The US Supreme Court handed down a landmark affirmative action decision in June 2023 banning race-conscious student admissions at colleges and universities. Since then, the media has been full of articles about what this means for historically disadvantaged minority groups.
While the ruling specifically impacts college admissions, the broader issue of diversity remains a vital aspect of American society. Diversity initiatives have long been embedded in various sectors, including government employment, federal government contract awards, procurement practives, and business and community dynamics.
In procurement, Women Business Enterprises (WBE), Small Business Enterprises (SBE), and Minority Businesses are the key components for diversity. The challenge is not so much the acceptance of diversity but the creation and administration of a plan for diversity. Once there is a plan and goals are set, qualification can be a time-consuming process.
In capital projects, government agencies typically will require primes and subcontractors to become prequalified before they can bid on a project. The Public Works departments collect and review a significant amount of information from a pool of subcontractors. This can result in delays in the procurement process and potentially impact project timelines.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) is one agency taking significant strides in promoting diversity within procurement.
The MWD operate an SBE certification program. The agency decided that the awarding prime contractor must include 18% with a certified SBE. Once MWD moved their certification process online with PlanetBids, it allowed their contractors to not only search their approved database of SBEs, but also required them to record monthly payments to their SBE subcontractors. In turn, MWD saw substantial growth in their SBE numbers. MWD has since increased its participation goal from 18% to 25%, according to Carmen Bermudez-Bracy, the water agency's Contract Compliance Program Administrator.
Bermudez-Bracy emphasizes the importance of user-friendly online systems in handling more than 1000 new supplier certifications and renewals annually, especially given MWD's annual $250 million construction spend. Encouraging participation from small businesses and Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (DVBEs) while effectively tracking and reporting on projects has become a pivotal focus.
To meet its goals, MWD has harnessed the power of PlanetBids' PB System™ to augment their supplier pool and assist with the Small and Disadvantaged Business program. The capability to perform quick quotes, including an easier way for bidders to accept contract terms and conditions, helps field staff contract with suppliers/contractors quickly.
The PB System™ provides the advantage of greater outreach to small businesses, a primary goal for MWD, because it allows the sharing and collaboration of established vendor databases across multiple agencies. This reciprocity provides greater outreach and access to small and disadvantaged businesses across the region.
Having access to a database of 20,000 vendors and more than 4,000 certified firms "makes the goals of reaching small business entities more attainable," Bermudez-Bracy said.
San Diego International Airport also fully embraces diversity initiatives in procurement. In 2022, the airport awarded contracts totaling $359 million, with 16% going to certified small businesses and 21% to certified local businesses. The Local Business Certification process was seamlessly executed through the PlanetBids portal, according to Jana Vargas, Director of Procurement and Small Business Development and Vice President of the Airport Purchasing Group.
Diversity management and reporting have been integral components of PlanetBids' online procurement platform, a concept conceived 23 years ago. Today, in its third generation, PlanetBids' proprietary PB System™ boasts a fully-equipped Business Certification module that empowers organization to administer Women Business Enterprise (WBE), Small Business Enterprise (SBE), and Minority Business Certification programs, in addition to Contractor and Subcontractor Prequalification and a myriad of other related functions.
For additional information about the PB System™ module for Business Certification, contact PlanetBids' procurement experts now.
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