The Postal Service's Supplier Diversity program is an integral part of the strategy for supply chain management. A well executed program will ensure the Postal Service remains competitive and profitable in the marketplace.

     With the objective of integrating Supplier Diversity into the daily business practice, a new Supplier Diversity Corporate Plan was developed. The multiyear plan focuses on continuous improvement in the Postal Service's relationships with small, minority-owned, and woman-owned businesses. The plan contains nine elements of a successful Supplier Diversity program, including management involvement, communication, sourcing, subcontracting, innovation, training and development, performance indices, tracking, and recognition.

     Training and development are critical to the overall success of the Supplier Diversity program and the expansion of SCM. To fulfill the training and development objectives as outlined in the plan, a computer-based training module was developed for implementation in 2004. The modules offer real-life best practices that may be employed immediately by any postal buyer.

     The Postal Service has worked to improve its processes and procedures to ensure opportunities for all suppliers that provide the value-added products and services it needs to increase customer satisfaction and decrease overall cost. During 2003, the Postal Service sponsored or actively participated in more than 65 events across the nation that were focused on supplier diversity and development. The Postal Service also partnered with supplier development organizations that support minority business owners (e.g., Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Kellogg School of Management, and the Northwestern University Executive Program).

     In the third annual DIV2000.com survey of 150,000 minority-owned and woman-owned businesses, the Postal Service ranked fourth among public sector entities in promoting multicultural business opportunities. The

Postal Service has been a recipient of the DIV50 multicultural business award since its inception and continues to explore new ways to draw diverse business suppliers. The Postal Service was also recognized by several affiliates of the National Minority Supplier Development Council for its continued support of minority owned businesses.

     To ensure access to Postal Service business practices and opportunities, the Doing Business With Us Web page at www.usps.com contains key information and materials on Postal Service SCM philosophy. The Web page identifies commodity portfolios and contains contact information for key buying personnel. In addition, the Postal Service has developed several publications, guides, and reports to increase access to business opportunities.

     In 2003 contract commitments with minority businesses reached $334 million; $590 million in contract commitments were also made with woman-owned businesses; and, there were more than $3.8 billion in contract commitments with small businesses.

     Supply Management transitioned from Postal Service specific training programs for its employees to a more business-focused, and commercially available, supply management curriculum using commercially available programs. More than 350 Supply Management professionals attended courses focused on supply chain management competencies, such as project management, cost/price analysis, market research, and computer skills.

     Under the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) guidelines, the Postal Service must provide designated employees with annual ethics training. Web-based ethics training was delivered to more than 325 Supply Management employees, meeting the OGE annual training requirement.