MSDUK celebrates 16 years of championing Supplier Diversity

Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) celebrates its 16th year of championing Supplier Diversity with a Conference and Awards.

The Conference will kick off on 7th September in Luton Hoo with the International Day, then move to QEII in London for the 8th, then the business show on 9th September.  The Business Awards Dinner will take place on 8th September at Old Billingsgate. 

The Conference has attracted sponsorship from well known global brands, including CBRE, Barclays, Bristol Myers Squibb, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Johnson & Johnson, Accenture, GSK, Unilever, Goldman Sachs, Intel and many more.

The largest Supplier Diversity Conference in the UK and Europe showcases the best of Supplier Diversity Programmes and Ethnic Minority Businesses.

The MSDUK Conference & Awards 2022 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 100 corporate brands. Also expected to exhibit and attend the Conference are over 700 of the most innovative and successful Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs).

MSDUK has worked with over 200 global brands and more than 3000 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 16 years is humbling, says Mayank Shah, Founder & CEO of 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.  2022 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,” he added.

Shah noted that “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 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. That every person in the organisation understands the implications of supplier diversity and the value that this can bring to the business.”

Shah added that “Well managed supplier diversity is extremely beneficial to corporates in terms of cost and expanding the supply chain, but often it’s challenging to know where to begin.  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.”

The MSDUK Awards will be presented by Sir Lenny Henry  CBE while the MSDUK Conference will be hosted by Jessica Huie MBE - publicist, speaker, entrepreneur and author. 

Tickets can be booked at: https://www.msdukconference.co.uk/