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Supplier Diversity

We are committed to working with and supporting supplier companies owned by minorities, women and veterans, creating business opportunities that enable them to become profitable and sustainable enterprises.

Promoting a Diverse Supply Chain

We recognize that a diverse supply base is an integral part of our overall success, providing fresh perspectives that lead to cutting-edge innovations and accelerated business development. We continue to foster productive relationships with entrepreneurs from a wide range of backgrounds to meet our customers’ needs and expectations.

We have long worked with business leaders, trade associations and community organizations representing the interests of diverse businesses, earning Ford a seat at the Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR), an exclusive group of 22 companies that purchase at least $1 billion a year from diverse suppliers. The BDR encourages businesses to extend their supplier diversity programs and increase spending levels each year.

Demonstrating our commitment, we are playing a leading role in two major supplier diversity advocacy organizations from January 2016 to December 2017. Joe Hinrichs, Executive Vice President and President, Global Operations (formerly Executive Vice President and President, The Americas), is currently Chairman of the Board for the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) while Hau Thai-Tang, Executive Vice President, Product Development and Purchasing (formerly Group Vice President, Global Purchasing), is serving as Chairman of the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC).

Our Progress

Ford’s Supplier Diversity Development (SDD) Program is nationally recognized for its leadership and success in driving innovative best practices; these result in productive business partnerships with diverse entrepreneurs, and valuable products and services for our customers. To date, it has sourced more than $100 billion in goods and services from minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses.

In 2016, Ford purchased goods and services worth:

• $8.8 billion from minority-owned suppliers
• $2.4 billion from women-owned businesses
• $1.1 billion from veteran-owned companies

Awards and Recognition

In 2016, our SDD Program received external recognition from a wide range of awards, rankings and rating agencies, suggesting that we continue to perform well against our goal to “maintain leadership in supplier diversity.” Several of our people were also recipients of honors and accolades, as detailed below.