by Dan Perkins*

Michael Spidale is a quiet, but thoughtful man who has served as the Purchasing Manager for the Chicago White Sox since 1987.  As purchasing manager, he makes key decisions regarding a broad array of goods and services purchased by the White Sox.  Those decisions include not only the type of goods and services used by the club, but also the people and organizations that supply them.  

One of Spidale's most notable attributes is his desire to have first-hand knowledge of vendors and their capacity to supply the Sox with quality goods and services.  That attribute came in handy earlier this year when Major League Baseball asked the White Sox to assist them in finding minority and women vendors for the 2003 All Star Game, which was held in Chicago, at U.S. Cellular Field.  

The White Sox provided MLB with an extensive list of vendors, and the 17 vendors selected from that list contributed in a variety of ways to the success of the event.  Less than two weeks after the All Star Game, Mike Spidale organized a reception in a suite at the stadium to express the appreciation of the White Sox and MLB for the diverse vendors who supported the event.  It was a typical gesture for Spidale.  Each year, the White Sox give year-end gifts to their vendors to thank them for their support during the season.

If you spend a little time with Mike Spidale, as I recently did, you will discover that his success as a purchasing manager is rooted in two things: one, his dedication to meeting the club's fiscal goals and two, his passion for making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Making the All Star Game Inclusive

This year's All Star Game offered a textbook example of a sport, and in this case, one club within that sport, that is striving to create greater opportunities for minority and women owned businesses.  

“When you host the All Star Game, your whole organization is on display,” said Spidale.  “The last time we had the All Star Game here was in 1983.  We wanted to show that as an organization - with Major League Baseball - we could put on a great show for all three of the events (Sunday’s Legends of the Game, Monday’s Home Run Derby, and Tuesday’s All Star Game), and we did.” 

As the White Sox began planning for Baseball's mid-season classic, Sox owner and chairman, Jerry Reinsdorf, expressed his desire to see the Sox capitalize on their success in finding and utilizing minority and women vendors.  "Our commitment to Baseball’s Diverse Business Partners Program had a significant influence on how we approached our responsibilities as host of this year’s All Star Game," said Spidale.

Ever since Baseball launched its supplier diversity initiative in 1998, the White Sox have aggressively sought out minorities to support some of the club's largest and most demanding operations.  In many respects, the All Star Game was just another opportunity for the White Sox to promote supplier diversity.

“It was very important to us to have minority and women owned firms participate in the All Star Game,” declared Spidale.  “Major League Baseball provided us with an extensive list of the goods and services they needed, and we in turn provided an extensive list of local minority and women owned companies that could supply those goods and services.”

Major League Baseball selected 17 vendors from that list to provide a variety of goods and services, including printing, security, food services, uniform cleaning and gifts.  Among those selected were several vendors that provide services to the White Sox year-round.  

Spidale credits three of the club’s leading minority contractors for helping to get the stadium into tip-top shape: Taylor Electric, which maintains the electrical systems at the ballpark; JSR Enterprises, which maintains the stadium’s plumbing; and Continental Painting, which routinely applies paint wherever its needed to maintain the appearance of the eleven year old ballpark.  “They were really essential in getting the park ready for the All Star Game,” said Spidale.

Hosting the All Star Game also provided the White Sox with the opportunity to direct additional business to several of its diverse service companies.  One such company was United Business Solutions, a minority-owned company that supplied rental copiers and fax machines to the ballpark and to the hotels where Major League Baseball maintained several administrative offices.  Spidale noted that the All Star Game was United Business Solutions’ largest project to date with Baseball.

Spidale also recommended vendors who were new to the sport, including Luna Security Services, a security management company; and Will Rent, a women-owned equipment rental business.  Spidale beamed when he stated that all of the vendors did an outstanding job.

Respecting Vendors

For the White Sox, success in finding and utilizing minority and women vendors is the result of a unique combination of corporate and individual commitment to maintaining inclusive business practices.  The corporate commitment, which begins with White Sox Chairman, Jerry Reinsdorf, is shared throughout the organization, but much of the responsibility for translating that commitment into measurable results rests with the club’s two main buyers, Mike Spidale and his boss, Don Esposito, Director of Purchasing, Construction and Maintenance.  Both men share a genuine and rare desire to create opportunities for vendors that are often dropped by more traditional selection processes.

