LAKE FOREST, CA, October 20, 2010 –Technologent, a leading global provider of technology infrastructure solution for Fortune 1000 companies and a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), has been recognized by American Express as a Diversity Supplier.
American Express has long been committed to promoting diversity throughout its organization, and its first formal supplier diversity program began in 1995. American Express wants its large suppliers to make their own efforts to include businesses owned by women, minorities, vets, people with disabilities and small businesses in general. It includes second tier provisions in contract awards; prime suppliers must provide quarterly second tier reports demonstrating their commitment.
“Diverse suppliers extend our supply base and give us access to new capability and lower costs,” noted Gladys Z. Lopez, American Express Corporate Supplier Diversity Manager. “They provide jobs, and their employees become our customers, helping us capture and retain the loyalty of a growing consumer market audience.
“We believe that minority and women-owned suppliers play an increasingly important role within the communities we serve, and that American Express will achieve a greater competitive advantage from the access to ethnic markets that diverse firms provide,” Lopez affirms.
Rochelle Manns, Technologent Account Executive, and her business development team, researched companies that had rich diversity programs. They then used the company’s woman-owned status and extensive hardware and software portfolio of products to entice American Express to take a meeting. Eventually Manns was able to establish an agreement to start selling into American Express.
“Being a supplier for American Express gives our company name instant credibility,” says Technologent CEO Lezlie Gallaway. In addition to sales growth, Technologent has also improved its process standards. “The additional rigor required under the American Express process standards contributed to improved processes in project management throughout our company. Those improvements increased our revenue and enabled us to expand into a number of other manufacturer product lines,” Gallaway explains.
Technologent’s relationship with American Express continues to grow. By procuring items through Technologent rather than directly from tier 1 manufacturers, American Express has gained diversity credits. In turn, Technologent has been able to leverage its buying power with these manufacturers. As a result, American Express is actually realizing savings over what direct purchases would have cost, in addition to utilizing the product training and professional services Technologent provides.
ABOUT TECHNOLOGENT
Technologent is a leading global provider of technology infrastructure solutions for Fortune 1000 companies, aiding in bridging the gap between technology infrastructure and business strategy. Technologent serves the complete technology life cycle, including assessment, design, integration, system management and financing. The company offers its customers unparalleled expertise, exceptional service and technology from best-of-breed partners. Technologent’s strong network of provider partners includes IBM, EMC, HP, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Hitachi Data Systems and others. Technologent is headquartered in Lake Forest, California. To find out more about Technologent, please visit www.technologent.com.
Contact: Monica Dozier
Title: Director of Marketing
Email: monica.dozier@technologent.com
Phone: 888.387.8001