Why You Need a Supplier-Diversity Program

Alexis Bateman, Ashley Barrington and Katie Date
August, 2020
Harvard Business Review

Harvard Business Review doesn't publish feel-good content, so when it makes the business case for supplier diversity programs, the corporate world listens. This piece lays out what leading companies like UPS, Coca-Cola, and Johnson & Johnson already know: diverse suppliers don't just check a box. Instead they drive innovation, sharpen competition, build supply chain resilience, and attract better talent. The argument isn't moral, it's strategic. And for any organization still treating supplier diversity as a PR exercise rather than a competitive advantage, this is required reading.