Meijer to host supplier diversity summit

Meijer to host supplier diversity summit
<strong>Photo by iStock</strong>

Meijer announced it will host its first virtual supplier diversity summit.

The summit will give certified minority-owned businesses nationwide the opportunity to showcase their offerings for Meijer merchants.

“Focusing on supplier diversity is an important part of our diversity, equity and inclusion journey,” Meijer President and CEO Rick Keyes said. “While we have always valued diverse partnerships, this event exemplifies our commitment to building a more inclusive vendor community which will better serve our customers.”

The Nov. 12 virtual event will focus on the following categories: beauty and personal care, over-the-counter and wellness, groceries and general merchandise.

Meijer is partnering with Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) and its subsidiary product discovery tool, RangeMe, to host this event through the company’s ECRM Connect virtual platform.

Certified minority-, LGBTQ-, woman-, veteran- and disability-owned businesses with retail-ready products in those categories can apply for consideration through RangeMe by Oct. 9.

“At Meijer, we believe our partners should reflect the communities we serve,” said Jamie Akemann, group vice president of indirect procurement and supplier diversity. “This event gives us the opportunity to partner with diverse suppliers to empower them and provide economic support that will be felt throughout our communities, allowing us to better embody our mission of enriching lives in the communities we serve.”

Once applications are submitted, Meijer teams will review and select the vendors they would like to meet at the summit. Suppliers not chosen for the summit still will be accessible through the RangeMe registration tool and may be reviewed by Meijer merchants again in the future as business needs change.

While they may not qualify for November’s event, diverse vendors carrying services or products outside of the categories mentioned above are encouraged to submit their information for consideration through Meijer’s prospective vendor page.