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Supplier Diversity and Inclusion-Frequently Asked Questions
Diverse firms include small, women, minority, veteran, and LGBT-owned firms. Each firm represents a U.S. citizen that has been certified as (a) small or (b) minority, or (c) women, (d) veteran or other diverse owner(s).
A Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) is a business that is at least 51 percent owned/operated/controlled by one or more persons who are:
- African American
- Hispanic American
- Veteran
- Disabled Veteran
- Service Disabled Veteran
- Asian – Pacific American
- Asian American
- Native American
- LGBTQ
Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) is a business that is at least 51 percent owned/operated/controlled by one or more women.
A small business concern is eligible for assistance from the SBA (Small Business Association). It is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States. It must operate primarily within the United States or make a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor. Together with its affiliates, it must meet the numerical size standards as defined in the Small Business Size Regulations 13 CFR 121.
Certification is a process that validates ownership of a diverse business to ensure against inaccurate reporting of spend data. The widely accepted practice to ensure certification defers to approved 3rd party organizations, regulatory agencies of government or national bodies including: The Women's Business Enterprise National Council, The National Minority Supplier Development Council, and/or state, local and federal authorized agencies of government. To achieve certification, diverse businesses must complete a strict and formal documentation and site visit process.
Indicates whether the business has been certified by a federal, state or local government agency or organization as having met all of the government standards that award eligibility.
Suppliers who have registered on a company portal who just have the diversity category selected but don’t have an active certificate or have an expired certificate.
Information is available via the following third-party certifying groups:
- For Minority Certification, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) at http://www.nmsdc.org
- For Woman Certification, Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) at http://www.wbenc.org
- For Veteran Certification, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at www.vip.vetbiz.gov For Disabled Veteran Certification, Association for Service Disabled Veterans (ASDV) at http://www.sba.gov/content/service-disabled-veteran-owned-small-business-concerns-sdvosbc
- For Small Business Certification, Small Business Administration (SBA) at http://www.sba.gov
Please note these third-party certifying groups are unaffiliated with CAFE VALLEY and the inclusion of their information here is not meant as an endorsement.
No. Certification helps companies to be considered for potential business with CAFE VALLEY; however, it does not guarantee they will obtain that business.
The criteria used by CAFE VALLEY Procurement to select Diverse Suppliers are the same ones that are used to select all suppliers. This includes the ability to offer a product or service that is of high quality, competitively priced, available within the required timelines and that comes with an assurance of excellent customer service.
Daniel Saulles, Vice President of Purchasing and Sustainability, at dsaulles@cafevalley.com or call 1-734-678-0429.