Meijer Commits to Diversity in Supply Chain

Meijer said it would hold its first Supplier Diversity Summit in an effort to bring products to its shelves from underrepresented business owners.

“Focusing on supplier diversity is an important part of our diversity, equity and inclusion journey,” Meijer President & CEO Rick Keyes said. “While we have always valued diverse partnerships, this event exemplifies our commitment to building a more inclusive vendor community which will better serve our customers.”

The Nov. 12 virtual event is focused on the beauty and personal care; over-the-counter and wellness; general merchandise and grocery categories and is seeking submissions from certified minority-, LGBTQ-, woman-, veteran- and disability-owned businesses with retail-ready products by Oct. 9. Meijer is partnering with Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) and its subsidiary product discovery tool, RangeMe, to host this event through the company's ECRM Connect virtual platform.

The Meijer team will review the products submitted and select the vendors they want to meet during the virtual event. Suppliers that are not selected for the event will retain access to the platform and may be reviewed again by Meijer representatives in the future.

“At Meijer, we believe our partners should reflect the communities we serve,” said Jamie Akemann, group VP of indirect procurement and supplier diversity. “This event gives us the opportunity to partner with diverse suppliers to empower them and provide economic support that will be felt throughout our communities, allowing us to better embody our mission of enriching lives in the communities we serve.”

Diverse vendors operating in categories not covered by this particular event are encouraged to submit their products through Meijer’s prospective vendor page.