Supplier Diversity
 

At The Coca-Cola Company, diversity is business. We believe our supplier base should represent our diverse customer and consumer base. Our mission is to maximize procurement opportunities with minority and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) as suppliers, contractors, and subcontractors of goods and services. We proactively seek, build relationships with, develop, and buy from MWBEs. This contributes to strengthening communities and creates long-term growth and competitive advantage for our Company.

For the past three decades, we've committed to supplier diversity. And in 2000, our Company pledged to spend $800 million with MWBEs over a five-year period. By 2005, we exceeded our goal with a spend of more than $1 billion with MWBEs. We have continued the momentum by consistently exceeding our annual targets and goals in subsequent years. In 2008, our Company spent more than $413 million with MWBEs, a significant increase over 2000.

We work to develop our suppliers to facilitate their success in the marketplace. Our Supplier Diversity Mentoring Program serves as a viable resource for MWBEs. Through this program they receive a comprehensive company assessment, coaching, guidance and training to better position them for further business and overall growth. As a result, of our efforts to enhance the capability and capacity of these protégé firms, additional business with the company and other corporations is frequently garnered. For example, one supplier increased business with the Company by 212% within a year of completing the mentoring program.

Our mentoring efforts also extend outside of the Company through partnership with advocacy organizations that provide educational programs and initiatives to MWBEs. These partnerships include, but are not limited to, the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, National Association of Women Business Owners, U.S. Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce, US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Native American Chamber of Commerce, The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, State of Georgia Governor’s Mentor Protégé Program, Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council and the Georgia Women’s Business Council. In addition, we sponsor MWBEs to attend executive management programs at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and Dartmouth University Tuck School of Business.

Read more about how to register with the Company as a potential minority- or women-owned supplier.

Awards and recognitions:

• Corporation of the Year – Georgia Women’s Business Council
• Corporation of the Year – Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Corporation of the Year – Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council
• Corporation of the Year - US Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce
• Corporation of the Year - Native American Chamber of Commerce
• America's Top Corporations for Women Business Enterprises - Women Business Enterprises National Council
• America's Top Organization for Multicultural Business Opportunities - Diversity Business.com
• Best Companies for Asian Pacific Americans - Asian Enterprise Magazine
• Top 50 Corporations for Supplier Diversity – Hispanic Trends Magazine

Success Stories

World of Coca-Cola - During the construction of the new World of Coca-Cola, we partnered with a number of minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs), proactively increasing MWBE spending as a Company. We spent more than 34 percent of our budget with MWBE suppliers, who constructed the attraction and prepared exhibits and shows. That’s significant, but even more important to the overall success of our effort are the long-term ramifications for our suppliers: Following this project, several of our non-MWBE contractors developed long-term relationships with MWBEs that have expanded potential opportunities for both and enabled MWBE suppliers to gain experience and add skill sets they might not have otherwise been able to acquire.