Agency Certification: 5 Ways to Improve the Process & Increase Opportunities

B2Gnow

From spurring local job growth to building environmentally-friendly supply chains, as a certifying agency, you’re well-versed in the magnitude and impact of inclusive procurement on small, diverse, and women-owned businesses and communities across the US. 

However, your program might be plagued with common challenges often seen across many certifying agencies. These include too many manual processes resulting in piles of paper, never-ending directory updates, and hours spent collecting and verifying information or explaining next steps with vendors. Add a tedious reporting process and concerns about data security to the list, and you’ve got your work cut out! 

This latest article outlines five things today’s leading certifiers do to reclaim their time, optimize resources, and provide a seamless certification experience, increasing opportunities for small and diverse firms to win business.

#1 – Go Digital – Ditch paper processes for good!

Between the collection of applications and all supporting documents, your office is busting at the seams with paper:

  • • Paper takes up excessive space, is costly to store, and locating and keeping track of essential documents sometimes seems impossible.
  • • Paper documents are easily misfiled, leading to a tedious, all-day game of hide-and-seek for your staff while your vendor patiently waits for approval. (The same vendor who may have mailed or even hand-delivered these documents some time ago. This could be a long process!) 
  • • Additionally, paper records are easily compromised. Much of the information you collect from your vendors is confidential. Unauthorized individuals can access these documents if left on tables, filing cabinets, or unlocked storage areas. Issues can also arise during printing. Sensitive information should only be available to those authorized to view it.

The most efficient certifying organizations have realized that shuffling paper is time-consuming and could put them on the wrong side of a security breach. As a result, they are moving their application and approval processes online, reducing staff review time and ensuring only complete applications are received. 

The digital process also reduces the vendor’s time, effort, and expense (and possibly, frustration!) required to apply for certification and maintain active status by allowing easy application completion and online document upload. Completing this streamlined process means more opportunities for these newly certified vendors to win business! Furthermore, a digital approval process could allow authorized staff to create and edit certification records, evaluate approval checklists/audits and documentation, manage certification application dispositions, and publish directory entries, all in a secure environment free from mountains of paperwork! 

#2 – Offer an Online Portal – Delight vendors with one-stop convenience

When it comes to small and diverse businesses, time is money. Your goal as a certifying organization is to help them advance and grow in the community, but you may be asking yourself:

  • • Is our agency’s certification process reflective of this effort? 
  • • Can vendors and prime contractors easily access certification applications, renewal forms, information about upcoming opportunities, and a searchable vendor directory?
  • • Do we have a simple process to ensure that vendor data in our directory is accurate and kept up to date? 

If the answer is no, your vendor experience could be lacking. Additionally, certification processes can be arduous and detailed. An antiquated process could be equally difficult for your staff. There aren’t enough hours in the day for follow-up or repeatedly answering the same questions. Additionally, outdated vendor data (email addresses, phone numbers, LinkedIn pages) can stifle opportunities for certified firms in your directory. For these reasons, you want to ensure your vendors’ experience and interactions with your agency are simple, streamlined, and consistent.

More and more certifying agencies recognize their vendors need a streamlined process and are choosing certification management software that includes vendor portal access. Designed to look like the agency’s website, a vendor portal offers vendors a one-stop shop for all their needs. B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management software, for example, enables certifying organizations to direct vendors to their portal to not only apply for certification, monitor their application status, and apply for renewals but also to manage current directory information and all communications throughout the process. Imagine the staff hours saved with an online system that streamlines the certification application process and reduces the number of phone calls and emails with vendors, with documentation built in! 

In addition to certification management, the vendor portal enables firms to keep their profiles updated (automated reminder emails can encourage this). It also allows primes, subs, or anyone to access the organization’s certification directory and other approved certified directories to search for vendors by name, zip code, work code, and more. This level of access saves time and frustration for vendors, and offers greater visibility for certified firms. 

#3 Automate, Automate, Automate – Easy approvals and auto-renewals are key

All too often, certification agency staff find themselves struggling with common but severe process pitfalls: 

  • • There are not enough hours in the day to keep up with reviewing applications and approving certifications for new vendors. 
  • • Antiquated processes involving too many steps and using multiple systems have them running in circles. 
  • • Besides the efforts necessary to take good care of these new vendors is the additional ever-looming stress of managing the active firms, including notifying firms of the need to renew, as well as, reviewing expansion and change requests and certification renewals. 

The country’s most successful certifying organizations empower their teams with automation! They’ve found that by implementing a certification management system like B2Gnow, their staff significantly reduced the time spent doing tedious administrative tasks. Besides the conveniences of a public portal and online communication with vendors, dashboards make monitoring the application and certification processes simple. And approval is as easy as the click of a button. In addition, an automated renewal process means less worry about currently certified vendors falling through the cracks. 

#4 – Proactively Grow Your Directory – Find more vendors and encourage program participation

Managing a certification program is no small undertaking, and after all the effort and time spent maintaining your directory, you still seem to fall short on potential suppliers to meet your goals. Questions that keep you up at night include:

  • • Do you have enough certified vendors for every necessary work code? 
  • • How can we reach more potential vendors to grow our directory? 

The answer is, with the most extensive vendor database, such as B2Gnow’s database of over 1.5 million vendors (approximately 600,000 of them certified), offers an easy way to extend your reach and inform businesses in your community about your program! Search multiple parameters, including zip code, work codes, and more, and easily craft a message using the Outreach and Events module. It allows users to create “campaigns” to send email messages to a customized list of vendors and monitor the interaction. With nearly 200 certifying organizations already using B2Gnow, it’s a simple process to target firms operating in your market that are certified by others but not certified within your program. Besides certification program outreach, many organizations use the system to notify vendors about upcoming opportunities. The module also facilitates event management for online attendee registration, RSVP, and attendance tracking.

