DETROIT — After a successful pilot run, the National Black Supplier Development Program is back with a new slate of companies that will get training on how to refine and grow their operations.
Program creators Stellantis and the National Business League on Tuesday said 15 companies will take part in the latest phase of this development initiative.
The pilot class of 13 companies, which concluded their work in February, received insight over several months on topics such as increasing capacity, creating a brand and managing finances. They received tips, for instance, on how to refine their elevator pitches.
The 15 new companies, which are being called “the collective,” work in marketing, logistics, real estate services, manufacturing and other fields.
The next round of training will feature several opportunities for in-person activities in addition to remote learning, which is a change from the pilot’s setup. Stellantis plans to host a matchmaker event for the companies during the business league’s 35th Annual National Black Supplier Conference in Detroit this November.
In another new touch, corporate partners including Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Lear Corp., Magna International Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp. have joined and will lend expertise to the development program.
The next batch of companies are being introduced Tuesday at Stellantis’ Conner Center, the former Viper sports car plant.
“You will see in this next class some integrated education between the members of the collective,” Gregory Hawkins, Stellantis’ manager of supplier diversity and project lead for the program, told Automotive News. “Before it was Stellantis and our subject matter experts and industry experts sharing content with them. Now we have built into the program their ability to create work teams, where they will actually educate one another and share thoughts between one another, and also with those subject matter experts who will kind of lead those conversations.”
The initiative aims to provide the businesses with virtual training and give them access to an online marketplace that builds “a bridge between the public and private sectors to create substantive business opportunities for Black suppliers” around the U.S. and internationally within the auto industry and beyond.
The marketplace will provide access to capital, mentorship, executive coaching, supplier training and development, bid posting, matchmaking, supply chain solutions, and talent placement and acquisition, among other things.
Detroit ad agency Boulevard, which has done work for the Jeep brand and the Detroit Tigers, is among the 15 companies that will take part in the training. The agency handled a recent Jeep Grand Wagoneer campaign starring former NBA player and Detroit native Jalen Rose.
