Meijer Expands Supplier Diversity Event

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer is expanding its third Supplier Diversity event to include diverse-owned service providers, as well as retail-ready products for its shelves. 

The March 29-31 event will give diverse-owned businesses nationwide the opportunity to showcase their offerings for interested Meijer buyers and procurement team, according to a company news release.

“Our supplier diversity efforts reach beyond just the brands customers see on our shelves,” said Peter Whitsett, Meijer executive vice president of merchandising and marketing. “We aim to support diverse-owned businesses throughout our stores, from the products we offer to the signage we hang and the services that keep the stores running. That’s why we’re excited to include a broad range of business categories in this event.”

Certified minority-, LGBTQ-, woman-, veteran- and disability-owned businesses with products or services in the listed categories can submit applications though Feb. 7. 

Diverse-owned brands with merchandise in the following retail categories can apply for the event by clicking HERE:

• Beauty and personal care
• Over-the-counter and wellness
• General merchandise
• Grocery 

Additionally, the retailer is accepting submissions here from diverse-owned business service providers offering the following goods and services:

• Inbound transportation carriers
• Skilled trades for construction and facility maintenance
• All business services (Marketing, HR, IT and Financial)
• Supplies, packaging, MRO and signage
• Environmental, real estate and new site services
• Store fixtures, manufacturing and warehousing equipment

Meijer is partnering with ECRM and RangeMe to host the retail products portion of the event through the company’s ECRM Connect virtual platform. Suppliers of non-retail goods and services will register through Stars, an application hosted by Viva, another third-party partner. 

Once applications for the event are submitted, Meijer teams will review and select the vendors they would like to meet virtually. Suppliers not chosen for the event will still be accessible through the RangeMe or Stars registration tools and may be reviewed by Meijer buyers and business teams again in the future as business needs change.

“As we continue on our supplier diversity journey, we’re pleased to grow this event to be inclusive of all the kinds of businesses we partner with in our stores,” Jamie Akemann, group vice president of indirect procurement and supplier diversity, said.

Image: Meijer

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.