Building strong supplier relationships and developing small diverse supplier capacities take time. Protecting an organization against supply chain disruptions due to the potential acquisition of key suppliers, and knowing what to do afterwards should it occur, is good business.
— By Andrew Hale

Successful organizations put much effort and a lot of resources into developing strong, reliable supply chains that include minority-owned suppliers. Procurement places emphasis on developing supplier relationships that ensure internal stakeholders get their needs met and the organization succeeds on many levels – accessibility of resources, environmental and social responsibility, product and services sustainability, and so much more.

Then the unexpected happens – key suppliers, some of them diverse innovative vendors, are acquired or merge with larger organizations, or a strategic supplier experiences the loss of critical leadership or talent for ...