WE GET
BUSINESS DIVERSITY
How we’re making impact
CUNY and CDW
SHARED COMMITTMENT
In 2021, CDW Corporation and The City University of New York (CUNY) joined forces to support five diverse-owned enterprises in New York City forming the Mentor-Protégé Program. The driving force behind this important initiative was CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez—who had a vision to connect the power of CUNY’s vast system of 26 schools across New York’s five boroughs with CDW’s industry-leading scale and expertise to benefit a collection of small, diverse-owned businesses.
The goal of the mentor-protégé relationship is to enhance supplier’s capabilities, assist in meeting development goals and improve their ability to compete for contracts successfully.
As CUNY is one of the country's most diverse public higher education institution, we are accelerating our efforts alongside CDW to inspire more people of color, women and service-disabled veterans to directly participate in our vibrant University community and help make CUNY an even more inclusive institution.
Dr. William Choi,
Director Impact Programs, CUNY
Featured in
For Supplier Diversity Excellence
CASE STUDY
EVIDENCE-BASED DIVERSE SUPPLIER RECOMMENDATIONS (CDW)
In 2021, CDW was recognized by Gartner in a case study that highlighted our unique Business Centric Diverse Supplier Database. Our database provides the business with relevant information on diverse suppliers’ true capability set. This helps the business more confidently assess a diverse supplier’s ability to meet its needs and improve the likelihood that selected diverse suppliers succeed.
THIS IS CRITIAL BECAUSE:
1
Low visibility into a diverse supplier’s capabilities often reduces the business’s willingness to select them.
2
Business partners often hesitate to engage an existing diverse supplier because they are unable to see sufficient evidence about the supplier’s fit with the new business need. As a result, potentially well-qualified diverse suppliers are often overlooked for new sourcing opportunities, leading to fewer repeat contracts and ultimately lower retention of diverse suppliers.
We were honored to have our efforts recognized in 2019 when CDW was formally inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable, an exclusive group of US-based companies that procure more than $1 billion annually from minority-and women-owned businesses.
CDW BUSINESS DIVERSITY PROGRAM
OUR HISTORY OF DIVERSE SPENDING
CDW started its BDP in 2007 to help customers meet their small and diverse business goals. Since then, CDW has continued to grow its program and our purchases from diverse suppliers have grown from $359 million in 2007 to over $3.4 billion – a 847% increase in just 14 years.
We’re determined to use our size, influence and reach to help build a better, more equal society.
$20 billion+
Total spend with diverse suppliers since the inception of the program in 2007
$3.4 billion
CDW spend in 2021
2021
HIGHLIGHTS
We know when we invest in small and diverse businesses, we have the opportunity to drive job creation and create lasting economic empowerment in the community.
Kristin Malek,
Director, CDW Business Diversity
Expansion of UK and Canada program This year we expanded the reach of our business diversity program in both Canada and in the UK. In Canada, we made $77M in purchases from small and diverse businesses and in the UK $37M.
Formalized Partnerships with three Canadian Diversity Organizations: WBE - Women’s Business Enterprise, CCAB - Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and CAMSC- Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council.
Featured in Gartner for Supplier Diversity Excellence.
CDW expands business diversity team hiring 4 regional leaders.
CDW Supplier Diversity program named Best of the Best by Diversity Journal.
CDW and CUNY launched the Mentor Protégé Program.
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
CDW completes acquisition of Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc. a leading provider of secure, mission-critical technology-based solutions.
CDW joins The global network of executives
MEASURING
ECONOMIC IMPACT
When CDW partners with a small and diverse-owned business, we’re investing in its community too.
By creating opportunities for our partners to increase their sales revenue, we enable them to invest in their own growth and spend more with other firms in their supply chain.
This creates a powerful multiplier effect, generating jobs, increasing wages, boosting local economies and generating tax revenue, especially in underrepresented and underutilized communities.
TAXES
Economic activities generate revenues for the government in the form of personal and business taxes. Taxes support government spending and investment within the community.
OUR DIVERSE SPENDING IN 2021
DIRECT IMPACT:
THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT OF OUR BUSINESS DIVERSITY PROGRAM
The impact of our supplier diversity program reaches beyond simply increasing our partners’ sales revenue. It also creates a multiplier effect by letting small and diverse-owned firms invest in their own growth and spend more with other businesses in their supply chain. This, in turn, generates jobs, increases wages and boosts spending in local communities.
JOBS SUPPORTED
AT TOP 10 INDUSTRIES
Many CDW suppliers often target only specific sectors. This narrow focus limits their potential to the customers who can benefit from their solution.
CDW works in the public, private, nonprofit, education and healthcare sectors. To secure the best solutions for all our customers, we empower our Tier 1 diverse suppliers to make cross-sector transitions.
We have helped suppliers transition from servicing only the government sector to also selling to the private sector. CDW opens doors for these businesses by providing education, training and introductions to expand their customer base.
Our customers benefit immediately from these improved procurement options.
DIVERSE SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
1
There are lots of diversity businesses out there but not all are created equal.
At BlackHawk, we know we can do the job well and bring to the table the solutions and service quality that CDW and its clients deserve.
Maryann Pagano
CEO, BlackHawk Data
Blackhawk Data is a value-added reseller, solutions provider and managed services vendor in the New York, New Jersey and Metropolitan area. Women-owned, the company has been a CDW partner for six years and offers clients everything from design services and staging to deployment, implementation and day-two support.
Blackhawk employs a team of around 25 IT and data specialists., priding itself on combining the agility and flexibility of a small vendor with a big vendor approach to deeply understanding the technology and the individual needs of customers. As CEO, Maryann Pagano, explains, “We bring to the table the solutions and service quality that CDW and its clients deserve.”
2
The reason we’ve been successful with CDW is because our goals align.
Together, we help clients get where they want to be from a technical perspective while also helping them attain their diversity spending objectives.
Tyrone Dixon
President & CEO, Mpulse Healthcare and Technology LLC
Mpulse is a minority-owned IT consulting firm and has been a CDW partner for 10 years. The company provides distribution services, technical solutions, staff augmentation and managed services to healthcare and technology organizations.
Powered by a dedicated team of technical specialists and customer service experts, Mpulse is known for its agility, strong relationships and client-centric approach. It is this shared commitment to understanding and meeting the needs of customers that, according to President & CEO, Tyrone Dixon, make its partnership with CDW “the perfect marriage.”
