MSDUK Celebrates 15th year of diversity progression by hosting the biggest Supplier Diversity Conference & Awards in the UK
Leicester, 5th August 2021: As a champion and trailblazer in supplier diversity, MSDUK celebrates its 15th year. The MSDUK Conference & Awards are free to attend and take place on the 2nd and 3rd of September 2021. MSDUK has worked with over 200 global brands and more than 3000 Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs), introducing hundreds of new ideas, products and supply chain solutions, and securing £735 million worth of business for EMBs.
Looking back to 2006, when MSDUK was formed, the progression over the last 15 years is humbling, says Mayank Shah, Founder & CEO, Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK).
“It’s great to see how far we have progressed and even more so to see how supplier diversity has now taken centre stage in corporate procurement strategies. 2021 has seen over 50 global and British companies join MSDUK and open up many new opportunities for ethnic minority businesses. Supplier diversity programmes help addresses the issue of economic inequality and encourage entrepreneurship in under-represented communities.”
MSDUK is proud to champion the best of British EMBs and work with progressive global corporations that understand the value of supply chain inclusion and diversity.
The largest Supplier Diversity Conference in the UK & Europe showcases the best of Supplier Diversity Programmes and Ethnic Minority Businesses.
The MSDUK Conference & Awards 2021 debates, discusses, and finds solutions to embed supplier diversity, sustainability and economic inclusion into corporate strategy and purpose. The Conference will have speakers and panellists, including the Chief Procurement Officers, procurement professionals and Supplier Diversity leaders from over 100corporate brands. We also expect over 500 of the most innovative and successful ethnic minority businesses to exhibit and attend the Conference.
The government is making inroads with their Diversity and Inclusion Forum. This sets the expectation for businesses to give a natural consideration of diversity and inclusion by 2023. But what would that look like for supplier diversity?
“For me, the promised land would be for organisations to talk about supplier diversity strategy in the same way that they do for finance or HR,” says Mayank, “That every person in the organisation understands the implications of supplier diversity and the value that this can bring to the business.”
“If anyone reading this is thinking, but as a business, where do we start with supplier diversity? Either contact us or perhaps join us at the MSDUK Conference and Awards in September. It’s a great opportunity to hear from some of industries’ highest level procurement specialists, including Accenture, Unilever, Barclays, EY, Diageo, BMS, Sony Pictures, WPP, GSK, Agile One, Fidelity, Co-Op, and many more. It’s a great way to start conversations about diversity in business.”