Incorporating Supplier Diversity Into All Wal-Mart Procurement Activities

Supplier Diversity at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
The Wal-Mart Supplier Diversity Program helps bring minority- and women-owned businesses into our vast network of suppliers. The Supplier Diversity program aims to expand and advance our current 3,300 diverse suppliers who provide products and services for our customers’ varied needs. The Supplier Diversity program has grown from an initial $2 million in 1994 to more than $4.8 billion in 2007.Our three prong approach to supplier diversity is simple. We’re committed to increasing the amount of business that we do with minority- and women-owned businesses. We’re committed to engaging our largest suppliers to do business with minority- and women-owned businesses in order to increase our 2nd Tier spend. And, we’re committed to investing in opportunities that assist in the establishment and growth of minority- and women-owned businesses.

Doing Business with Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club
We recognize that our supplier partnerships should be just as diverse as the customers who shop our stores and clubs. We look for minority- and women-owned businesses with great products, competitive prices, financial stability and marketplace success. Through our Supplier Diversity program, we can identify and provide business opportunities to the best-suited diverse suppliers ready to achieve our common business goals.

Internal Supplier Diversity Initiatives
We created the Supplier Diversity Internal Steering Committee with senior leaders from all of our business units - Merchandising Divisions, Finance, Marketing, Logistics, Legal and Real Estate. The Committee has been charged with creating a plan of action for doing business with more minority- and women-owned suppliers that enhances both of our business plans.

Engaging Our Larger Suppliers
The 2nd Tier program encourages our 1st Tier suppliers to report what they spend with minority- and women-owned businesses, as it relates to the business they do with Wal-Mart. In 2007, our 2nd Tier spend was more than $1.4 billion, bringing our combined spend with minority- and women-owned businesses to more than $6.3 billion.

Wal-Mart presents our third consecutive $1 million donation to the Business Consortium Fund.

An Active Partner in the Supplier Community
In order to stay connected with the supplier community, we continue to establish and strengthen existing strategic partnerships, allowing the company to play an active role in discussing the importance of supplier diversity. Wal-Mart partners with the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the U.S. Chambers of Commerce, as well as several multicultural chambers of commerce and business councils to further strengthen our diversity commitment.

These partnerships allow us to educate minority- and women-owned businesses through our “Jobs and Opportunity Zone” workshops and “How To Do Business With Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club” seminars. The partnerships also engage our senior leaders in supplier diversity initiatives by serving as board members, corporate advisors, and council members to local and national supplier organizations.

Investing in Opportunities for Economic Growth
As part of our supplier diversity efforts, we also support organizations by providing much needed funding to minority- and women-owned businesses. We’ve donated $3 million over the last three years to NMSDC’s Business Consortium Fund (BCF). The $3 million grants help the BCF provide and facilitate financing to certified minority-owned businesses that often face difficulty in obtaining financing through traditional lending sources. We also invested $25 million in the Pinnacle Minority Supplier Development Fund, a private equity co-investment fund for minority and women-owned businesses in fall 2005.

The Wal-Mart commitment to supplier diversity is part of a companywide allegiance to diversity. And our commitment to diversity is not only a business imperative, but it’s ingrained in our company culture. As a result of our efforts to diversify our supplier partnerships, we continue to meet the needs of the communities we serve nationwide by providing opportunities to minority and women business owners and exceeding our customers’ expectations with the products and services they need and want.