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by
Dan Perkins (a
consultant to MLB)
Spring
is almost here, and the hearts of many sports
enthusiasts are beginning to stir with thoughts of baseball.
While fans may be pondering the future
of their favorite teams, a
group of Major League Baseball (MLB) executives met in Chicago
recently to explore ways to brighten the future of
the sport by increasing opportunities for
minority- and women-owned businesses.
For
three days, February 29th through March
2nd, procurement managers, controllers,
community development
directors and other
Baseball executives met at U.S. Cellular Field for the
2004 Diverse Business Partners (DBP)
Program Conference.
The
conference was organized by Wendy
Lewis and her staff, which operate out of
MLB's Central Office in New York City.
Lewis, who is Vice President of Strategic Planning for
Recruitment and Diversity at Major League
Baseball, has managed the DBP Program since
2000.
“The
conference gives us an opportunity to come
together as an industry to examine our past,
current and future practices,” said Lewis.
“It is the only time we get to
collectively share, give feedback, and give
strategic focus to where we should be going.”
A
Forum to Learn Best Practices
Not
all of the 30 clubs that make up Major League
Baseball were present at this year’s
conference, but many of the clubs that were there have aggressively implemented the DBP
Program, including the Atlanta
Braves, Chicago
White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota
Twins and Seattle
Mariners. These five clubs have been
recognized by their local markets as supplier
diversity advocates and are among a growing number
of MLB clubs that regularly participate in local
business opportunity fairs.
From
Lewis’ perspective, one of the strengths of the
2004 DBP Conference was the discussion of best
practices, which was led by clubs that recognize the
strategic value of supplier diversity.
“It’s just been exciting to see,
over
the course of several of these conferences, how clubs have matured in scope and responsibility, in
outlook and vision, and bottom-line, in
results,” said Lewis.
The
Pittsburgh
Pirates and St.
Louis Cardinals are among the clubs that have
achieved impressive results by embracing supplier diversity during the
construction of their new ballparks.
In the case of the Pirates, that embrace
has extended well beyond the completion of PNC Park, which opened in 2002.
During
a discussion of best practices, Winifred
Torbert, Director
of Community Development for the Pirates discussed
her experiences of going into the community and
making civic and business leaders more aware of
the Pirates’ commitment to diversity on all
levels. Her
efforts and those of the Pirate's have been well received.
Last May, the Pirates were recognized as
the region's best sports and
entertainment company by the Pittsburgh
Regional Minority Purchasing Council, which
operates under the umbrella of the National
Minority Supplier Development Council, the
nation’s leading minority business advocacy
group.
The Cardinals
have also found success incorporating supplier
diversity into the construction of their new ballpark. "Although
our program is relatively new, it has been
embraced by our management and communicated to minority-
and women-owned businesses," said Marian
Rhodes, Vice President of Public Affairs and
Employee Relations for the Cardinals. "We
hope to increase the capacity of minority- and
women-owned businesses through our mentor/protégé
program, and to develop relationships that will
be retained long after our ballpark is
built. We believe our program will make a real difference
in the St. Louis region."
The
exchange of program information and best practices
was especially
beneficial for clubs with emerging programs.
“We’re
committed to taking what we learned at this
conference and expanding our program efforts in San Diego,” said Michael
Babida, Executive
Director for Purchasing at the San Diego Padres.
The
conference also benefited executives new to both the
game of baseball and supplier diversity,
such as William
Hatzichristos, Director of Corporate
Procurement for the New
York Mets.
Hatzichristos joined the Mets in December
2003 from the venture capital world.
He was totally unfamiliar with supplier
diversity prior to the conference, but said
the conference helped him understand the
strategic value of the Diverse Business Partners
Program. He
pledged to make the program an integral part of
how the Mets conduct future business.
Another
newcomer to the program was Jose
Tavarez, Vice President of Employee and Guest
Relations for the Tampa
Bay Devil Rays.
“Before this conference, I didn’t have
a clue as to what this program was all about,”
Tavarez told his colleagues during a wrap-up
session. “Now
I understand and I am going to take what I’ve
learned and share it with our senior managers and
our procurement people,” he continued.
An
Expansive Scope
A
key point stressed throughout the conference was
the need to extend the DBP Program to every buying entity within each
club’s organization.
In some industries and organizations, supplier diversity
is applied to office administration, which limits the scope of the effort.
Baseball’s Diverse Business Partners
Program extends to team
operations, stadium operations, marketing and
publicity, as well as general and administrative
expenses. Capital
expenditures are also monitored under the program.
