NMSDC Names Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing Corporation of the Year

ATLANTA, Nov. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.®, (NMSDC®) presented Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) with the prestigious "Corporation of the Year" award at a black-tie awards banquet to cap its four-day conference and business opportunity fair in Atlanta, Georgia.

NMSDC's Corporation of the Year award is the most sought-after honor for major corporations that are dedicated to improving the overall participation of Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American suppliers in the global corporate supply chain.

"This recognition is reserved for corporations that fully embrace the value that minority suppliers bring to the corporate supply chain," said NMSDC President Joset Wright. "Toyota's commitment to supplier diversity and minority supplier development is firmly embedded in the corporate culture. Its comprehensive, world-class supplier diversity process is worthy of replication."  

In winning the award, TEMA demonstrated a strong commitment to building capacity and capability of minority businesses within their corporation and in partnership with NMSDC. The company led two modules of NMSDC's Centers of Excellence program – a network of regional business modules comprised of corporate supplier diversity/purchasing executives and minority business enterprise (MBE) owners. The program uses NMSDC "best practices" for minority supplier development to enhance corporate supplier diversity processes and build capacity for MBEs. To date, seven participating MBEs companies were awarded business directly with Toyota. The automaker also sponsored two companies in NMSDC's Corporate Plus^® program, a special classification for minority businesses with proven success in executing national contracts and the capacity to handle more.

TEMA showed its commitment to the growth of minority suppliers by spending $1.5 billion with MBEs in 2010 – a 36% increase over its 2009 spend. The increase earned TEMA entry into the Billion Dollar Roundtable, and was realized during a challenging time for the company. During this down time, the company also deployed resources to its supply base that saved 40,000 jobs and ensured readiness for return to normal production.  Additionally, the automaker facilitated the creation of four new minority joint ventures that will provide more than $250M in new MBE spend annually. TEMA also increased spend with professional service MBEs by adding spend in areas such as marketing, accounting and legal services.

With a focus on Tier 2, the automaker added more stringent measures to hold their direct suppliers more accountable for utilizing minority suppliers. The result was an increase of more than 30% in Tier 2 spend. In support of Tier 2, TEMA hosts an annual diverse business exchange to help their suppliers connect with potential certified minority businesses. A "best practice" for second tier minority business development, last year's event resulted in more than $60 million in new contracts for minority businesses.

Active engagement with the NMSDC network also contributed to TEMA's selection as Corporation of the Year. The company participates with NMSDC and its affiliate councils, holding corporate membership with 10 councils and executive leadership roles with four.  TEMA's senior executives lead the company's commitment to minority businesses and shared internal best practices with their peers by speaking at eight events last year.

At its banquet, NMSDC also presented awards for individual leadership in Minority Supplier Development, Suppliers of the Year and Regional Council of the Year.

Marianne Strobel, assistant vice president of global supplier diversity at AT&T, received the Minority Supplier Development Leader of the Year award in recognition of exemplary development programs for minority business owners, as well as exceptional leadership and impact throughout corporate America. AT&T is a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable, and also spent $1.3 billion with its Tier 2 suppliers in 2010.

Four top minority businesses were recognized as National Suppliers of the Year in recognition of their business acumen and excellence in community service. They are: Circle One, Inc., of Atlanta, Georgia, in the category for businesses with sales less than $1 million; Way To Be Designs, LLC of Hayward, California, among firms with $1 million to $10 million in sales; Homestead Packaging Solutions, Inc., of Roswell, Georgia, in the category for businesses with sales between $10 million and $50 million; and Group O, Inc., in Milan, Illinois, for firms with sales greater than $50 million.

Twelve minority businesses were honored as Regional Suppliers of the Year. They are BridgeWork Partners, Lewisville, Texas; C.D. Moody Construction Company, Inc., Lithonia, Georgia; D.W. Morgan Company, Pleasanton, California; Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan, LLP, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Multicultural Entrepreneurial Institute, Inc. (MEI), Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Red Brown Kle, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Republica, LLC, Miami, Florida; SHI International Corp., Somerset, New Jersey; SearchPros Staffing, LLC, Citrus Heights, California; Superior Maintenance Company (SMC), St. Louis, Missouri; TKT & Associates, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky; and Translation Plus, Inc., Hackensack, New Jersey.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council earned Regional Council of the Year honors for providing outstanding service to hundreds of corporations and minority businesses in the Dallas/Fort Metropolitan area. 

About NMSDC
Providing a direct link between corporate America and minority-owned businesses is the primary objective of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, one of the country's leading business membership organizations. It was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes. The NMSDC Network includes a national office in New York and 37 Regional Councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including America's top publicly-owned, privately-owned and foreign-owned companies as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The Regional Councils certify and match more than 16,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase their goods and services.

For more information about NMSDC, call (212) 944-2430 or visit the Web site at www.nmsdc.org.

SOURCE National Minority Supplier Development Council