Growing an IT services startup as a corporate supplier requires developing a full understanding of the corporate business process. TekWissen gained that initial knowledge with the focused assistance of the UPS Supplier Diversity mentoring program.
By Debra Jenkins
The United Parcel Service (UPS) Supplier Diversity Program, led by Supplier Diversity Director Estrella Cramer, is recognized as one of the premier and most successful corporate diversity programs in corporate America. The larger program includes a variety of initiatives and efforts, and one that particularly stands out is the supplier mentorship program.
This benchmark program involves people from across UPS business functions to help diverse businesses, through education and the improvement of business processes, gain a competitive edge to increase opportunities to win corporate contracts. The mentorship program’s success is reflected in the success of suppliers like TekWissen, a technology company cofounded by Manish and Sanjeev Senta that brings value to UPS.
Learning to Present
The UPS Supplier Mentorship Program sets the benchmark for mentoring diverse suppliers that have high–quality products and services to offer but lack the knowledge needed to successfully land corporate contracts. Many highly motivated startup suppliers fail to recognize the complexity of corporate procurement processes, and as Manish Senta describes it, "how to be present in front of Fortune 500 companies."
Cramer is the driving force behind the supplier diversity program and all of its initiatives. She has close to 30 years of service across the UPS network, including the areas of finance, procurement, marketing, international trade logistics, product development, and supply chain. This broad experience has given her extensive knowledge of the company's processes which she used to develop the supplier diversity program and its many initiatives.
Cramer describes the program as supporting and developing small, veteran, LGBT, and MWBEs "in an effort to give them equal footing in the competitive procurement process." The program proactively identifies potential suppliers and provides them with information and access to the UPS purchasing process.
The program’s key best practices include coordinating with the top executives who drive the message down through the organization, and working with different organizational functions so they buy-in to and provide ongoing support as to what supplier diversity is doing. This is where Cramer's decades of experience in many of the company's functions gives her the knowledge to approach and work with internal stakeholders, including procurement commodity managers.
"What makes our program different is the involvement from UPS business functions that partner with supplier diversity to mentor, develop, and strengthen the protégé," Cramer said. A diversity steering committee chaired by the CEO and a working group committee meet every month to review and report on supplier diversity initiatives.
Getting the First Chance
The program brings value to UPS, diverse suppliers and communities. TekWissen cofounders Manish and Sanjeev Senta attribute much of the current success on Cramer's willingness to give them a chance while a young company.
TekWissen started as a mobile payment app company, which in 2008 was an innovative idea. Originally, the company pitched its idea to Starbucks, offering a prototype and a network of contracted workers developed in Sanjeev Senta's prior work as a contractor. Three years ago, the cofounders began attending conferences and people would ask, "What's your niche?"
"I would come home with the realization we were doing the same things other companies are doing. So we decided to design new IT tools which we could present to potential clients," Sanjeev Senta explained. This approach led to connecting with Cramer, who made an introduction to UPS Chief Procurement Officer Gary Kallenbach.
The challenge that diverse suppliers must overcome is visibility, something very difficult to get with corporations who are inundated with supplier requests. Cramer recognized the cofounders of TekWissen had a strong technical understanding of process, technical language and the analysis stages in process.
"The company had the technical background but needed a platform for understanding the entire business process," Cramer explained. She encouraged the Sentas to attend more conferences in order to meet more corporate people and to showcase their products and services.
Manish Senta says Cramer told them that "Your work will shine for you when people get to know you. But for them to get to know you, you have to be physically present there."
Doing the Homework
Cramer went out of her way to make sure the TekWissen cofounders were serious, could add value to UPS, and were pursuing work with UPS for the right reasons. She began giving them “homework,” which they completed thoroughly and on-time. This proved to Cramer they were serious about addressing UPS challenges and bringing technical solutions, initially to logistics.
One of the important lessons all diverse suppliers can learn from the TekWissen experience is that fixing immediate corporate needs is not enough.
"One of the impressive qualities Manish and Sanjeev brought to the table was an understanding that changing a process has consequences from that point on. They know that to improve or fix a section of the program, they need to deeply analyze the entire chain of command. We rarely find that in suppliers. They fix the most visible challenge, but do not recognize the impact the changes have on the rest of the supply chain process," Cramer said.
Giving potential suppliers homework gives them a chance to demonstrate their innovation and competence. Manish and Sanjeev Senta got the opportunity to identify UPS pain points and to develop products and services of real value to UPS.
"One of the most interesting challenges this diverse supplier brought to the table was how mentors sometimes need to step back and let the suppliers teach UPS before UPS teaches them," Cramer explained.
What she means by this is that a supplier like TekWissen can make UPS procurement professionals understand they can use their strengths as a supplier without knowing how the UPS logistics supply chain works. The Sentas laid out a process map for Cramer to see their point of view, making her comfortable in letting them teach her before she taught them.
This insightful approach to supplier diversity selection and training adds to innovation by making it possible for corporate professionals so see different options or possibilities.
"TekWissen knew technology but not the logistics process," Cramer said. "I know the logistics process and the role of technology but had to see the process through their concept of using technology to solve challenges in new ways."
Meeting the Right People
"We learned so much through the UPS Mentoring and Business Process Improvement programs," Manish Senta said.
The cofounders learned that attending trade conferences is critical to meeting the right people. They also learned to take advantage of every opportunity to research potential clients, including joining corporate telephone calls where they discuss financials and future plans.
"This is a wealth of information we did not know existed," Sanjeev Senta said.
The cofounders have also learned that sometimes they need to do business in other countries first in order to enter the U.S. market. This was the case with MasterCard in which TekWissen provides services in India. Another lesson learned is that an IT company has to go global if it expects to remain competitive and sustainable.
"The successes we are most proud of in supplier diversity is the doors the mentoring program opened for diverse supplier like TekWissen, not just in UPS but with other corporations," Cramer said.
It is all about positioning, whether a global company like UPS or a growing supplier like TekWissen. Manish and Sanjeev Senta say that Cramer believed in them, and the mentoring program put them on a solid road to capacity building and business growth. This is exactly what a supplier diversity program should accomplish.