Reporting on supplier diversity.

How to become an Anheuser-Busch supplier (and how its supplier diversity program works)

Anheuser-Busch buys from a parent company the size of AB InBev, which means two different front doors and a separate path for …

Jun 2, 2026 · Maya Okonkwo

How to become an Adobe supplier (and what's left of Adobe's supplier diversity program)

Adobe onboards suppliers by invitation through Graphite Connect, not an open application. Here's how the procurement system actually works, where diverse-supplier certification …

May 28, 2026 · Maya Okonkwo

How to become a Microsoft supplier: what the procurement process actually looks like

Registering with Microsoft is free, but it doesn't get you a contract. Here's how Microsoft procurement actually works, which certifications it recognizes, …

Apr 15, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to vet and onboard a small or diverse supplier

Vetting a small supplier isn't about lowering the bar. It's about checking the right things in the right order so a first …

Dec 31, 2025 · Will Moss

How to verify a supplier's small business and socioeconomic status

A supplier's word that they're an SDVOSB no longer counts toward your goals. Here's how to confirm SB and socioeconomic status against …

Dec 30, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

Using SBA SUBNet to post and find subcontracting opportunities

SUBNet is the SBA's posting board for subcontracting opportunities, and it still helps you document outreach for a FAR 52.219-9 plan. But …

Dec 29, 2025 · Mario Bailey

Tier 1 vs Tier 2 diverse spend: what counts and how to report it

Tier 1 is the spend you pay diverse and small suppliers directly. Tier 2 is what flows through your suppliers. Here's what …

Dec 26, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

Supplier diversity metrics and KPIs that actually matter

Most supplier diversity dashboards measure the wrong things. Here's the short list of metrics tied to compliance and economic impact, the vanity …

Dec 24, 2025 · Will Moss

Supplier diversity after the DEI rollback: what to keep and what to rename

The 2025 rollback hit voluntary corporate programs, not the statutory federal set-aside and subcontracting machinery. Here's what's durable, what to reframe, and …

Dec 23, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

Where to find certified MBE, WBE, and diverse suppliers

If you have a subcontracting plan to meet or a Tier-2 number to report, the supplier has to be certified by the …

Dec 22, 2025 · Will Moss

The small business liaison officer (SBLO) role and responsibilities

On a contract carrying FAR 52.219-9, someone has to own the subcontracting plan, the goals, and the reports. That someone is the …

Dec 19, 2025 · Mario Bailey

How to run a Tier 2 supplier diversity reporting program

Tier 2 reporting fails on data quality, not good intentions. Here's which primes to enroll, what to collect, how direct and indirect …

Dec 18, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

How to meet your small business subcontracting plan goals

If you carry a subcontracting plan under FAR 52.219-9, the goals are contractual, not aspirational. Here is where the dollars leak, how …

Dec 17, 2025 · Mario Bailey

How to measure the economic impact of your supplier program

Spend totals don't tell the story your CFO or your contracting officer wants. Here's how to turn supplier program spend into jobs, …

Dec 16, 2025 · Mario Bailey

Limitations on subcontracting: what buyers need to know

If you hold a set-aside prime, the limitations on subcontracting rule caps how much work you can push to firms that aren't …

Dec 16, 2025 · Mario Bailey

Documenting good faith efforts on a subcontracting plan

Missing a subcontracting goal is not automatically a problem. Failing to document a good faith effort is. Here's the record a contracting …

Dec 15, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

How to find WOSB and EDWOSB subcontractors

Your subcontracting plan commits you to a 5% women-owned spend goal, and eSRS counts only certified firms. Here's how to source WOSBs …

Dec 12, 2025 · Will Moss

How to find SDVOSB subcontractors for a federal contract

Self-certification for SDVOSBs is gone. Here's where to source Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned subcontractors that actually count toward your subcontracting goals, and how to …

Dec 11, 2025 · Will Moss

How to find HUBZone subcontractors (and hit the 3% goal)

HUBZone is the smallest pool and the most volatile certification in your subcontracting plan, which is why the 3% goal trips up …

Dec 10, 2025 · Mario Bailey

How to find 8(a) and small disadvantaged business subcontractors

8(a) and SDB credit hinges on sourcing the right firms and proving status. Here's where to find them, what the certification changes …

Dec 9, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

How to file the Summary Subcontracting Report (SSR) in eSRS

The SSR is the annual roll-up of your subcontracting plan performance, and the SBA scorecard runs on it. Here's who files, when, …

Dec 8, 2025 · Mario Bailey

How to file the Individual Subcontracting Report (ISR) in eSRS

The ISR is where your subcontracting plan goals meet your actuals, and where contracting officers decide whether you get acknowledged or sent …

Dec 5, 2025 · Will Moss

FAR 52.219-9 explained: the subcontracting plan clause for primes

If your contract crosses the threshold, you owe the government a subcontracting plan with goals you have to report against. Here's what …

Dec 4, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

Writing diverse and small supplier requirements into your RFPs

Building small and diverse supplier expectations into a solicitation is a sourcing and compliance problem, not a slogan. Here's how to write …

Dec 3, 2025 · Mario Bailey

Commercial vs individual subcontracting plans: which to use

If you sell commercial products or services across many federal contracts, a commercial subcontracting plan can replace a stack of individual plans …

Dec 2, 2025 · Will Moss

How to build a supplier inclusion program in 2026

The 2025 DEI rollback hit voluntary corporate programs, not your federal subcontracting obligations. Here's how to build a program around compliance and …

Dec 1, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo