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Three Michigan Companies Win Supplier Diversity Achievement Awards from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
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DETROIT, March 6, 2008 - Three Michigan-based suppliers have been honored with Supplier Diversity Achievement Awards from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
The annual award event highlights the achievements of Blues suppliers along with the company's procurement staff and business units. Doing business with diverse suppliers supports economic and job growth in Michigan, and is a corporate commitment of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
This year's award winners are:
New Supplier of the Year Award: Pierce, Monroe & Associates LLC of Detroit. The financial, management and information technology consulting firm supported Blue Cross in conducting a strategic and functional assessment of the company’s corporate procurement department. The assessment helped improve the department's quality, efficiency and coordination with other Blues purchasing units.
Diverse Supplier Achievement Award: Alliance Technology Solutions LLC of Orion and Grand Rapids. Alliance Technology Solutions provides complete information technology infrastructure solutions, and is an IBM premier business partner. The company consistently focuses on customer satisfaction, and proactively searches out cost-saving opportunities for the Blues.
Supplier Diversity Champion Achievement Award: The Technicom Group of Highland Park. This award, which goes to a Tier One supplier who utilized or partnered with a diverse supplier, went to The Technicom Group, a mail services provider. Technicom secured a first-time contract between Vanntech, a diverse supplier, and Blue Cross, the second-largest mailer in the state.
In 1992, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's board of directors established a procurement objective to provide equal access and opportunities to diverse businesses. As a result, 15 percent of available procurement funds are designated for diverse suppliers. The Blues more than doubled that percentage in 2007.
But the Blues' commitment to supplier diversity goes beyond just purchasing goods and services from diverse businesses, said Audrey Harvey, Blues vice president of corporate services.
"We assist suppliers in networking with departments, senior leadership and procurement staff here at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan," Harvey said. "We also form mentoring relationships with suppliers, and create business opportunities for them by introducing them to other Blue plans across the nation."
Harvey said although substantial progress has been made, the Blues will continue working hard on cultivating and promoting supplier diversity.
"Michigan is a diverse state, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a diverse company," Harvey said. "We will continue aggressively pursuing our supplier diversity goals."
In 2007, the Michigan Minority Business Development Council presented Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan with its prestigious Corporation of the Year Award, Health Care Sector. The MMBDC award recognized the Blues' outstanding achievements in creating and maintaining a diverse network of suppliers to the company. In 2006, the company was presented an Exemplary Voluntary Efforts Award from the U.S. Department of Labor in recognition of its exceptional equal employment opportunity program.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit organization, provides and administers health benefits to more than 4.6 million members residing in Michigan in addition to members of Michigan-headquartered groups who reside outside the state. The company offers a broad variety of plans including: Traditional Blue Cross Blue Shield; Blue Preferred, Community Blue and Healthy Blue Incentives PPOs; Blue Care Network HMO; BCN Healthy Blue Living; Flexible Blue plans compatible with health savings accounts; Medicare Advantage; Part D Prescription Drug plans, and MyBlue products in the under-age-65 individual market. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
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