Cardinal Health is one of the largest healthcare distribution companies in the world, with revenue exceeding $205 billion. Its supply chain touches hospitals, pharmacies, and healthcare systems across the United States. Getting on their approved vendor list takes preparation, the right certifications, and patience. Here is what the process actually looks like.
Cardinal Health's supplier diversity program
Cardinal Health operates a formal program called the Supplier Diversity & Inclusion initiative. The company is a corporate member of both the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), two of the most widely recognized third-party certification bodies in the country.
Their stated goal is to increase spend with certified diverse businesses across direct and indirect categories. Cardinal Health participates in the Billion Dollar Roundtable, a coalition of corporations that each spend over $1 billion annually with diverse suppliers. That membership signals a serious, ongoing financial commitment rather than a checkbox program.
The company does not publish a specific annual diverse spend dollar figure publicly, but Billion Dollar Roundtable membership sets the floor at $1 billion per year.
Certifications Cardinal Health recognizes
Cardinal Health accepts certifications from the following bodies and designations:
- MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) — certified through an NMSDC regional affiliate
- WBE (Women's Business Enterprise) — certified through WBENC or a recognized regional partner
- WOSB / EDWOSB (Women-Owned Small Business) — SBA federal certification
- SDVOSB / VOSB (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned / Veteran-Owned Small Business) — verified through SBA VSBS or VA CVE
- 8(a) — SBA Business Development Program
- HUBZone — SBA Historically Underutilized Business Zone certification
- LGBTBE (LGBT Business Enterprise) — certified through NGLCC
- Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE) — certified through Disability:IN
If you hold more than one certification, list all of them in your registration. Cardinal Health tracks diversity spend by category and your certifications directly affect which buyers you get routed to.
Where and how to register
Cardinal Health uses the Jaggaer (formerly SciQuest) Supplier Network as its primary supplier registration portal. You can access it through Cardinal Health's procurement portal linked from their supplier diversity page at cardinalhealth.com/en/support/supplier-diversity.html.
Before you register, have the following ready:
- Your DUNS number or SAM.gov UEI (Unique Entity Identifier)
- Current certificates from your certifying body (NMSDC, WBENC, etc.) in PDF format
- W-9 and proof of insurance
- Capability statement (one to two pages, NAICS codes included)
- Three trade references
The registration itself takes 30 to 45 minutes. After submission, expect a 4 to 6 week review period before your profile is visible to Cardinal Health category managers.
One practical note: Cardinal Health also uses a secondary intake form specifically for supplier diversity contacts. Submit through the main Jaggaer portal first, then email their supplier diversity team at supplierdiversity@cardinalhealth.com to flag your submission. That email puts a human name on your file and can shorten the review queue.
Product and service categories they source from diverse suppliers
Cardinal Health's indirect and direct sourcing teams actively recruit diverse suppliers in the following areas:
Medical and laboratory supplies Exam gloves, PPE, surgical instruments, lab consumables, and single-use disposables are among the highest-volume categories. Manufacturers and distributors of FDA-cleared medical products are the target profile here.
Information technology Managed IT services, cybersecurity consulting, software development, and hardware resale. This is one of the more accessible categories for smaller certified firms because Cardinal Health's IT needs span both their corporate operations and their healthcare technology division (Cardinal Health at-Home, nuclear pharmacy operations, etc.).
Professional services Consulting, staffing, marketing, legal, finance, and HR services. Cardinal Health's corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio and regional offices generate consistent demand for these services.
Logistics and distribution Third-party logistics (3PL), freight brokerage, last-mile delivery, and warehousing. Given Cardinal Health's core business model, this category is competitive but large.
Facilities and construction Maintenance, janitorial, construction, and renovation services for distribution centers and pharmacy locations across the country.
If your NAICS codes fall outside these categories, that does not automatically disqualify you. Cardinal Health occasionally sources in categories not listed above, particularly when a diverse supplier can demonstrate a unique capability.
Industry events and how to get a meeting
Cardinal Health attends and sponsors several events where supplier diversity buyers actively conduct one-on-one meetings:
NMSDC Annual Conference (October, location rotates) This is the single best venue to meet Cardinal Health's supplier diversity team in person. They typically send two to four representatives and participate in the conference's matchmaking sessions. Register for the Business Opportunity Exchange (BOE) within the conference to request a meeting slot. Register early; slots fill within the first two weeks of opening.
WBENC National Conference (June, location rotates) Cardinal Health maintains a corporate membership booth and attends the conference's speed networking and matchmaking sessions. Prep a 90-second pitch specific to healthcare procurement.
Billion Dollar Roundtable Supplier Diversity Summit (annual, invitation-based) This event is for corporate members and their suppliers. As a diverse supplier, you can be invited by a Cardinal Health contact or sponsored through an NMSDC/WBENC regional council. Getting on the radar of a Cardinal Health buyer beforehand is the path in.
Regional NMSDC council events Cardinal Health participates actively in regional councils near their major distribution footprint. The Midwest region (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois) is most active given their headquarters location. Attend local council events to build relationships with their regional procurement contacts before the national conference.
To get a direct meeting outside of conference contexts: connect with Cardinal Health's Director of Supplier Diversity on LinkedIn, reference your registration submission, and ask a specific question about sourcing needs in your category. A targeted, specific outreach gets a response far more often than a generic pitch.
Realistic timeline and first steps
Getting your first purchase order from Cardinal Health typically takes 12 to 24 months from initial registration. That timeline reflects how large, regulated corporations actually move, not a barrier they have created intentionally.
Here is what the path looks like in practice:
Months 1 to 2: Obtain your certification (NMSDC MBE or WBENC WBE are the most impactful), complete your Jaggaer registration, and email the supplier diversity team.
Months 3 to 6: Attend a regional council event where Cardinal Health is present. Meet at least one buyer or supplier diversity contact in person. Send a follow-up email within 48 hours with your capability statement attached.
Months 6 to 12: Attend the NMSDC or WBENC national conference and participate in a scheduled matchmaking session. By this point, your registration is visible in their system and a buyer can actually pull your profile.
Months 12 to 24: A buyer with an active sourcing need in your category will reach out, or your contact will route an RFQ to you. First contracts are often smaller subcontracting or pilot orders.
A few things that accelerate this timeline: a warm introduction from an existing Cardinal Health diverse supplier, a specific RFQ they post that matches your capabilities exactly, or a relationship built through multiple conference interactions with the same buyer.
One thing that delays it: a generic capability statement that lists 15 service categories without a clear primary specialty. Cardinal Health's buyers have specific sourcing needs. A supplier who is clearly the expert in one area gets routed faster than one who claims to do everything.
Before you register
Pull your certifications, get your UEI from SAM.gov, and write a one-page capability statement focused on your top one or two NAICS codes in the context of healthcare. Then register in Jaggaer, follow up by email, and book your ticket to the next NMSDC conference. The relationship usually starts at one of those events, not in the portal.
