Corporate Member Benefits
The Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (ChicagoMSDC) is a private, non-profit purchasing association, supported by membership contributions from major corporations and minority suppliers. The mission of ChicagoMSDC is to be the premier organization for increasing value-added business opportunities between major buying organizations and minority-owned businesses.
ChicagoMSDC has a national reputation for its activities to develop partnerships between minority firms and major buying organizations. Corporate Members benefit by expanding their link to the rapidly growing minority marketplace and by gaining greater access to qualified suppliers to source, which increases competition, reducing cost and improving quality. This fosters a transactional relationship with key demographics which can lead to a stronger local economy.
Benefits of becoming a Corporate Member include:
- Access to a larger pool of qualified suppliers
- Resources to help you achieve a supplier base that more closely reflects your customer demographics
- Increased opportunity for greater savings and higher quality goods and services due to increased competition
- Increased ROI from minority business and corporate economic development efforts in the area where you do business
- Opportunity to enhance your ethnic market sales initiatives
- Assistance in developing or improving your company's supplier diversity programs
- Added recognition by stakeholders and the local community of your strong corporate citizenship
- Meeting the demands of your customers, and/or government compliance requirements
- Resources to make doing business with MBEs easy and simple
- Corporate Supply Chain Integration Program
- Corporate Supplier Enhancement Program
The ChicagoMSDC is a vehicle that can assist corporations in developing, marketing and enhancing their minority business development program in a productive and efficient manner. Corporate Members are invited to leverage resources provided by the Council to facilitate and improve corporate supplier diversity commitments. These resources include:
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Computerized Vendor Referral System
A computerized database of over 1,100 certified minority firms in over 300 commodity and service areas. -
Corporate Minority Business Program Support
Provides assistance in establishing and expanding minority business procurement programs through peer group meetings, seminars, publications and audio/visual materials. -
Purchasing Seminars
To inform corporate buyers of issues and legislation impacting minority business development. -
Certification Of Minority Firms
Nationally-acclaimed ownership verification program to ensure that corporations have a credible source for minority suppliers, consultants and contractors. Minority certification support. -
Chicago Business Opportunity Fair (CBOF)
The oldest and largest minority business procurement fair in the nation - assists major corporate buyers in identifying qualified sources of goods and services. Chicago MSDC hosts CBOF annually in the Spring! -
The Business Consortium Fund
Provides working capital to minority business members through certified bank lenders.
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Chicago's Minority Business Report
An issue-oriented newspaper that highlights minority business success stories and serves as an advocate for minority business issues. -
Corporate Bridges
An educational series that enhances the portfolio of business development skills for minority businesses, including sales and marketing. -
Scholarship Golf Classic
An annual tournament designed to provide MBEs scholarships to the Kellogg Executive Management Program, the Dartmouth's Tuck Business School and to Chicagoland high school graduates aspiring to develop careers as entrepreneurs. -
Procurement Breakfast & Luncheons
Monthly business meetings designed to provide minority business owners an opportunity to learn best practices and "how-to-do-business" with a targeted major buying organization. -
MBDA Business Centers - Chicago
Provides strategic consulting, procurement assistance, and financial services to minority-owned businesses. The MBDA Business Center seeks to develop alliances with local, state, and federal government agencies, major corporations, banks, financial resources, and the minority business community to create larger, and more strategic minority entrepreneurs.
Corporate Membership Information
ChicagoMSDC Corporate members provide the necessary link to opportunities that MBEs need. Without the assistance of Corporate members, expansion and growth would not be possible.
At the same time, Corporate members benefit in many ways. Minority suppliers are the country’s fastest growing business sector. According to the Bureau of the Census, by the year 2020, the minority population will represent 34.4% of the total U.S. population.
As the minority population continues to grow, those corporations that are comfortable with cultural diversity and change, and are responsive to their customers will be the ones that thrive. Supplier diversity brings knowledge and experience that aids in understanding the world and competing effectively. As the chief executives of many of the country’s biggest companies see it, a diverse supplier base is no longer an option – it’s a business necessity.
We understand company’s goals to achieve supplier diversity while maintaining the level of quality you require of your vendors. That is why we offer many programs for the certified MBEs, to assist in the development of professional relationships with corporate members.
Corporate Value Proposition
- Utilization of NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC certified MBEs saves corporate members money and provide a diversity of thought that translate into greater revenues, operating efficiencies and profits.
- The NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC is the premier national organization of corporations interested in promoting minority supplier diversity, developing corporate supplier diversity programs and certifying minority businesses. The NMSDC has 4,000 corporate members nationally.
- NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC membership allows you to tap into the most accurate up-to-date database of certified minority businesses in the country. The NMSDC has 15,000 certified MBEs nationally. This list also helps you identify SDBs and DBEs for federal and state government contracts.
- NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC membership entitles you to numerous programs and activities that can assist your procurement and supplier diversity team identify certified minority businesses in all industries and sectors, including the Corporate Supply Chain Integration Program and Corporate Supplier Enhancement Program.
- The NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC (and the 24 other regional affiliates) have full time professional staffs to assist corporate members accomplish their supplier diversity goals.
- The NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC can train and assist in the training of corporate procurement professionals.
- NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC membership allows your company to participate in industry specific activities that allow you to benchmark best practices in supplier diversity.
- NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC can help corporate members connect to minority communities, benefiting from a public relations/political perspective, a human resources perspective as well as market perspective. Minority populations and the number of minority businesses are growing substantially faster than non-minority populations and non-minority businesses and by 2050 the United States is projected to be a majority-minority country.
- NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC corporate members have access to one of the most powerful quarterly e-newsletters on supplier diversity to advertise at no cost opportunities or simply to share good news with the network.
- NMSDC/ChicagoMSDC corporate membership allows corporate representatives to take a leadership role in the management of the Council and to develop leadership skills that will benefit their respective corporate employers.
Corporate Membership Requirements
- Have an existing supplier diversity program or establish a supplier diversity program
- Report annually aggregate dollar purchases from MBEs
- Promote business opportunities for MBEs
- Designate a representative as a point of contact
- Participate in the local activities of the Chicago MSDC
- Commit to an annual support level
