Strong, diverse businesses are critical to racial and gender economic equity, and stronger, more inclusive communities.
Through our Supplier Diversity Program, we aim to increase the representation of, and expenditure with, companies owned by people of color (POC), women, U.S. military veterans, people living with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals. By creating more economic opportunities for underrepresented groups in our supply chain, Hershey can extend our diversity, equity and inclusion impact beyond our own workforce and operations, creating a powerful way to connect and engage with existing or potential employees, customers and consumers.
Supplier diversity makes good business sense. An inclusive procurement strategy widens the pool of potential suppliers and promotes competition in the supply base, which can enhance innovation, improve quality, drive down costs and make supply chains more resilient and agile—an increasingly important advantage in uncertain times.
Hershey supports various third-party organizations that certify and support the development of diverse businesses. Although certification is not currently a requirement to participate in the Hershey Supplier Diversity program, the organizations below have resources available that may help your business grow.
Our goal is to reach $400 million of diverse supplier spend by 2030.
A diverse business is one which is 51 percent or more owned, managed and controlled by members of diverse groups, that is certified by a certification body or has self-declared as a diverse business. Racial and ethnic diversity is defined differently by country. Refer to the NMSDC and CAMSC websites for a detailed definition of who we consider to qualify as a POC business enterprise in the United States and Canada.
Our Supplier Diversity initiative includes both Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers. Tier 1 suppliers are diverse suppliers we pay directly. Tier 2 diverse suppliers are paid directly by our Tier 1 suppliers. If you are a Tier 1 supplier and are not a diverse business, we expect you to drive Tier 2 spending with diverse suppliers and may ask you to provide Hershey with a quarterly supplier diversity report. See How to Register for more information
We are looking for diverse vendors to support product and service needs across our enterprise and brand portfolio, including but not limited to:
Please visit our Supplier Portal for more information on requirements to conduct business with Hershey.
Hershey leverages TealBook to search for diverse vendors that meet their needs. TealBook’s vendor database uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to gather data on companies. Diverse vendors interested in doing business with Hershey can create an account in TealBook for free and follow the instructions to optimize your profile there. Registration is free and enables vendors to be contacted by TealBook’s wide range of corporate clients. Your company will be contacted directly if there are bid opportunities that align with the services you offer.
Hershey also partners with TealBook to collect Tier 2 diverse supplier spending information in a confidential manner. The use of the TealBook reporting tool is free for our suppliers and can provide best-in-class tracking of diverse supplier spending. If you do not have a system to track your diverse supplier spending today, you can use the TealBook platform to identify this. For more information on how to generate and submit your supplier diversity report through TealBook, you can refer to the TealBook Tier 2 Program Quick User Guide and Detailed User Guide.