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Reasons Why to Get Certified as a
Minority-Owned Business
HAVING A MBE/WBE/DBE/ACDBE, VETERAN/DISABLED OWNED BUSINESS CERTIFICATION CAN HELP YOU
TAP INTO A BEVY OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR PROGRAMS. HERE’S HOW TO APPLY.
The ongoing growth of supplier diversity
programs in both the public and private
sectors suggests that for eligible
companies, becoming certified is no longer
a luxury - it’s a necessity. By the time you’ve
finished reading this, I hope you have a general
understanding of how supplier diversity
programs work as well as the competitive advantages
that certification offers to eligible
companies.
Corporations, the federal government, state,
city and county agencies all want to do business
with MBE/WBE/DBE/ACDBE, Veteran/
Disabled companies. The Department of
Transportation, for example, requires that recipients
of its funding award a percentage of
contracts to MBE/WBE/DBE/ACDBE, Veteran/
Disabled owned businesses and many large
companies have goals for buying from MBE/
WBE owned suppliers.
The reason for such mandates is twofold.
First, contracting with MBE/WBE owned businesses
is important to customers: Corporate
America understands that to do business
with MBE/WBE firms makes sense for their
bottom-line because they cannot expect
people to purchase goods and services from
them if they haven’t done business with
MBE/WBE. Makes sense, right? Second, it’s
responsible: Government has an obligation
to ensure that all firms interested and capable
of doing business with them have the opportunity
to participate in contracts that are
paid for with tax payer dollars.
To meet their objectives, private and public
sector firms search for MBE/WBE/DBE/
ACDBE, Veteran/Disabled suppliers through
programs that have formal certification processes.
If you’re not certified, you can miss
out on business ranging from a marketing
opportunity to reduced-competition access
to a public contract.
Certification should
be viewed like any
other investment that
a business owner
makes in an effort to
drive growth.
SUPPLIER DIVERSITY LANDSCAPE
Most local, state and federal government
procurement regulations nationwide require
a certain percentage of contracts, typically
between 5%-35%, be subcontracted to MBE/
WBE certified firms. The City of Chicago has
recently increased these requirements for
construction contracts to 26% for MBEs and
6% for WBEs. City of Chicago contracts advertised
as “target market” opportunities are required
to be awarded 100% to certified firms.
Private sector purchasing with MBE/WBE
certified firms also continues to climb. In
just 10 years, the number of companies that
annually spend more than $1 billion dollars
with diverse firms has doubled, with household
names such as AT&T ($16 billion) and
Walmart ($13.5 billion) leading the pack.
These figures include expenditures for any
and all goods/services, from professional
services to construction, office supplies,
shipping/freight, janitorial services and everything
in between.
CERTIFICATION AND COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
Competitive advantage, in broad terms, refers
to any characteristic or quality that gives
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