seen from China
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from Russia
seen from China
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from India
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Russia
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Indonesia
seen from Chile
seen from Germany
Supplier Diversity & Small Business Economic Report Episode 10
The economy of every state, ranked from worst to best
Unemployment hits 49-year low, economy adds 134K jobs in September
The World’s First Immigration Economy
CPUC hearing targets supplier diversity
(Supplierty News)
Supplier Diversity & Small Business Economic Report Episode 6
Supplier Diversity & Small Business Economic Report Episode 7 (Week of S...
(via VetSource Event connects veteran entrepreneurs with business opportunities)
A few weeks ago, Walmart in partnership with the Coalition for Veteran Owned Business (CVOB) hosted VetSource in Norfolk, VA. The purpose of the event was to connect military and veteran entrepreneurs with Fortune 500 corporations for business contract opportunities. The event included supply chain matchmaking opportunities, workshops, and business educational support for conference attendees. According to Yahoo Finance, in addition to the event, Sam’s Club announced “a $400,000 grant to the SCORE Foundation to support the 2018 American Small Business Championship which celebrates and recognizes America’s entrepreneurs. The SCORE Foundation is the charitable arm of SCORE, mentors to America’s small businesses.”
Veterans have long been the backbone of Americans and earned the much needed support both individually and company wise. “According to the Small Business Administration, more than 2.5 million small businesses in the U.S. are veteran-owned. In addition, veteran-owned businesses generate more than $1.2 trillion in sales per year and employ more than 5.8 million people in the U.S.” With organizations and events popping up every year it seems, our veterans are receiving the promotion they deserve. Expect events like this to only grow in the future.
Walmart for its part, is no stranger to supporting military, veterans, and their families. A few of the companies commitments include the following;
The Veterans Welcome Home Commitment has helped Walmart hire more than 179,000 veterans since May 2013, and of those hires, more than 24,000 have been promoted to jobs of greater responsibility.
Walmart recently announced major changes to its military leave of absence policy, offering differential pay to associates for any military assignment, including voluntary service like basic training, allowing associates who are considering enlisting in the armed forces to do so without fear of losing wages.
Since 2011, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have pledged a total of $40 million for veteran reintegration programs through 2019 to help address challenges many veterans face when returning to civilian life.
(via Expanding the reach of Veteran Owned Business)
Brian Zimmerman, a former service member of the US Marine Corps and founder and CEO of Vet Hustle has an ambitious goal. According to Inc Magazine, Zimmerman’s “big vision is to triple the sales of 10,000 veteran-owned businesses over the next 10 years.” Pretty extraordinary goal, but one that can be done.
The truth about most Veteran-owned businesses is that they are small or even micro operations. While there are some extremely successful Vet-owned corporations such as FedEx and GoDaddy, most are equivalent to mom and pop stores looking to grow. The good news for the Zimmerman goal is that there are now plenty of opportunities available for veteran businesses to increase their size at a fast pace. Platforms such as entrepreneurial boot camps, business plan competitions, and MBA-style educational programs specifically tailored for military veterans are important to help these service men and women create future economic prosperity for themselves and the country.
To help with this process, Zimmerman promotes 5 keys for veteran business to grow. These keys include “the lead magnet, the entry point offer, the core offer, the profit maximizer and the return path.” As Vet Hustle explains “It’s only natural to expect even more veteran-owned startups to appear, and some of these are going to become multi-million-dollar businesses.”
Supplier Diversity Data UK: What Every Procurement Team Must Know in 2026
Why Supplier Diversity Data UK Is Now a Procurement Priority
Procurement has always been about more than cost savings. In 2026, it is equally about accountability, transparency, and measurable social impact. Across UK organisations both public and private Supplier Diversity Data UK has moved from a background consideration to an operational necessity.
The shift is driven by regulation, reporting expectations, and a growing recognition that diverse supply chains are simply more resilient and commercially valuable.
The Regulatory Push: Procurement Act 2023
The full implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 has fundamentally raised the bar. Public sector bodies managing over £300 billion in annual spend according to Cabinet Office data must now demonstrate transparent, auditable supplier selection. That means procurement decisions cannot rely on informal or outdated records.
Diverse supplier data must be current, verified, and accessible at the point decisions are made. Teams that cannot evidence their supplier diversity commitments face genuine regulatory and reputational risk.
What Supplier Diversity Data Actually Covers
Supplier diversity data refers to verified information about businesses owned or led by individuals from underrepresented groups including ethnic minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ founders.
Collecting this data is only the first step. Procurement teams must also verify it through recognised bodies such as MSDUK (for ethnic minority-owned businesses), WEConnect (for women-owned enterprises), and Social Enterprise UK. For suppliers without formal certification, Companies House ownership records provide a proportionate baseline.
The challenge is keeping that data current. Ownership structures change, certifications lapse, and financial positions shift. Manual verification simply cannot keep pace with the volume and speed modern procurement requires.
From Reporting to Real-Time Monitoring
What has changed most significantly in recent years is the move from periodic reporting to continuous monitoring. Procurement teams now have access to platforms that automatically update supplier records, flag certification changes, and cross-reference compliance registers including the Prompt Payment Code and Modern Slavery Act obligations in real time.
This integration matters. When supplier diversity data is embedded directly within the procurement system rather than managed as a parallel process, teams can filter and evaluate suppliers using diversity attributes alongside cost, performance, and risk indicators within a single workflow.
ESG reporting frameworks have also intensified expectations. Diverse supplier engagement is increasingly reported alongside climate commitments and gender pay gap disclosures. The figures must be verifiable, not directional estimates.
Conclusion
The role of Supplier Diversity Data UK in modern procurement is no longer optional or aspirational. It is a structured, measurable function shaped by the Procurement Act 2023, ESG obligations, and the commercial need for resilient supply chains. Organisations that invest in the right data infrastructure verified, real-time, and integrated will be best positioned to build supply chains that are representative, robust, and ready for the scrutiny ahead. For procurement teams ready to act on this, exploring purpose-built tools for responsible procurement is the logical next step.
Will a different kind of "Black Box" bring Supplier.io down?
What if AI’s a true black box and influenced rejections independently?
QUESTION: Regarding the lawsuit against American Airlines and Supplier.io, what impact will the AI black box play regarding supplier selection have on the case outcome? For example, while Supplier.io may not have overtly or intended to participate in discriminatory acts on the part of the Airline, what if their Black Box algorithms were a factor? RESPONSE: The impact of AI “black box”…
