GE Healthcare was the only supplier, out of 800 contracted suppliers, that received the 2010 Premier Inc. Diversity Award for Excellence in Supply Chain Process Diversity. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, Premier Inc. is a performance-improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 72,000-plus other healthcare sites.
As part of its goal to positively impact local communities, GE Healthcare’s global supply chain function is committed to partnering with diverse minority suppliers in the United States. The GE Healthcare Supplier Diversity Initiative awarded by Premier supports GE’s strategic plan to make money, make it ethically and make a difference.
This program creates a 360-degree economic benefits advantage for U.S. healthcare systems, healthcare providers, the communities they serve and the diverse suppliers within that community. With this initiative, GE Healthcare can help improve the lives of citizens of smaller communities through innovation, cost reductions and improved quality care for patients.
The GE Healthcare Supplier Diversity Program gained traction about three years ago, when GE Healthcare realized it had to move beyond compliance initiatives and focus instead on driving growth, revenue and market penetration in the community.
GE Healthcare’s leader of the program attributes its success to awareness and recent activities. They indicate they have seen, for example, a 50% increase over the last three years of utilization of minority- and women-owned businesses in the Great Lakes and Carolinas regions.
In the future, GE Healthcare’s Supplier Diversity Program will continue to expand throughout the United States, initiating programs in South Florida and Southern California. These are strategic regions in which to increase growth, since there is a large ethnic population and a wealth of resources available for minority- and women-owned businesses. Establishing a presence in these regions will continue to create a positive impact in U.S. communities and become a beneficial partnership for GE and local businesses.
