For most minority- and women-owned businesses, being a supplier for a large corporation presents a conundrum of sorts-maintaining their identity as a relatively small, diverse organization, while functioning at the speed and efficiency required by their customers. This is especially true today, as these larger companies seek to tighten and consolidate their operations, become more cost-effective and go global. At the core of these changes, allowing the manufacturer to realize all these goals is supply chain management-controlling the supply of the various parts that fit together to create the company’s final product or service.

By Nicola Saminather