The
scope of Baseball’s supplier diversity
initiative is unique within the world of professional sports.
Other professional leagues tend to offer
only a limited number of opportunities to minorities and
women - mostly during marquee
events. By
contrast, Baseball has made supplier diversity a permanent and
extensive part of its business operations.
Even marquee events, such as this year's All
Star Game in Houston, are organized with a strong supplier
diversity component. Over the past year, Damien
Babin, Director of Treasury and Office
Services for the Houston Astros, has worked
closely with the Central Office to identify
minority- and women-owned businesses in the Houston
area that are able to provide goods and services
during the All Star Game. Babin, who oversees the
Astros' DBP Program, commented on his All Star experiences
during the DBP conference.
One
of the challenges DBP Program administrators face
involves managing vendor expectations.
When minority and women entrepreneurs learn
of the DBP Program, some assume there will be immediate
opportunities to supply a club or the League.
“That’s not always the case,” warned Wendy
Lewis. It may take time
for a club and a vendor to get to know one another,
and time to determine whether there's a proper fit.
“Baseball can be a very demanding
client,” said Lewis.
“Vendors really have to understand the
way we do business, and they have to be able to
meet our high service requirements,” she
continued.
Mike
Spidale,
Purchasing Manager for the Chicago
White Sox has been able to utilize an
impressive number of minority firms in key
positions by carefully
matching opportunities with suppliers’
capabilities.
Some matches require Spidale to be creative.
For example, when Spidale
is working with a new supplier, he might award
only a portion of an opportunity to allow that
supplier. The small contract allows the
supplier to safely learn how the White Sox’s conduct business.
When the supplier
meets or exceeds expectations, Spidale
usually invites the company to bid on the whole
contract or on other projects.
Today,
the White Sox have minority contractors servicing the
plumbing and electrical systems at U.S. Cellular
Field, as well as the
players'
uniforms - just to name a few of the club's highly
visible matches.
For Spidale,
the extra effort occasionally required to
establish a successful relationship is a
reasonable investment given the pricing, dedication, innovation and loyalty
that many minority suppliers bring to the Sox
organization.
While
individual clubs, like the White Sox, are busy
establishing the industry's best practices, Lewis
and her staff are kept busy encouraging a variety
of developments throughout the League. For
example, Lewis would like to see more minorities and women
support prime contractors on many of the larger
contracts awarded by the League and its member
clubs.
At
this year’s conference, Lewis invited MLB's leading minority consultant, Ralph Moore,
president of RGMA,
Inc., to outline the critical steps required to
incorporate second-tier sourcing within the DBP
Program. Second-tier
sourcing occurs whenever subcontractors are used
in support of a larger contract.
This year, MLB clubs will include monies
spent with minority and women subcontractors in
their annual reports on diversity, which are
submitted to the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud
Selig.
While
the success of MLB’s
second-tier initiative requires the cooperation of
prime contractors, Lewis isn’t worried about
obtaining their support.
She noted that many prime contractors
already engage in second-tier reporting for other
clients. “Baseball
is just expanding its lead by bringing
second-tier reporting to professional sports,”
she said.
The
Big Pay-off
The
DBP Program is not a give-away program, but rather
a bold strategic initiative designed to leverage
relationships that strengthen both Major League Baseball
and diverse communities. Lewis said the DBP Program is one of four
strategic initiatives that MLB employs to build
stronger ties with diverse communities.
The others are branding, employment, and
philanthropy.
Branding,
or the packaging of baseball, is the most visible
initiative. “You can see our commitment to diversity
in every aspect of the game as it’s played on
the field - from the coaches to the players to the
referees – that’s our brand,” declared Lewis who
is also responsible for MLB’s
diversity recruitment efforts.
When
it comes to diversity in employment, women and minorities now hold key positions
throughout the Commissioner’s Office and
throughout the ranks of its member clubs.
MLB’s philanthropic
activities constitute another strategic thrust.
“Baseball’s philanthropic efforts are
extensive and match or exceed that of any other
sport. However,
we differ from them by extending our commitment to
include our procurement centers,” explained Lewis.
The bottom line
objective of all four strategic
initiatives is to build bridges to communities
that have largely abandoned the game of baseball
in recent decades.
“We want minorities and women to know
that we embrace them, and in turn, we hope that
they will embrace our sport,” concluded Lewis.
“We want to be partners with diverse
communities, and that is why we established and
continue to expand the Diverse Business Partners
Program.”
The
End
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