Johnson Controls welcomes Black Supplier Input Committee

4 Jun 2014

Johnson Controls has welcomed the formation of the South African Supplier Diversity Council's Black Supplier Input Committee (SASDC's BSIC). The BSIC's role will be to interact with, and represent SASDC-certified black suppliers, identifying their collective needs and providing advice to SASDC on its programmes.

Johnson Controls welcomes Black Supplier Input Committee

Johnson Controls is a founding member of SASDC, a member-directed, not-for-profit organisation that aims to integrate under-utilised black suppliers into corporate supply chains in a sustainable way, using targeted procurement and supplier development. SASDC certifies black-owned businesses, verifying them as legitimate and "transaction ready".

"The BSIC gives SASDC-certified black suppliers a voice, and gives SASDC member companies a conduit to engage with SASDC-certified black suppliers," said Philip Gregory, senior regional executive for Middle East and Africa of Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions (GWS). Gregory also serves as a board member of SASDC.

A global focus on diversity

Johnson Controls has a global focus on diversity and its support of SASDC in South Africa is in line with its philosophy of sustainable development of supplier diversity. Globally, Johnson Controls integrates diversity into its corporate business strategies, focusing on certified minority, woman-owned, and historically under-utilised businesses. As a member of SASDC, Johnson Controls has dedicated itself to adopting supplier diversity as a strategic business objective at all levels of the organisation. Johnson Controls has set targets to increase procurement from bona fide black suppliers and is investing in these suppliers to grow them into more competitive entities. The BSIC creates a platform for coordinating activities affecting certified suppliers and will help encourage and formalise the active participation of certified black supplier companies.

The BSIC will provide SASDC's accredited suppliers with a voice, allowing them to air their views, raise issues, and make suggestions to SASDC and its corporate members. It also provides corporate members with a conduit for engaging on issues that affect black-owned businesses, giving them greater insight into the effectiveness of the capacity building efforts they undertake.

Some of the key responsibilities of the BSIC are to:

Act as a watchdog for issues related to black business development;

Keep the SASDC and its members apprised of market and procurement opportunities;

Serve as an advocacy group for the SASDC's certified black suppliers;

Form industry groups to assist members who work in specific business areas; and

Recommend training and technical assistance projects that address specific problem areas encountered by certified black suppliers, and identify or recommend programmes to assist in the growth of black-owned certified businesses.