Today’s minorities are becoming
tomorrow’s majority. In consumer driven supply
chains, Corporations know that their suppliers; their
supplier’s workers; and, the consumers in the
communities where suppliers are located are all their
customers, and that remaining globally competitive
- retaining and increasing market share and avoiding
market share loss - require that they strategically
realign their supply base to mirror the evolving consumer
base.
Corporations know too that the real competition is
not one Corporation versus another, but between their
supply chains - from the point of raw material production
to the hands of the consumer. They know that the higher
the percentage of aligned suppliers, the lower their
cost, the better their customer service, and the higher
their profits and, that the only meaningful criteria
for supplier value in supply chains is their ability
to add value to production, reduce the cost of production,
and to innovate.
While the diversification of supply chains to reach
its customers has become an important corporate strategic
objective, the effective integration of Minority Small
Manufacturing Enterprises (MSMEs) in supply chains
will be challenging due to historic lack of meaningful
inclusion; lack of focused programs; perceived and/or
actual utilization risk; and, escalating supplier
performance and supply chain alignment metrics required
by Corporations for all supplies. Understanding these
dynamics and continuing to conduct research in them,
the National Minority Manufacturing Institute’s
(NMMI’s) approach to MSME development is centered
on the MSME’s demonstrable alignment with the
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) requirements of Industry
Groups by Manufacturing Types. We collaborate
with Member Corporations’ and obtain s’
KPIs as a basis for assessment, performance benchmarking,
and, hands-on in-plant assistance to reduce MSME performance
risk and support supply chain alignment in the following
areas:
• Manufacturing
Information Systems
• Modeling and Simulation
• Manufacturing Processes and Equipment
• Enterprise Management and Technology Integration
• Legal and Regulatory Compliance
For Corporations, the results of this process is
access to value added MSMEs and, for MSMEs, exposure
to Corporations committed to supply chain diversity
through valued added MSMEs.
