Business Bridge
Background
The Itasca Job Growth Task Force initiated the “Business Bridge” with a coalition of corporate procurement executives to more effectively facilitate purchasing connections between the region’s small and growing companies to larger, more established organizations. In 2022, the GREATER MSP Partnership adopted Business Bridge to scale the initiative, including adding a focus on increasing corporate contracts with local BIPOC-owned small and mid-sized firms. Please see the GREATER MSP Partnership Business Bridge page for more information.
Business Bridge Principles
- Establish leadership commitment to buying local to support economic development
- Share the case for buying local within procurement and with business partners the organizations
- Operationalize Business Bridge principles, beginning with indirect spend:
- Assign responsibility to staff for identifying local vendors
- Edit sourcing or supplier diversity processes to include local vendor identification
- Ensure staff have tools to identify local vendors that can meet company needs
- Measure RFP inclusion and / or $ spend with MN / W. WI vendors
- Set goals for RFP inclusion and / or $ spend with MN / W. WI vendors
- Track purchasing results and share progress with Business Bridge partners
Project Leadership
The concept for a “Business Bridge” between our region’s large and small companies was developed by the Itasca Project Job Growth Task Force, led by:
* Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman, Carlson Companies
* Ken Powell, Chairman and CEO, General Mills
* Chris O’Connell, Executive Vice President and Group President, Medtronic
* Michael Gorman, Managing Director, Split Rock Partners
The Founding Members have provided guidance and oversight of the Business Bridge initiative. The Founding Members include senior supply chain executives from leading private sector companies based in Minneapolis-St Paul.
For more information contact us.