Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
Company AIMS TO TRIPLE SPEND WITH DIVERSE SUPPLIERS OVER NEXT 5 YEARS
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— OAKLAND, CA— Blue Shield of California has set new targets to dramatically increase the amount of business it does with suppliers of goods and services from diverse businesses, including those owned by minorities, women, disabled veterans and the LGBT community.
“If our mission is to provide quality affordable healthcare worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable, then we must also do our share to make a greater impact in the communities where we operate and live,” said Pradip Khemani, Senior Director of Global Business Services at Blue Shield of California.
Blue Shield’s target for diverse supplier spend is 12 per cent of its procurement budget by 2023, up from about four percent in 2018. This means millions of dollars in incremental economic opportunities for these business owners compared to $28 million in supplier diversity spend in 2018.
Blue Shield purchases a vast array of services in their regular operations, and the following are the top categories:
- Professional Services such as event planning, catering, language translations, etc.
- Advertising and Marketing including promotional items
- Consulting
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
- Facilities
- Office Supplies
Joe Partida of Partida Benefits, a local of Blue Shield, “It was great to have the opportunity to host this breakfast and I hope the upcoming Blue Shield move to Oakland allows me to sell more coverage.”
Suppliers who wish to do business with Blue Shield and are certified or working to obtain certification as a diverse supplier will be given key consideration during the procurement process.
To learn more about Blue Shield’s Supplier Diversity program, visit the Supplier Diversity page under Corporate Citizenship page at https://www.blueshieldca.com/about.
