In a room full of positive energy, firm handshakes and inspiring words, Honda North America’s Diversity Procurement group worked to create the connections that will assist Honda in expanding its already significant diverse supplier network.

The fourth annual Honda Partnership Network was held Oct. 11 at the Columbus Convention Center in Ohio. The event connects Tier 1 suppliers with diverse companies that may be positioned to meet their needs, through matchmaker-style meetings arranged by Honda.
Roughly 400 people attended the event, including 55 Honda suppliers and 345 diverse companies.

“We were very pleased to see all the connections made at the Honda Partnership Network (HPN) this year,” said Michael Bracey, procurement diversity team manager. “During the networking portion of the event, more than 1,300 meetings were held between Honda suppliers and potential diverse partners and we hope that will result in some new business relationships going forward.”

The event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Leonard Greenhalgh of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, who spoke about improving supply chain excellence. The event also included a panel discussion on diversity at Honda featuring: Tom Lake, senior vice president of NA Purchasing; Monica Oliverio, manager NA Indirect Purchasing and Jay Patel, division manager of purchasing at Honda of America, Mfg.

Since Honda’s first supplier diversity networking event in 2015, Honda has seen the number of diverse suppliers in its supply chain grown beyond 3,000. The Honda Partnership Network has also helped Honda increase its diverse spend from $2.25 billion in 2014, to well over $3 billion dollars last year.