Supplier diversity program

Areas of Responsibility

To maintain effective partnerships, the United States Postal Service will be responsible for:

• Providing technical advice, program guidance, and policy interpretation on Supplier Diversity issues.
• Acting as a liaison with industry and trade associations, government agencies, and special emphasis groups to develop and maintain a communication and information system on Small, minority-owned and women-owned business issues (e.g. Benchmarking Studies and Policy Updates).
• Participating in activities that promote supplier development and diversity. Activities include: business forums, workshops, seminars, symposiums, business opportunity fairs, and tradeshows.
• Assisting with strategic sourcing, identifying supply networks and providing useful sourcing tools.
• Collecting, analyzing, and reporting Direct Awards and subcontracting data annually.
• Publishing materials that support supplier diversity. Examples: “Let’s Do Business” and the “Supplier Diversity Corporate Plan”.
• Coordination of program-related communication, publicity, and maintenance of supplier diversity information on the USPS^® Intranet and Internet sites.

Supplier diversity is a business process that proactively seeks to provide suppliers with access to purchasing and business opportunities. Supplier diversity is defined by…

• Enterprise and Supply Management (SM) policies and objectives
• The purchasing process
• Continuous improvement and monitoring

Supplier diversity objectives include…

• Continuous improvement of supplier diversity and relationships with small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses (SMWOBs)
• Continued broad market research analysis of the supplier community to identify and select the best suppliers
• Process improvements that promote opportunities for all suppliers to provide value-added products and services
• Information promotion to Increase the awareness of Postal Service personnel responsible for supplier diversity

Laws, regulations, contract clauses, and contract provisions also contribute to shaping supplier diversity objectives.

The Supplier Diversity Corporate Plan is developed to ensure continued focus on improving our supplier relationships with SMWOBs. The Plan—comprised of 9 elements—outlines the activities that align with processes and procedures identified in the Postal Service’s SPs and Ps.

Diversity statement

The Postal Service™ is the world’s most efficient post. Its universal service obligation ensures that every citizen can send and receive mail at affordable prices. This entails maintaining a delivery network that reaches all addressees and providing customers with ready access to postal services, a range of products, uniform prices, and mail. To do this, we must maintain an optimal supply chain that consists of engaging suppliers who offer value-added solutions to keep our business on the path to long-term sustainability.

The Postal Service is committed to providing contracting opportunities to small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses. We strive to incorporate ‘agility’, which includes flexibility, balance, and adaptability, throughout our supply chain. Historically, these suppliers have demonstrated business agility by maintaining and adapting goods and services to meet customer demands, while adjusting to changes in the business environment.

Within the Postal Service, all employees who generate a requirement, approve a purchase, commit postal funds, identify or select suppliers, or manage a supplier relationship are responsible for establishing and maintaining a strong, competitive supply base.

The Supplier Diversity Corporate Plan is developed to ensure a continued focus on improving supplier relationships with small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses. The plan is a comprehensive overview of activities designed to position the Postal Service to reinforce its foundation for a sustainable future.

Mark A. Guilfoil
Vice President
Supply Management

Supplier relations

The Postal Service™ Supply Chain Management (SCM) activities operate under 8 Supplying Principles. These principles represent the strategic elements that guide Postal Service buying and material management activities and are central to the financial, operational, and public policy goals outlined in the Postal Service’s strategic plans. Postal Supplying Principles can be found in the Postal Service’s Supplying Principles and Practices (SPs and Ps).

The Postal Service’s Supplier Relations Principle aims to establish and maintain a strong, competitive supplier base that reflects the diversity of the supplier community. Postal Service supply professionals look for ways to optimize the postal supplier base to match the specific characteristics of the market and the good or service being supplied, while keeping in line with the goals of the Postal Service.