The Global Supplier Diversity Business Development team is involved in several supplier outreach programs at Cisco. This page provides an overview of our programs. For a high-level overview of all programs, go to our Supplier Advantage Quick Reference Guide
Collaborate: Empower Suppliers
EMP2: Executive Mentor Protégé Program
The Executive Mentor Protégé program was launched in April 2008. Its goal is to:
- Facilitate mentoring to our select diverse supplier CEO protégés
- Improve communications
- Help them navigate through barriers at Cisco.
UCLA MDE Program
The UCLA MDE Program helps entrepreneurs and managers:
- Develop essential management skills
- Strengthen their ability to build effective and profitable organizations
An intensive four-day certificate program, UCLA MDE provides participants with instruction in up-to-the-minute theory and practice in areas such as strategy, marketing, finance, operations, and management.
Supplier Mentoring Program
Each year GSDBD members recruit and mentor up to six diverse suppliers currently doing business with Cisco. The team in San Jose, California currently has three levels of mentoring:
- Supplier mentoring
- Executive mentoring
- Customer mentoring
How to Do Business with Cisco
Now, for your convenience, we have created a WebEx training module: How to Do Business with Cisco. You can access this training module online.
How to Do Business with Cisco workshops are also available at Small Business Administration Offices and at our San Jose and San Francisco offices. You will find these dates posted on our Supplier Diversity Calendar.
Accelerate Supplier Opportunities
Matchmaking Sessions
The GSDBD team participates in matchmaking programs throughout the year in several locations. See our Supplier Diversity Calendar.
Business Expos
We will be expanding our outreach programs to include a biannual Business Expo. This business expo will enable targeted suppliers to present to business function stakeholders to align supplier services and needs of a strategic business function.
Diverse Specialty Distributor
At Cisco, connecting customers, suppliers and communities is critical to our success. Suppliers with different backgrounds, viewpoints, styles of interacting, and experiences help us understand and meet the needs of our customers and partners. Promoting supplier diversity within U.S. Gold channel is a major step toward meeting both customer and partner diversity requirements while adding to the many benefits of Gold certification.
Educational and Training Programs for Suppliers and Customers
Our WebEx video-on-demand training modules offer assistance to suppliers and customers training on our Vendor Management portal.