#5 – Produce More Accurate Reports With Less Effort – Generate detailed, automated reports in seconds

Your agency’s certification program is only as good as the reports you can provide. Unfortunately, for busy program directors, finding time to assemble these reports for stakeholders can mean long hours of cutting and pasting data from multiple spreadsheets, plenty of calculating and recalculating, and perhaps a bit of nail-biting over lost hours and accuracy concerns. 

Top certification agency professionals rely on certification management systems for greater accuracy, efficiency, and overall program visibility for aggregate reporting. An all-in-one-certification management system, like B2Gnow, offers a robust reporting library and enables certifying agencies to easily report on everything from applications received and certification status to certification officer assignments and processing time statistics. Additionally, a best-in-class certification management system allows for the analysis and reporting of certified vendor data with a click of a button to track firms by ethnicity, gender, location, work code, and more. Furthermore, it easily creates visually appealing reports and dashboards to better demonstrate their program’s success. 

No matter the size of your team, the availability of resources, or other challenges with automating, streamlining, or reporting on our program,  today’s leading certifiers are finding a better, more efficient way to manage their certification process and provide a seamless certification experience that increases opportunities for small and diverse firms to win business. More than 150 certifying organizations rely on B2Gnow Supplier Diversity and Certification Management Software to manage their programs’ complex needs. From certification management and diverse vendor search access to the largest certified supplier database in the world, to data enhancement tools that qualify and quantify current supplier data, to spend analysis capabilities that go deeper to understand diverse supplier data, to construction contract compliance that easily track and report supplier diversity on capital construction contracts, B2Gnow allows supplier diversity professionals to focus on meeting diversity goals, not chasing paper. Learn more and take a tour of B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Software.

7 Signs Your DBE Program Is “Leaking” Efficiency

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Perhaps you’ve noticed that some of your DBE Program’s current processes just aren’t as efficient as you’d like. You’ve periodically considered that improvements could be made to positively impact your DBE program (and likely make your typical workday a lot easier).  After all, you have important community and diversity goals to meet and are simply tired of chasing paper.  Moreover, you’re becoming keenly aware of the projects you could accomplish if you weren’t spending hours manually tracking information which, depending on your organization and responsibilities, could range from subcontractor payments to certification applications and renewals. Working until the eleventh hour to create and submit critical reports, doing multiple follow up with suppliers, and spending far too much time running in circles with multi-system chaos, questioning the accuracy of your data has become the norm.

 Common Inefficiencies Holding Back Your DBE Program’s Performance

You’re struggling with multitier tracking and reporting.

Without the proper tools in place, your visibility could be shallow. For example, your program might be successfully tracking and reporting on Tier 1 or prime DBE suppliers; however, you know you’re missing out on the opportunity to accurately report on your entire DBE utilization, as your subs may also be subcontracting with DBE businesses. The problem is effectively tracking and reporting on those deeper tiers, whether manually or through a multitude of different systems, seems impossible.

You have critical, timely reports you need to produce.

The ever-looming Uniform Report is your bi-annual nemesis! There doesn’t seem to be any simple way to get through it, and with NPRM proposed rule changes on the horizon, an accurate, timely submission will not get any easier. Besides the Uniform Report, depending on your industry and program goals, there are likely specific compliance goals, internal requirements, or mandated reports that you need to produce.  To generate these reports, you need a consistent and efficient way to collect and accurately report on this data.  As your program grows, and if your processes are manual, the “old way”  won’t cut it in the long term – especially considering those inevitable NPRM changes.

 If your organization is a certifying agency, you spend countless hours collecting and verifying vendor information while also needing more time to encourage others to apply.

Managing a certification process is a big undertaking because of the detailed information and verification required and because it involves collecting confidential documents. Many certification agencies struggle with antiquated processes involving too many steps and a questionable document collection process, often leaving vendors confused and frustrated as they initially apply for certification and, again, at the time of renewal. Additionally, after all that effort and time spent managing your directory, you still fall short on potential suppliers to fit your needs. As a result, you often think to yourself how nice it would be to have a “one-stop-shop” where vendors could easily apply for certification and renewal online and where your team could manage the entire certification process seamlessly, including outreach efforts to grow your directory!

 You want your weekends back.

If you’re sacrificing your weekends to manually sift through the data, sending late-night emails, living in Excel sheets, and bouncing through a myriad of different tools to keep your DBE program flourishing, chances are you might benefit from process automation.

 You’re not confident in your data.

Suppose you’re leveraging manual processes toggling between several different systems or spreadsheets, or you’re relying on a directory that isn’t exactly reliable. In that case, there is a high probability of more data errors than you’d like to admit. The problem is you know you will have difficulty meeting your DBE goals if you’re questioning data integrity. Furthermore, you fundamentally understand that accurate data on diverse suppliers and spend can be the cornerstone of your program’s success, achieving compliance, improving the economy, and supporting the community.

 You’re tired of the multi-system chaos.

You have the process of toggling between software systems and spending time fixing the data field nuances down pat.  But, generating a simple report, cross-referencing data, or importing or formatting specific figures from one system to the next takes a lot of work. So, you’ve often thought about how nice it would be and how much time and effort you would save to have all the features, functionality, and data you need in one system.

You want a better way to track payments.

Accurately tracking payments and reporting on diverse spend is crucial for meeting DBE program objectives. However, manually tracking and painstakingly managing the reporting framework and guidelines breeds errors and inconsistencies and must be more scalable. Leading agencies, organizations, and businesses understand that efficiently tracking payments in a streamlined and automated manner is pivotal to achieving diversity goals and growing supplier diversity programs.

If these 7 signs that your DBE program is “leaking” efficiency sound familiar, know that you’re not alone. 

Budget constraints, small teams, challenging change management situations, and more are just a few of the reasons DBE program managers find themselves stuck with a potentially inefficient program. On the contrary, a growing number of DBE program managers and organizations are facing these obstacles square in the eye and actively seeking better, more effective ways to manage and grow their DBE programs. Whether the desire to seek a better way is driven by mandated compliance requirements by federal, state, municipalities, school districts and more, or supplier diversity program initiatives with goals focused on supporting the community, committing to high ethical standard, or encouraging innovation, these organizations are turning to automation and the powerful capabilities of supplier diversity and DBE compliance software programs like B2Gnow. For more information on how your organization can take advantage of automated data gathering, tracking reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, we encourage you to reach out and schedule a time to speak with a B2Gnow expert. 

Tampa Airport Streamlines Supplier Diversity Software

B2Gnow

Tampa International Airport is consistently ranked among the world’s most beloved airports, serving more than 21 million annual passengers with routes to 90 nonstop destinations around the world. The Airport has received top awards at the state, national and international levels, including being ranked #1 in North America and fifth in the world in customer satisfaction among airports of its size. 

Tampa International Airport’s (TPA) award-winning Business Diversity Department keeps its focus on connecting businesses serving the airport. The Business Diversity Department maintains a DBE program to ensure nondiscrimination in the award of USDOT-assisted contracts and to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete for those contracts. In addition, the Authority’s Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (ACDBE) ensures that ACDBEs have equal opportunities to receive and participate in concession-related contracts. Lastly, the Woman and Minority-Owned Business Enterprise Program (W/MBE), created by the Aviation Authority, provides for Woman and Minority-Owned Businesses to have full and fair opportunities to compete for and participate in the performance of non-federally funded contracts or in the purchase of goods and services.

Effectively managing these federal DBE and ACDBE programs was no easy task for TPA and the Business Diversity Team. 

Download the case study to learn more about the Authority’s initiative to go paperless, and the TPA and the Business Diversity Team’s journey to an electronic solution that would simplify, standardize, and streamline TPA’s current program management and processes through an automated and secure online system.

 

ACDBE and DBE Compliance Made Simple.

Let us take you on a tour of  B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management Software – a robust, cost-effective solution that streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, resulting in a significant reduction in staff time and cost – allowing you to focus on meeting diversity goals, not on chasing paper.  We’re proud to be trusted by more airports of all sizes across the country than any other software provider to enable compliance with both 49 CFR Part 23 (ACDBE) and 49 CFR Part 26 (DBE).  Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.

All Aboard: A Crash Course in Automating Your Transit Agency’s Reporting Process – Part 1

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Originally enacted in 1982, the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is designed to remedy ongoing discrimination and the continuing effects of past discrimination in federally-assisted highway, transit, airport, and highway safety financial assistance transportation contracting markets nationwide. The primary objective of the DBE program is to level the playing field by providing small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals a fair opportunity to compete for federally funded transportation contracts.

USDOT’s Operating Administrations (FHWA, FAA and FTA) distribute substantial funds each year to finance construction projects initiated by state and local governments, public transit and airport agencies. USDOT is responsible for ensuring that firms competing for USDOT-assisted projects are not disadvantaged by unlawful discrimination. The USDOT’s most important tool for meeting this requirement has been its DBE program.

Importantly, under the current DBE program language (the “FAST-ACT”), recipients (such as states, counties, cities, transits, etc.) must set overall project participation goals to represent a “level playing field” – the amount of DBE participation they could realistically expect in the absence of discrimination. This goal must be based on demonstrable evidence of the availability of ready, willing and able DBEs to participate on DOT-assisted contracts. The rule gives recipients substantial flexibility in the methods they choose to set overall DBE participation goals.  There remains a nationwide aspirational goal of 10 percent of project funding.

Section C of the Uniform Report is designed to capture information on current actual payments made to DBEs for work performed on ongoing federally-assisted contracts. This payment data provides a “snapshot” of dollars actually paid to DBEs as compared to dollars committed or awarded to DBEs but not yet paid during the reporting period.

As DBE professionals know too well, the required semi-annual DBE report often consumes the personal and professional lives of those overseeing these transportation initiatives. More specifically the critical elements transit agencies need to consider for timely and accurate reporting of the required semi-annual DBE report, include:

  1. A thorough review of every federally funded contract, 
  2. Identification of all firms that are certified as DBE,
  3. An update on all awards and commitments to the DBE firms, and 
  4. The ability to track each payment made to both the prime contractor and all subcontractors.

As one might imagine, this process for a small DBE team within a multi-department organization might mean miscommunication and conflicting perspectives on how all requirements are met and tracked, the oversight of dozens of contracts worth potentially billions of dollars – making effective and accurate [manual] monitoring of every detail a nearly impossible feat.

Community impact is at the heart of all DBE programs and as a result, DBE compliance officials should be equipped with a team and tools to seamlessly manage their efforts to facilitate equity and inclusion in transportation projects.

Effectively complying and supporting federal – and potentially local programs where local funds are used – is a challenging task for any transit authority, large or small. The comprehensive technology offered by B2Gnow and seasoned team make it possible by allowing transit authorities to not only go paperless and grow their programs, but also rapidly generate the required semi-annual DBE report. Moreover, B2Gnow’s powerful software provides transit authorities with the capability to effectively monitor, track, and access key data and reports such as the Compliance Audit Summary, which provides real-time automated DBE certification and compliance tracking including project spend tracking and certified contractor utilization through the entire prime-subcontractor chain.

Learn more about B2Gnow and speak to an expert

4 Signs it’s Time to Invest in a Highway-Rail Crossing Data Management System

B2Gnow

You know the signs. You know them all too well. Many of you are still using spreadsheets to capture all of your crossing data. Pavement, grade, signage, safety equipment, track conditions, road conditions, lighting, line of sight, number of trains, vehicles, passengers, incidents, pictures, contracts, oh my! How do I store it all? How is it all managed? How do I compile, process, and analyze this information effectively? That’s when you know …

It’s TIME for a highway-rail crossing data management system.

When Manual Crossing Data Systems Start Costing You Time and Accuracy
  1. You’re Tired of The Multi-System or No-System Chaos

You may be able to juggle multiple applications or multiple spreadsheets. But the issue is, inputting data manually, generating a simple report, cross-referencing data, receiving and inputting data from crossing inspectors, exporting and sending data to FRA, or even combining data extracts from this system and that one is incredibly time-consuming and burdensome. You just don’t have the time. Haven’t you wondered what it would be like if you had a single online system that stores all your data? One that allows you to catalog your data? Let’s you search, sort or filter down to the information you need? Yes, it’s time to consider investing in a new system.
  1. You Want a Better Way to Track Crossing Inventory

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires a vast amount of crossing information and characteristics to be collected, cataloged and maintained. You need a system with easy-to-use data formats that allows users to input or quickly access crossing inventory data. Additionally, data transfers to and from FRA should be managed electronically to ensure that all stakeholders can simultaneously view the most current crossing information. And you should be able to store all your crossing photos in an easy-to-access library which can also archive older photos.
  1. You Want a Better Way to Track Related Projects

So, you have funding for a variety of improvement projects. And you know you have urgent improvements and aging equipment that needs to be replaced. But the data and documentation are stored in different locations. And the data may be maintained in a number of disparate systems or even spreadsheets. Your ability to apply and track project funding can be very challenging and time consuming. This is when you wish you had a simple data management system that could easily bring these elements together. A system that tracks obligated funding amounts, project descriptions, and drawdown data all in one place. A place where all railroad crossing agreements can be stored and quickly accessed with all associated project data. And a system that can be configured to communicate with the state’s electronic document management system.
  1. Producing Critical Reports Has Become a Chore

Producing reports from a spreadsheet just does not work. And pulling data for critical analysis opportunities from a variety of locations or systems can take time and create frustration. All good reporting tools rely on accurate, uniform, and granular data collection and storage. The right system will contain a multitude of pre-formatted ready reports for crossings, projects, funding, inventories, crash and incident data. And when a report is not yet available, additional reports can be identified created so you can spend time analyze funding and crash data, not gathering it.

It’s time to invest!

Say goodbye to tedious, manual processes, and go deeper into your data. Invest in an online managed database of railroad crossing data that also tracks rail safety, maintenance, agreements, and construction projects. Benefit from a system that meets Federal Rail Administration and U.S. DOT Crossing Inventory Form submission requirements and has the capability of transferring data electronically to the FRA system. The BlackCat Rail Data Management System® facilitates accurate information sharing by providing the FRA, state departments of transportation, and railroads a common place to collect and share data, ensuring each stakeholder can simultaneously view the most current crossing information. The application is intuitive, easy-to-use, and loaded with search, sorting, filtering and reporting capabilities.

Make the investment.

Learn more about the BlackCat Rail Data Management System® and request a demo today!

4 Reasons Data Drives Effective Rail Safety Programs

B2Gnow

Data is more than just numbers or a simple collection of information. Data tells a story. When it comes to rail safety, it can tell us what happened in the past, what is happening now, and what might happen in the future. Data can tell us where to spend funds to improve safety and it can tell us if the improvements we funded are helping. In fact, accurate data analysis can save lives!

How Data Improves Decision-Making, Compliance, and Safety Outcomes
  1. Saving lives!

That’s right, the most important factor for a Rail Safety Program is leveraging the data collected about crossing conditions, safety features, and past incidents to determine ways to improve the crossing to reduce incidents and potential injuries or deaths. Implementing a robust crossing data management system will give you the proper tools and capacity to capture and manage this critical data.

A desired system is designed to standardize and streamline the railway-highway crossing data management and analysis workflow processes. It must be able to collect and maintain a wide variety of data, information, documentation and even photos.  Additional workflows should be able to facilitate the collection and storage of all required Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) inventory characteristics, and then be able to transmit this data directly FRA.  Furthermore, it’s important that the system has data import and export capabilities to help facilitate the collection and release of rail inspection data to the parties that need it.  In an ideal system, when the tools and methods you have in place are properly utilized, project funding can be properly assigned, key or critical deficiencies get repaired, and negative incidents can be reduced, which may reduce injuries and even save lives.
  1. Capitalizing on limited funding for the safety of railroad and roadway users

Grade crossing incidents are one of the leading causes of rail-related deaths in the United States and having quality data and accurate grade crossing information accessible to all stakeholders is key to a successful rail safety program.  Funding for rail and highway safety can be dispersed in so many ways. Often times money for safety projects can be limited. Precise data analysis is needed to determine which deficiencies and improvements are the most deserving of the funds that may be available. An effective data management system is needed to accurately collect, catalog, store, filter, and analyze a multitude of key data elements… any one of which can be the deciding factor to determining that fate of a project or improvement.  It’s imperative to have a system that can provide the data analysis you require, and any stakeholder should be able to filter and examine the data needed to either propose a critical project, or in some cases, fund it. Find a system that ensures that highest priority projects, or the most urgent deficiencies, can be more efficiently selected to receive critical funding.
  1. Track improvement projects throughout the program Lifecycle

Once important projects or improvements have been funded and are underway, a variety of stakeholders can track projects from planning stages through the encumbrance of funds, contract creation and execution, processing any number of construction milestones, the receipt of invoices, balancing drawdowns and expenditures, and eventually close out. A robust data management system will provide workflows to manage these important processes efficiently. Project development, progress and overall spending should be monitored to ensure that each individual crossing, work within a specific regional, or project success across an entire state can be effectively managed to ensure projects end timely, dollars are spent wisely, and the impacts of each project can be monitored for overall success and the reduction of incidents.
  1. Analyzing how improvements reduce incidents

Consistent data management, monitoring and trend analysis will eventually lead to better overall rail crossing improvements and the reduction of incidents that cause damage, injury and death. The most important factor to data management is the ability to properly access, export and analyze your data. Ensure that your data management methods or system include a robust data selection and reporting component.  This means that it should be able to query and extract data in a granular and specific manner.  While it is important to collect and input accurate data, the ability to export the data, in order to  examine the costs, improvements and trends enacted to reduce incidents, is what leads to success.

Are you ready to get a control of Railway-Highway Crossing Data?

It’s time to say goodbye to tedious, manual processes, and get more out of the data you need to collect and manage. Benefit from a robust, hosted and secure data management system designed to specifically standardize and streamline the highway-rail crossing data, document, storage and analysis workflow processes.  Take advantage of a system developed to track and manage safety, maintenance and construction projects, and a system designed to meet federal crossing data collection standards and provide the option of electronic submission of US DOT Crossing Inventory data to the FRA. . Learn more about BlackCat Rail and request a demo.

Supplier Diversity Best Practices

B2Gnow

Supplier Diversity Strategy for Higher Education Programs

Diversity in higher education is more than just students and staff.  There is a third piece to the diversity and inclusion puzzle that is equally important for colleges and universities: supplier diversity. 

Supplier diversity is a program which encourages the use of traditionally underrepresented or underserved groups as suppliers, such as small-business enterprises (SBEs), minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs), woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs) and more, and as many universities and colleges across the US have learned, there are numerous benefits to implementing and prioritizing a supplier diversity strategy.  

However, the tricky part these days lies in prioritizing supplier diversity while still grappling with the effects of the global pandemic. For example, many higher education institutions have turned their focus to financial issues, enrollment rates, budget cuts, reopening campuses, and more. Among all of the competing priorities, how can supplier diversity program managers at colleges and universities help to keep supplier diversity initiatives top of mind for the institution and its leadership?

 4 Tips for Prioritizing Supplier Diversity in Higher Education

We’ve compiled 4 tips that supplier diversity professionals can execute now to better support prioritizing supplier diversity in higher education:

1. Focus on the economic impact:

Colleges and universities across the US have incredible buying power and spend millions of dollars each year. By implementing a supplier diversity strategy it dramatically increases the number of potential suppliers and promotes competition, which can improve product quality and drive down costs. After all, more sourcing options equate to a more resilient and agile supply chain. Prioritizing a supplier diversity strategy supports growth and jobs, and the ripple effect of that on the local communities that universities and colleges operate in can be profound. 

2. Get buy-in from senior leaders:

In order for any supplier diversity program to be successful it’s not enough to have the buy-in from only a select few in the university.  It’s critical to have backing from senior leaders across the institution, such as: presidents, chancellors, and system governing boards. Oftentimes what is helpful in this approach is breaking-down the big picture and focusing on what each department or role may view as highly important, such as: emphasizing the economic benefits, impacts to the university’s bottom line, reduction in supply chain risk, supporting compliance, and improving reputation.  

3. Equip staff and spread the word:

Outside of your department, employees may not be up-to-speed on the university’s supplier diversity program.  Don’t be shy when it comes to sharing your goals and purpose in internal marketing programs to help spread the word – for instance communicating information about the program within your organization’s intranet, newsletter or other internal channels. Outside of your organization, participate in local supplier diversity councils, conferences, networking events and other outreach opportunities. Clearly promote opportunities on how to execute business with your college or university.  Reach out to other supplier diversity professionals to network and share insights and best practices. Celebrate your wins and promote what you are doing by applying for awards related to working with diverse suppliers, put out press releases and share your wins on social media. 

4. Get the right tools in place:

Without a way to effectively streamline and automate data gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management and administrative processes, your supplier diversity program can only go so far.  If you’re ready to prioritize supplier diversity and take your program to the next level, it’s time to say goodbye to manually tracking diverse suppliers and certifications, dealing with questionable data accuracy and multi-system chaos, having limited or no visibility into multi-tier diverse spend, or working until the eleventh hour to create and submit critical reports. Higher education institutions like University of Houston, Eastern Washington University, University of Texas System, University of Chicago and hundreds of others, are turning to the powerful capabilities of supplier diversity management software, like B2Gnow, to support their diversity goals.  From diverse vendor search access to the largest certified supplier database in the world, to data enhancement tools that qualify and quantify current supplier data, to spend analysis capabilities that go deeper to understand diverse supplier data, to construction contract compliance that easily track and report supplier diversity on capital construction contracts, B2Gnow allows supplier diversity professionals to focus on meeting diversity goals, not chasing paper. Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo. 

The Importance of Data in Growing Your Supplier Diversity Program

B2Gnow

If you’re exploring the benefits of  increasing your annual spend with diverse suppliers, where do you start? 

One word: Data. 

Data, and how good that data is, is arguably one of the key pillars of a successful supplier diversity program. If your data is inaccurate or messy everything will suffer. 

You likely miss your diversity goals, account for diverse spend that shouldn’t be, miss a chance to showcase additional diverse spend your organization has influenced. You’ll also waste your time and resources, miss an opportunity to demonstrate value and economic impact to your community, as well as deal with potential repercussions for federal funding repayment, and the list goes on…and on. 

The good news is that there are tools and approaches that organizations can adopt to improve the integrity of their data, how they view and report on that data, and ultimately positively influence the success of their supplier diversity program and the communities they serve:

Move to Digital 

If you’re sacrificing hours upon hours of manually sifting through the data, living in spreadsheets or toggling between several different tools or directories, chances are there are more than a few data errors that you’d feel comfortable to admit. If this sounds familiar, it may be a sign it’s time to go digital and leverage the power of a supplier diversity software system that automates many of these tedious, manual processes. A robust supplier diversity software system, like B2Gnow, automates and streamlines time-consuming data processes with a click-of-a-button.  In turn drastically increasing data accuracy as well as reducing time and effort necessary to successfully manage a diversity program. Oftentimes the result is that organizations are saving 60%-80% of time spent on administrative and clerical activities, while at the same time enhancing impact and reach.

Invest in Data Match and Enrichment

How confident are you that you have the latest, most accurate information on your suppliers? Could it be out of date?  Who is even verifying the information is correct? Bottom line is, if your supplier data is not accurate, your small and diverse business spend is probably flat-out wrong. Many leading organizations have seen the writing on the wall when it comes to the importance of the latest, most accurate supplier data and have turned to supplier diversity software systems for their comprehensive and trusted data scrub and data enrichment services.  B2Gnow supplier diversity management software hosts the largest certified diverse business database in the world – from directories to local and state certifying agencies – to match all listed vendors to the certifications available for such vendors. In addition, the company enriches the data by providing additional information for each matched vendor. The result is the rapid ability to qualify and quantify your current supplier data to maximize current goals. No more redundant or inaccurate data. 

Go Deeper with Spend Analysis

Various organizations, such as government agencies, corporations, healthcare, and higher education, have unique needs when it comes to data and how they are tracking spend. For instance, many spend a significant amount of money on purchase orders or credit cards across a large number of vendors.  The issue is that this data on potential small and diverse business spend is lost when these dollars aren’t tracked and attributed. Software like B2Gnow’s Spend Analysis module allows organizations to quickly and easily capture and report on this important diverse spend data across their credit card and purchase order expenditures. The payment data is merged with B2Gnow’s extensive recognized certification and registry data, resulting in a complete spend analysis that allows the spend data to be visualized and utilized to granularly evaluate diverse supplier programs.  

Multi Tier Tracking and Reporting

Your program might track and report on Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers; however, your subs may also subcontract with certified businesses. This shallow visibility results in inaccurate reporting on your entire small/diverse vendor utilization, significantly understating your organization’s efforts. Effectively tracking and reporting on those deeper tiers may seem impossible; however, comprehensive supplier diversity management platforms can track goals and record diverse spend up to tier 10, all while ensuring compliance.

Ready to get a handle on your data and grow your supplier diversity program?

Say goodbye to tedious, manual processes, and go deeper into your data. Benefit from a robust supplier diversity software solution that streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, resulting in a significant reduction in staff time and cost – allowing you to focus on meeting diversity goals, not on chasing paper. Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo. 

7 Signs it’s Time to Invest in Supplier Diversity Management Software

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You’ve periodically thought about how supplier diversity software could not only positively impact your supplier diversity program, but… it would also make your life a heck of a lot easier.  Afterall, you have important community and diversity goals to meet, and you’re simply tired of chasing paper.

Moreover, you’re becoming keenly aware of the projects you could accomplish if you didn’t have to spend your time manually tracking payments, working until the eleventh hour to create and submit critical reports, running in circles with multi-system chaos, and spending way too many hours sifting through various sources of certified directories.

Scalable and Successful Supplier Diversity Program

Not sure if you’re ready to take the plunge? Here are the 7 signs it’s time to invest in Supplier Diversity Software:

You spend countless hours searching and sifting through various sources of certified directories to find certified diverse suppliers.

After all that effort and time searching, you typically end up short of potential suppliers to fit your needs.  Plus, you’re not exactly confident in whether or not the data you found is up-to-date and accurate. You often think to yourself how nice it would be to have a one-stop-shop database filled with millions of certified diverse suppliers that you could filter and sort to match your needs – all with the click of a button.

You’re struggling with multitier tracking and reporting.

If you’re only successfully tracking and reporting on Tier 1 or prime suppliers that are diverse-owned, you know you’re missing out on the opportunity to improve your supplier diversity program and boost diverse spend because your primes may already be working with several diverse-owned businesses. The problem is effectively tracking and reporting on this, whether manually or through a multitude of different systems, seems like an impossible task.

