer. From the Red Cross perspective, a Tier 1 supplier is a supplier that invoices the Red Cross for goods and services rendered directly by that supplier (Tier 1). A Tier 2 supplier (referencing the customer) is a supplier that invoices the Tier 1 supplier for goods and services rendered.

Tier 1 suppliers must report the amount of money spent on behalf of the Red Cross (Tier 2 direct) with WDMBEs. When direct subcontracting to diverse businesses is not practical, suppliers will allocate and report their overall diverse subcontractor costs (Tier 2 indirect).

DIRECT SPEND:

Purchases that directly support Red Cross business needs. These purchases must be able to be directly traced back to a specific contract or purchase order associated with a diverse supplier.

INDIRECT SPEND:

Spend contracted with diverse suppliers which has been prorated based on supplier sales and/or percentage of a supplier's total revenue. Use this tracking method when you cannot trace WDMBEs expenditures to a specific Red Cross requirement.

Note: The Red Cross utilizes a National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) approved calculation to get this amount. The Red Cross has partnered with, supplier.io, to host our online Tier 2 tracking system called, TierTracker®. This system supports and enables our prime suppliers to report Tier 2 spend via a single web portal. TierTracker® provides an extremely efficient method of capturing, analyzing, and consolidating diverse spend via a single, user-friendly web portal.

Tier 2 Fiscal Year Tracking Schedule:

The Red Cross must receive your report by the 15th business day of the month that follows the end of each quarter. For example:

First Quarter is July – September. The report is due October 15.
Second Quarter is October – December. The report is due January 15.
Third Quarter is January – March. The report is due April 15.
Fourth Quarter is April – June. The report is due July 15.

Have Questions?

For additional information, please contact the Supplier Diversity Director. You can also review our FAQs to hopefully answer your questions.