Source : Procurement Leaders
Fifteen large US corporations yesterday unveiled a scheme designed to open up their combined $300bn annual spend on goods and services to small businesses.
Small businesses will have access to the supply chains of these 15 corporations via a free web site called Supplier Connection. The portal is similar to the Universal College Application, where a potential vendor need to fill out simplified forms only once to be considered for many types of contracts for goods and services.
Through the platform, small businesses can also offer their goods and services to many large enterprises with the goal of winning contracts.
The website was created and is maintained by IBM through a grant of more than $10m from the IBM International Foundation.
"A recent national study revealed that within two years of winning a contract with a large company, small businesses doubled their workforce. Clearly by streamlining access to large company spending, we can help more small businesses create jobs," said Stanley S. Litow, IBM vice president of Corporate Citizenship and President of its Foundation.
"By reducing complexity and offering access to spending by a group of large companies, Supplier Connection will help small businesses grow and improve their bottom line. The clear benefit to large companies is the access to the creativity and innovation of small businesses."
Currently there are nearly 1,000 small businesses registered in the Supplier Connection programme with more than 250 large company buyers actively searching for potential suppliers across 20 categories.