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Kodak
Increases Supplier Diversity Representation
Eastman
Kodak Company announced that its spending with minority-
and women-owned businesses increased by more than $120
million in 2003, putting the company on pace to meet supplier
diversity goals set in late 2001.
At
that time, Kodak established a goal to place 10 percent
of its annual domestic purchasing of materials, supplies,
and equipment with minority-and women-owned enterprises
by 2006. Kodak's current supplier diversity progress
indicates that the company will meet the goal within
the next 12-24 months, ahead of original estimates.
In
the two years since Kodak established the goals, the
percentage spent with minority-owned businesses has
increased about 150 percent. The percentage spent with
women-owned businesses in the past two years has risen
by 108 percent. In 2003 alone, spending with minority-owned
businesses (MBE) increased by $59 million, and spending
with women-owned businesses (WBE) rose by $63 million.
"These
figures demonstrate our commitment to broadening the
scope of suppliers we rely on for the greater good of
the company," said Joyce Wichie, director, Supplier
Diversity, Worldwide Purchasing. "We know that
the markets we serve are increasingly multicultural.
By employing a diverse set of suppliers, we benefit
from their insights as we pursue more customers in new
and diverse markets."
As
part of the goals set in 2001, Kodak created a formal
policy, adopted by Chairman and CEO Daniel A. Carp,
to emphasize purchasing through MBE, WBE, and sheltered
workshops. Kodak launched a website
to explain the program, identify materials that Kodak
purchases, and guide business owners through the online
application process.
The
company sends representatives to small business conferences,
purchasing workshops, and trade fairs to solicit inquiries
from MBE and WBE businesses. Kodak organizes two annual
"matchmaker" events that enable minority suppliers
to meet with Kodak commodity managers. These events
have led to increased opportunities for emerging suppliers
to demonstrate their ability to meet Kodak's needs,
Wichie said.
In
some instances, we've worked to help minority- and women-owned
businesses become more competitive, by helping them
take part in reverse-bidding processes with their own
suppliers," she explained. "We look for opportunities
to build and enhance relationships."
"We're
working to place a greater percentage of our annual
domestic spending in the communities where we live and
work, and in many cases, the figures we've released
today reflect that," Wichie said.
03/04
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