QinetiQ Collaborate: Fostering Supply Chain Diversity

The event involved an open and free-flowing discussion where various aspects of supplier diversity were discussed, such as enterprise size, geographical location and minority-owned enterprises. The panel discussed the global trends in supplier diversity, reflected on how the pandemic disrupted supply chains and spoke about the benefits that supplier diversity can bring, such as social value, decreased disruption and increased innovation.

"The need for innovation is only going to grow as we move towards a Net Zero future; supply chains need to support us in tech, products and services that are lower in GHG emissions but that don’t have a wider social impact. To achieve this, we need a wider pool of innovative and non-traditional suppliers, as some of the solutions will lie in other sectors. Innovation is the key to all of that"

- Hannah Cowley – Supply Chain Lead, QinetiQ

The event also allowed us to address the barriers of fostering a diverse supply chain, such as aversion to perceived risk and difficulties in finding diverse suppliers with niche capabilities. This prompted a number of great questions from our attendees, including the key concern around how diverse suppliers can increase their visibility.

Overall, the event demonstrated how fostering supplier diversity, isn’t just a ‘tick-box exercise’, but is something that provides genuine benefit to both us and our suppliers. Moving forward, we want to encourage our own supply chain and others to foster diversity, as a means to deliver positive social value, support economic development, stimulate disruptive innovation and sustain market growth.