You have critical, timely reports you need to produce.

Depending upon your industry and supplier diversity program goals, there are likely specific compliance goals, internal requirements, or mandated reports that you need to produce.  In order to generate these reports, you realize you need a consistent and efficient way to collect and accurately report on this data.  How you’re doing it currently isn’t going to cut it in the long-term.

You want your weekends back.

If you’re sacrificing your weekends to manually sift through the data, sending late-night emails, living in Excel sheets, and bouncing through a myriad of different tools to keep your supplier diversity program flourishing, chances are you might benefit from a supplier diversity software system that automates and streamlines many of these processes.

You’re not confident in your data.

If you’re leveraging manual processes toggling between a number of different systems or spreadsheets, or relying on a directory that isn’t exactly reliable, there is a high probability that there are more than a few data errors that you’d feel comfortable to admit. The problem is, you know you’re going to have a hard time meeting your supplier diversity goals if you’re questioning data integrity. Furthermore, you fundamentally understand that accurate data on diverse suppliers and spend can be the cornerstone of your organization’s success, contributing to both improving the economy, supporting the community, and encouraging innovation.

You’re tired of the multi-system chaos.

You have the process of toggling between software systems and spending time fixing the data field nuances down pat.  The issue is, generating a simple report, cross-referencing data, or importing or formatting specific figures from one system to the next is extremely time-consuming. You’ve often thought about how nice it would be, and how much time and effort it would save you, to have all of the features, functionality and data that you need in one system.

You want a better way to track payments.

The ability to track payments and report on diverse spend is crucial for meeting supplier diversity program objectives. Manually tracking as well as pain-stakingly managing the reporting framework and guidelines not only breeds error and inconsistencies, but it is not scalable. Leading agencies, organizations, and businesses understand that the ability to efficiently track payments in a streamlined and automated manner is pivotal to achieving diversity goals and growing their supplier diversity programs.

Do these 7 signs sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone.

In fact, you’re in good company with the thousands of leading government and public sector organizations, corporations, contractors and institutions who were tired of inefficiencies. They needed a better way to meet their important diversity goals – whether that be mandated compliance requirements by federal, state, municipalities, school districts and more, or supplier diversity program initiatives with goals focused on supporting the community, committing to high ethical standard, or encouraging innovation –  they turned to the powerful capabilities of B2Gnow, the leading provider of supplier diversity and compliance software solutions.

Benefit from a robust solution that streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, resulting in a significant reduction in staff time and cost – allowing you to focus on meeting diversity goals, not on chasing paper.

Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.

Top Supplier Diversity Challenges & How to Solve Them

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Key Barriers to Supplier Diversity and Effective Ways to Overcome Them

The Trouble with Supplier Diversity Data Today

High on the list of anxiety-producing issues for government officials is ensuring that disadvantaged subcontractors meet federal and local diversity mandates. No less important is the guarantee that subcontractors accurately reflect the diversity of the local community.

All too often, the data – which is critical to monitoring these programs – has fallen short of accuracy. As a result, government overseers and contractors are in a position where they are waiting for the other shoe to drop for what is certain to be negative fallout.

The sad fact is that data collection in this all-important area has failed to keep up with a more efficient world. In part, this is because accessibility of records and analysis has not progressed much further than the way it was in the mid to late 20th century.  Frequently, important data lies forgotten in boxes in a remote storage room because there is no master plan for inputting this valuable information into a program for analysis. The reasons cover the usual suspects: time, money, too few staff members and, occasionally, lack of commitment.

Such was the case in Denver’s Office of Economic Development, Small Business Opportunity. The agency faced a cumbersome manual process that included locating research papers stored in a warehouse. According to Director Tamela Lee, the city and county had been relying on an Access database that contained too much unorganized information.

“Information about payments and compliance just wasn’t readily available. At one point, I had to spend $15,000 to repair the system, only to have the IT people tell me I would have to keep spending money on a system that could never be fixed,” Lee said.

The size and scope of data may seem overwhelming to any government entity. No doubt there are millions of pieces of data that could be associated with any project, and manual collection of it is not the answer in today’s world.

First, there often are too few people on staff to manage the hand-collected material, again a budgetary issue. Second, the data is very hard to track. Furthermore, as the degree of difficulty increases, so does the likelihood of human error. In essence, this approach is nothing short of the old “paper chase” in which accurate analysis of the statistics on paper is jeopardized because of the reliance on manual entry and examination.

Only the most accurate and up-to-date data can ensure compliance with standards. Unfortunately, an old-fashioned spreadsheet is not the most effective tool. Until recently, this 1990s mechanism was all that was available, leaving the overseeing government agency to base its compliance objectives on what is clearly a less-than-suitable process. The agency’s affirmative action problems are likely to be compounded by a battle between two very strong and opposing forces pulling like a proverbial wish- bone: purchasing and diversity.

The Struggle of Purchasing Versus Diversity

Purchasing officers never will be thrilled by the costs of diversity compliance, particularly if it means paying for a disparity study that may cost more than $1 million. They certainly are aware of contract goals related to diversity. In the end, however, their job is to ensure that contracts meet all the legal and insurance requirements. With that narrow focus, purchasing officers may lack the familiarity with federal, state or local regulations that mandate diversity programs because, in their view, responsibility falls elsewhere.

The compliance officer, who may be unaware of some of the legal and insurance requirements associated with contracts, has a different view. They must ensure legally defensible data on which to base the diversity decisions and meet the contract goals. Usually, the only method they have to get the data is spending the money on a new disparity study or updating one that is several years old. The result is a standoff complicated by a series of speed bumps starting with ever-changing federal rules and regulations.

Another issue is the presence of pressure groups such as minorities, unions and community organizations fighting to establish their territorial imperative. Local and state political officeholders represent another external element and are not reticent about getting involved in these controversies.

All of these conflicting interests tend to widen the scope of the project without an increase in resources. It is a pressure cooker waiting to blow its lid for the government entity, the prime contractor and those for whom the guide- lines and contract goals were meant to help.

The Role of Disparity Studies

The key to controlling this potentially unworkable situation is accurate data, accurately managed. The foundation of the data tends to be the disparity study, assuming one has been conducted. Unfortunately, it may be outdated if it’s more than a few years old. Is it possible to gather legally defensible data without risking budgetary breakdown?

To answer, consider the rationale for a disparity study. In essence, the study is viewed as a method of measuring the amount of diversity participation with respect to the number of qualified minority-owned business enterprise (MBE) and disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) firms to fill the position. Study data includes relevant statistics – particularly those related to female- and minority-owned businesses – an analysis of the economics of the community, history and appropriate legal information.

The disparity study recreates all data by looking at existing statistics on contracts and tracks important issues such as the amount of dollars that flowed down to MBEs, DBEs, etc. The data is analyzed by comparing dollars spent with the overall socioeconomic character of the area.

The disparity study becomes the baseline on which to build and save the organization a significant amount of data. It can determine whether discrimination exists, overtly or inadvertently, in the awarding of subcontracts. It then is up to the government entity to sort out the data in the delicate process of creating and auditing contract goals that accurately reflect a community’s diversity. It is the prime contractor’s responsibility to choose the right subcontractor based on the data.

This sounds simple, but the problem is far more complex because it is not enough to establish diversity goals through simple percentages. Remember legally defensible data? That is the assumption behind the disparity study, the rai- son d’etre for its huge cost and the willingness of government agencies to rely on its data.

However, the studies have not always lived up to expectations. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights detailed this dilemma in its “Disparity Studies as Evidence of Discrimination,” a 100-page report issued in May 2006. Among its more than 30 findings:
  • Data from disparity studies that is more than five years old should be disregarded.
  • Studies should incorporate more “generally accepted social science research standards” that can be thoroughly documented.
  • Determination on the qualifications of each business requires more detailed analysis.

These findings should not be read as a blanket indictment by the commission of disparity studies. They are important tools to ensure that federal, state and local diversity regulations are met and followed, but they aren’t necessarily the only option.

How does one ensure accuracy and timeliness that meet the needs of the most demanding compliance officer in lieu of an unavailable or outdated disparity study? Start with the database, recommends Denver’s Tamela Lee. Without it, she says, there practically is no chance to lower the costs for study and consultant.

Collecting Legally Defensible Data

The point of any accurate data is to create a level playing field for all business enterprises. Much of the data focuses on three elements:
  • The vendor – assessment of certification.
  • The locality – the project location and its relation- ship to a larger or smaller geographical area.
  • Ethnic groups and gender

This data, however, can be misleading – not necessarily through inaccuracy but because of less- than-thorough research. For example, figures may be available for the number of companies owned by Hispanic males, but do those statistics include the number and dollar amount of contracts awarded to those firms during a specific time period? What about the total number of female- or minority- owned HVAC companies within a specific radius of the project? Without asking the right questions, effective and timely measurement of project quality and goal satisfaction is nearly impossible.

Data models can provide information without having to redo disparity studies. This is not to suggest that studies aren’t needed. However, a good and thorough data collection can extend the time between studies and/or reduce the overall cost.

The best example of that occurred in Houston, where a 12-year-old disparity study was updated at reasonable cost because of a new and easily accessible Web-based database. Programming has been developed to improve data collection, such as money flow and lists of qualified vendors, as well as to update information such as certification records and to track contractor performance.

Finding a Better Way – Data Collection in the 21st Century

Government agencies have cost-effective options for replacing old-style, ineffective data collection and reporting perfected for the collection of accurate, comprehensive and timely diversity data while significantly reducing staff workload. Easily accessible, ongoing data collection and processing enables the government agency to reduce the preparation cost of a disparity study, increase the time period between studies or perhaps avoid a costly study altogether.

Denver’s Lee recommends that the data system cover contract compliance, certification, contract information and payments. Most of all, the data “should be able to talk to each other,” she says.

Compliance officers always are looking for methods in which technology creates efficiency, allowing data collection to be quick, easy, accurate and cost-efficient. Denver and Houston found a technological answer, which cut their disparity study and database costs while keeping vital information timely, accurate and ongoing. Their experiences prove the phrases “government contract diversity goals” and “cost-effective data” used in the same sentence are not an oxymoron.

Like Denver and Houston, hundreds of government agencies are relying on the power of technology and systems like B2Gnow, the nation’s leading supplier diversity software. The 100% web-based system consists of twenty configurable and cost-effective modules that automate data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes. Moreover the core system deliverables include rapid report creation, data sharing across modules and systems, access to high quality data from 150+ certified directories, and more.

Get your Data in Order So You can Focus on Your Diversity Program
Let us take you on a tour of  B2Gnow Diversity Management Software – a robust, cost-effective solution that streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, resulting in a significant reduction in staff time and cost – allowing you to focus on meeting diversity goals, not struggling with data management. Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.