6 Myths of Reverse Auctions
How Modern-Day Full Service Reverse Auctions are Creating an Environment Where Everyone Wins When you search for products and services, you want the best price. But when selecting a supplier, you need more than just discounted pricing. You insist on top credit ratings for any company you work with. You need to hire more local […]
12 Challenges Schools are Facing Before Reopening
E&I Members Share Their Insight for the Road Ahead When COVID-19 began making headlines in early 2020, no one could have predicted the pandemic’s impact on educational institutions. Schools are facing more complex challenges than ever before, and they must rise to the occasion while adhering to evolving guidelines, tighter budgets, and limited resources. What […]
Welcome Back Ideas
Bring in the Welcome Wagon with Products to Make Returning Students & Faculty Feel Right at Home Again Coming back to school is going to be an adjustment. Showing faculty, staff, students and families how much they are appreciated will be an important way to re-establish bonds. Providing products to keep desks and tech items […]
7 Reasons Supplier Diversity Programs Fail – And How You Can Succeed
Overcoming the Challenge of Creating a Successful & Sustainable Supplier Diversity Program In the ever-changing world of public procurement, creating a successful and sustainable supplier diversity program can be challenging. Does it feel like your program is failing or has plateaued? Or are you in the beginning stages of getting your program off the ground? […]
Saving the Planet Through Procurement
Cooperative Contracting Can Help When serving the needs of a large school district, university, or community college system, procurement teams are required to maintain a level of knowledge on a variety of topics. When it comes to green purchasing or sustainability, it can get complicated very quickly. Schools are Ecosystems. How Does Procurement Keep Up? […]
Why We Need to Develop Schemas in Supplier Diversity: Part 3
Using Schemas for Bringing in New Diverse Suppliers Example 2: Let’s Do Business Together Consider the most frequent request made to a purchasing department, not only from diverse suppliers, but from anyone looking to do business with an organization: how can I get on a bid list, or is there a supplier diversity database or […]
Why We Need to Develop Schemas in Supplier Diversity: Part 2
Using Schemas When a Problem Occurs Example 1: A Problem Occurs Let’s look at a common challenge we face as supplier diversity professionals. A problem has occurred with one of our diverse suppliers that has impacted their ability to continue with a contract, or prevents them from obtaining future work. At first, things seem to […]
Why We Need to Develop Schemas in Supplier Diversity: Part 1
What is a Schema & What Does it Have to do with Managing a Supplier Diversity Program? As with most strategies, you will often find a set of objectives that have been put in place to carry out several processes such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. We know these to be the four principles […]
Video: Why E&I is Different
Not All Purchasing Cooperatives Are Created Equal Jump to Transcript E&I Cooperative Services is different from the rest. Why do we say that? E&I is the only national purchasing cooperative focused exclusively on the needs of the education community. These are very different from state and local government needs. We were formed as a true […]
Developing Your Diverse Suppliers
It’s More Than a Nice To-Do Developing your diverse suppliers is more than a nice to-do — it’s a business imperative. We all know that social responsibility can be expressed in terms of eco-friendliness — doing the right things, and doing things right (we also call this “effectiveness and efficiency”) — especially when it comes […]
