Development Process
Purchasing teams target commodities with large dollar volumes of goods and services to grow diverse firms and to encourage prime suppliers to form joint ventures, strategic alliances and distributorships.
Suppliers compete for Johnson Controls’ coveted supplier awards. Suppliers increase their chances of winning by offering buying team strategies that provide cost reduction, continuous improvement in products and services, and diverse business involvement.
Capacity Building Process
Building capacity among diverse firms is another important part of Johnson Controls’ diversity business strategy. The company uses the concept of buying groups to enhance capacity among diversity vendors. The company forms groups of eight corporations and 16 diversity vendors called "business modules" to provide focused procurement opportunities and corporate training on ways to strengthen diversity business processes. Johnson Controls has business modules operating in Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and New York.
Executive Education
Each year, Johnson Controls provides executive-level training for managers of diverse firms. The company offers fellowships to the Minority Business Executive Program at Dartmouth, the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin's Minority Executive Program. Topics covered include: Analysis of Financial Statements; Customer Focus; Leveraging the Value Chain; and Leadership.
