Wal-Mart Increases Business With Minority- and Women-Owned Supp

[thundley4]

Wal-Mart Reports Record Increase in Business With Minority- and Women-Owned Suppliers

Company reports 25 percent increase in spend with minority- and women-owned companies - totaling more than $8 billion.

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. expanded its business with minority- and women-owned companies by more than 25 percent in 2008, according to recently verified figures. In the midst of a struggling economy, where businesses across the country have been forced to close or drastically reduce capacity and workforce, Wal-Mart increased its combined direct and second tier spend to more than $8.1 billion with minority- and women-owned businesses.

In 2008, Wal-Mart's direct spend with minority- and women-owned businesses was more than $6 billion, with second-tier spending totaling more than $2 billion. Second-tier spend is an accounting of suppliers that subcontract with prime suppliers on Wal-Mart business. Wal-Mart's spend numbers are verified by CVM Solutions, a third-party enterprise supplier management company. Wal-Mart's direct spend with diverse suppliers was more than $4.8 billion in 2007, totaling more than $6 billion when accounting for second-tier spend. The nearly $2 billion overall increase in the 2008 total is a reflection of the company's commitment to diversity, its customers and local communities.

"At Wal-Mart, we know we can make a difference in the communities we serve and our commitment extends to minority- and women-owned businesses at the local level," said Theresa Barrera, vice president of Supplier Diversity at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. "We are proud of the fact that, in these difficult financial times, we are able to deepen our commitment to these important partners -- giving them the potential to grow, while enabling Wal-Mart to deliver and sell the goods and services our customers want."

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This should be a good thing in the eyes of the left, but I doubt it would budge their hatred of Walmart for being non-union.
Walmart has been one of the prime targets of the EFCA, but the left doesn't understand that if forced to unionize Walmart would likely drop some of these suppliers and get more of their products from overseas. Not to mention how many would be laid off by Walmart .

[Gratiot]

I've honestly never been able to grasp the benefit of diversity in one's supply chain, by favoring woman and minority owned businesses.

Granted, most woman and minority owned businesses IME, are often just clever spin-offs of major businesses placed in a wife's name or with a puppet president.  With a mark up of course.