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Insurance Australia Group (IAG), in collaboration with SAP Ariba, has launched a business-to-business diversity channel of social enterprises and indigenous and women-owned businesses, to drive positive social change and create a marketplace for underrepresented suppliers.
Working closely with SAP Ariba, the insurer developed an internal diversity marketplace, enabling its employees to channel their spend in an effort to make a positive impact on local communities.
“We believe in driving positive social change and wanted to create a marketplace for underrepresented suppliers who may not normally come into our network,” said Fraser Stowers, IAG executive manager of procurement. “The diversity marketplace will help our buyers connect with suppliers from different backgrounds and make informed choices on where they make purchases. We are also proud to partner with First Nations-led businesses on this launch, which demonstrates our dedication to embed reconciliation in the way we do business every day and reflects the commitment we made in our Reconciliation Action Plan.”
Read more: IAG introduces its new Reconciliation Action Plan
The two organisations worked closely with key supplier intermediaries across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and women-owned businesses and social enterprises such as Supply Nation, Mums & Co, and Social Traders to help identify diverse suppliers ready to transact on the Ariba Network.
“Participating buyers and suppliers on Ariba Network will benefit from this initiative,” said Ben Redwine, SAP Ariba Asia-Pacific Japan chief operating officer. “For buyers like IAG, they elevate the role of procurement beyond cost reduction by allowing their employees to spend better and make a social impact in the Australia community. For suppliers like The Floral Decorator, we are growing their businesses by giving them access to the largest business-to-business network in the world. This is what makes the Australian procurement community awesome – the collective power and purpose of our profession to build a community and figure out ways that we can work together to improve people’s lives and create a level playing field for everyone.”
