A Network of Opportunity in Supply Chain Diversity

Think about the device you’re using to read this article. You know from whom you bought it, but who made the components? Who fabricated the screen? And what can supply chain decisions do to advance the people and communities that helped create the device?

Pathways to Equity and Diverse New Ideas

Prioritizing supplier diversity isn't about philanthropy or checking a compliance box. Working with diverse businesses stimulates long-term economic impact; creates jobs and opportunities for communities; and builds more innovative, resilient, and agile supply chains for businesses. Since financial stability and wealth is inextricably linked to better health outcomes, we can improve the lives of generations to come when we focus on traditionally underserved communities.

Beyond societal economic impact, Medtronic gains a competitive advantage through the diverse perspectives and innovation that supplier diversity provides. Each of our businesses have an expectation to support suppliers owned by women, ethnically diverse groups, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, and those located in historically underutilized or disadvantaged business zones.

The Teams Extending Our Impact

The interconnected teams that bring products to life are far reaching. Every decision made along that supply chain is another opportunity to choose equity. Each year, we continue expanding our network of diverse businesses.

PMC SMART Solutions

PMC SMART Solutions(opens new window) has the flexibility and expertise to meet difficult contract manufacturing needs across a variety of Medtronic therapies. When a 25-year-old product line needed a new manufacturer, PMC SMART Solutions stepped up to redefine the device’s technical specs, source new materials, and evolve how the product was built. And, as a women-owned business in a male-dominated manufacturing industry, PMC SMART Solutions helps build the next generation of female STEM leadership through internships and flexible work schedules.

JIT Energy Services

At JIT Energy Services, one of our largest Black-owned suppliers, a diverse leadership team factors equity into every decision — and the results and relationships show. Over the last 12 years, JIT’s energy management solutions have moved us closer to our goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. Using real-time data and intelligence, JIT has reduced our waste, water, and energy use to drive more than $50 million in savings.

Reason Research

LGBTQ-owned Reason Research provides the "voice of the customer” to help our business better understand the needs of the patients and physicians that they serve. The customer market of Reason Research helps Medtronic move faster and expand the accessibility of our technologies. Reason Research also amplifies diverse voices in its own operations by participating in the Diversity Alliance for Science, an organization dedicated to developing small and/or diverse businesses drive inclusive procurement practices in the life-science and healthcare industries.

Small Suppliers Make a Big Impact

As a woman-owned company focused on sustainability, PKG Packaging provides good jobs for workers in Oxnard, California, a Hispanic majority city with a rich agricultural heritage. The company specializes in providing innovative and sustainable packaging for businesses across the country, including Medtronic. Since 1998, PKG Packaging has provided our company packaging solutions for insulin pumps used by diabetes patients. PKG actively recruits workers from the community and offers student workers flexible hours, allowing them to earn enough income to support themselves while earning a degree at the local college.

Supply Chain Diversity is Business Opportunity

Collaboration with partners is critical to delivering our life-saving technologies around the world. And supplier diversity is one of many ways in which we can be intentional about those partnerships and the economic impact that we make. Together with organizations like PMC Smart Solutions, JIT Energy Services, Reason Research, and PKG Packaging, we can continue to create jobs and support future generations.

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