The Journal

Reporting on supplier diversity.

Working coverage of certifications, corporate procurement, federal contracting, financing, and the operators making each work for diverse-owned businesses. Every piece checked against primary sources.

City-Procurement

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Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for Washington, D.C.: registration, certification, and bids

Washington, D.C. runs vendor registration through OCP eSourcing and local certification through DSLBD's Certified Business Enterprise program. Here is exactly where to …

· Mario Bailey

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Albuquerque: registration, certification, and bids

Registration with Albuquerque's Purchasing Division is free, and it's required before you can view solicitations or submit an offer. This guide walks …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Atlanta: registration, certification, and bids

Atlanta runs vendor registration through Oracle Cloud (ATL Cloud) and posts bids at ATLSuppliers.com. Registration takes 3 to 10 business days, and …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Austin: registration, certification, and bids

Austin runs vendor registration, bid posting, and electronic offers through one system: Austin Finance Online. This guide walks you through registering, getting …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Baltimore: registration, certification, and bids

Baltimore runs purchasing through two systems, certifies MBE/WBE firms only inside its defined market area, and reviews applications in about 60 days. …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Boston: registration, certification, and bids

Boston runs vendor registration, bids, and contracts through one PeopleSoft Supplier Portal at procurement.boston.gov. The city awarded $1.08 billion in FY23 contracts, …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Charlotte: registration, certification, and bids

Charlotte runs supplier registration, its Charlotte Business INClusion (CBI) certification, and bid postings through three separate systems. This guide walks you through …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Chicago: registration, certification, and bids

Chicago runs vendor registration through the iSupplier eProcurement portal, with a separate 90-day MBE/WBE/VBE certification carrying a $250 fee. This guide walks …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Cincinnati: registration, certification, and bids

Cincinnati runs two separate systems: Vendor Self Service for registration and bidding, and a Diversity Compliance portal for SBE/MBE/WBE certification. MBE and …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Cleveland: registration, certification, and bids

Cleveland runs two parallel systems you have to set up: vendor registration through its OpenGov procurement portal, and Office of Equal Opportunity …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Columbus: registration, certification, and bids

Columbus runs vendor registration, free two-year MBE/WBE certification, and bid postings through a single Vendor Services portal launched in 2021. Here is …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Dallas: registration, certification, and bids

Dallas runs its vendor registration and bids through the Bonfire portal, and counts M/WBE participation through certifiers it recognizes, not its own …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Denver: registration, certification, and bids

Denver runs vendor registration through the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System (BidNet Direct) and certifies diverse firms through the Division of Small Business …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Detroit: registration, certification, and bids

Detroit registers suppliers through the EUNA/Bonfire e-bidding portal and runs payments through Oracle. Getting CRIO-certified as a Detroit-based, minority-, or woman-owned business …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Fort Worth: registration, certification, and bids

Fort Worth runs vendor registration through its PeopleSoft Supplier Portal and posts every solicitation issued on or after January 1, 2024 through …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Houston: registration, certification, and bids

Houston runs vendor registration, S/MWBE certification, and bid posting through three separate systems. This guide walks the exact portals, the Office of …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Indianapolis: registration, certification, and bids

Indianapolis sets MBE/WBE/VBE/DOBE participation goals on its contracts and runs vendor registration through indy.gov. Here is how to register, who certifies diverse …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Jacksonville: registration, certification, and bids

Jacksonville runs procurement through a Supplier Portal you have to register in before anything else, including before you can apply for JSEB …

· Mario Bailey

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Kansas City: registration, certification, and bids

Kansas City splits vendor registration in two: non-construction suppliers register in Bonfire, construction suppliers use the KCMO Plan Room. This guide walks …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Las Vegas: registration, certification, and bids

The City of Las Vegas runs procurement through its iSupplier portal and posts most solicitations on DemandStar. Here's how to register, where …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Los Angeles: registration, certification, and bids

The City of Los Angeles runs its vendor registration, certification, and bid postings through one free portal called RAMP. Get registered, request …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Memphis: registration, certification, and bids

Registering with the City of Memphis takes an online supplier form plus a signed W-9 faxed to Purchasing the same day. SMWBE …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Miami: registration, certification, and bids

The City of Miami runs vendor registration through its iSupplier portal and posts new solicitations on Bidnet Direct as of January 1, …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Milwaukee: registration, certification, and bids

The City of Milwaukee runs bids through Bonfire and notifies vendors through E-Notify. Its Small Business Enterprise certification is run by the …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Minneapolis: registration, certification, and bids

Minneapolis runs vendor registration through its eSupplier portal and recognizes the regional Central Certification (CERT) program for MBE, WBE, and SBE status. …

· Mario Bailey

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Nashville: registration, certification, and bids

Metro Nashville runs all vendor registration and bidding through one Oracle iSupplier portal. Here is how to register, when self-identifying as MBE …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of New Orleans: registration, certification, and bids

New Orleans runs vendor registration through its BRASS supplier portal and certifies local diverse firms as SLDBEs through the Office of Supplier …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of New York City: registration, certification, and bids

New York City runs vendor enrollment through PASSPort and payment setup through PIP, advertises every solicitation over $100,000 in the City Record …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Philadelphia: registration, certification, and bids

Philadelphia runs its bids through PHLContracts and tracks diverse firms through the OEO registry under Executive Order 3-12. The city no longer …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Phoenix: registration, certification, and bids

Phoenix splits vendor onboarding across two systems: procurePHX for registration and payment, and an OpenGov portal for bids. Here is how both …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Pittsburgh: registration, certification, and bids

Pittsburgh runs vendor registration through its Beacon portal and posts solicitations on an OpenGov e-procurement site. The city sets participation goals of …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Portland: registration, certification, and bids

Portland runs vendor registration through its BuySpeed portal and recognizes state COBID certification for MBE, WBE, ESB, DBE, and SDVBE firms. Here …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Sacramento: registration, certification, and bids

Sacramento runs vendor registration through its PeopleSoft eSupplier portal and posts solicitations on PlanetBids. Here's how the two systems fit together, where …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of San Antonio: registration, certification, and bids

San Antonio runs every solicitation through one e-procurement system, SAePS, and rewards locally certified small businesses with scoring preferences. This guide walks …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of San Diego: registration, certification, and bids

The City of San Diego runs all formal solicitations through PlanetBids, and you must be registered there to submit a bid. Its …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of San Francisco: registration, certification, and bids

San Francisco runs its buying through one supplier portal (SF City Partner) and gives certified local firms a 10% scoring edge on …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of San Jose: registration, certification, and bids

San Jose runs vendor notifications through Biddingo and rewards local and small firms with a price and evaluation preference under Ordinance 27136. …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Seattle: registration, certification, and bids

Seattle retired its old Online Business Directory in August 2024 and moved registration to an OpenGov portal. Here is how to register, …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Tampa: registration, certification, and bids

Tampa runs vendor registration and solicitations through the OpenGov eProcurement portal, and its Equal Business Opportunity office certifies WMBE and SLBE firms …

· Mario Bailey

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to become a vendor for the City of Tucson: registration, certification, and bids

Tucson runs its solicitations through a free OpenGov e-procurement portal and certifies local small firms through its own SBE and DBE programs, …

· Maya Okonkwo

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