“It’s really important to be aggressive about affording opportunities to minority and women owned vendors,” declared Spidale.  “You have to go out and meet the vendors personally, and get to know them. I have found that when you sit down and discuss a vendor’s business, you get to learn about their business.  That doesn’t mean that you are going to become an expert at their business, but you become better equipped to buy their products.  They actually teach you.  It’s essential to building mutually beneficial relationships.  The bottom-line is that it’s about relationships, it’s about trust, and it’s about confidence in one another."

Printing is one commodity where Spidale has benefited from the collective experience of vendors.  “Printing is one of the bigger volume items that I buy – dollar-wise," said Spidale.  "I am by no means an expert in printing a brochure, but I have become a successful print buyer because of the conversations I have had with printers about printing.  I have gone to their facilities and seen presses running, and have had vendors explain how the whole process works."

Spidale’s personal experience with vendors helped several become suppliers to Major League Baseball during the All Star Game, including two local restaurants that provided food for MLB's pre-game party.  Spidale enjoys frequenting Nuevo Leona Restaurant, a Mexican restaurant located  less than two miles from the ballpark in the predominantly Mexican community of Pilson.  “I have had lunch there a number of times, and enjoy their food immensely,” said Spidale.  “They have great Mexican dishes; they're minority-owned; and they’re in the neighborhood.  I thought they would be great for the pre-All Star Game party.”

The other eatery is Robinson’s Ribs.  “That was a no-brainer for me,” said Spidale.  “I have a special affection for Robinson’s Ribs because I grew up in the neighborhood where they are located - on Madison Avenue in Oak Park.  I had first-hand knowledge of how excellent their product is.”

Major League Baseball also accepted two other recommendations for the pre-All Star Game party: Hensaal Management Group, which supplied smoked turkey legs and Vee-Vees African Restaurant.

Spidale admits his greatest motivation in pursuing diversity is seizing the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, companies, and ultimately communities.

“I really get a kick out of awarding an opportunity to a new business.  Take Ed Gordon, (president of Edge Graphics), a gentleman who for twenty-plus years worked for other people,” said Spidale.  “When I first met him, I was extremely impressed with his knowledge of printing.  He lives and breathes printing.  I also admired him for taking the chance - in his late forties - to start a business.  That takes guts.  I am grateful for having played a role in his getting a printing job for the All Star Game.  He did a great job, and hopefully that will get him more business with Major League Baseball as well as the design companies that Major League Baseball uses.  Personally, it makes me feel good to help another individual realize their dream.”

Getting Help and Being Prepared

To broaden the club's exposure to emerging talent among minorities and women, the White Sox have joined several business organizations that promote supplier diversity.  The organizations include the Chicago Regional Purchasing Council, the Women’s Business Development Council and the National Minority Supplier Development Council.  Spidale credits all three organizations with helping the White Sox to find businesses that have the potential to grow into partners.

“Getting to know Tracye Smith (president of the Chicago Regional Purchasing Council) and Hedy Ratner (president of the Women’s Business Development Council) has been tremendous,” said Spidale. “They have helped us to find really great vendors.”

Spidale hopes the White Sox’s success will lead to more inclusion of minority and women owned vendors in the future.  “We tried to set a foundation for All Star Games to come,” said Spidale.  “Hopefully, other clubs will follow suit, beginning with Houston next year.”

To increase the chances of that happening, Spidale offered his counterparts in the League several pointers.  “There are two essential parts of a successful inclusion effort.  The first is to realize that when you increase the number of vendors in the bidding process, you increase your chances of getting good prices, good quality and good service.  That’s simply because you are affording opportunity to more vendors.  Secondly, affording opportunities to minority and women owned businesses is good business, and it’s the right thing to do.  Our program is not a hand-out program, and it’s not a give-away program.  It’s a vehicle we use to get better pricing, great service and to build mutually beneficial relationships.  I can honestly say that our diversity efforts have saved the White Sox money.”

For Spidale, an inclusive procurement process begins with information.  "To start, you have to get to know who the vendors are," noted Spidale.  "We started our database several years ago; and included vendors that we didn’t need immediately.  By the time the All Star Game came around, we knew local minority and women owned companies that could supply the needed goods and services.  Preparation was really a big part of our success.  That means finding out who’s out there, meeting with them and getting to know the company and their capabilities.”

Spidale added that the club’s diversity efforts have resulted in long-term business partnerships with several vendors that are minority and women owned.

With the support of senior management Don Esposito and Mike Spidale have made diverse vendors an integral part of the fabric of success for the Chicago White Sox.  As that commitment is embraced throughout the League, Major League Baseball can look forward to an array of diverse vendors contributing to the success of its All Star Games.