Dynamic Team Promotes Diverse Supply Chain at WBENC Conference

Dynamic's Tami Schultz (left) and Farida Ali at the WBENC conference.

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) recently welcomed thousands of attendees to Nashville for its 2023 National Conference, the largest event of its kind for women business owners. The Dynamic Technology Solutions team was proud to participate in this important annual gathering that fuels business opportunities for women entrepreneurs and corporate executives and celebrates efforts by WBENC members to advance a more diverse supply chain.

This year’s “Momentum”-themed conference offered attendees opportunities to network, learn industry trends, and share innovative best practices. As a woman-owned business, Dynamic Technology Solutions was represented on-site by CEO and President Farida Ali and Business Development Vice President Tami Schultz, who connected with other certified women-owned businesses in the exhibit hall, demo stations, and education sessions.

According to WBENC, there are 13 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., representing 42% of all businesses, yet there is still significant disparity in revenue and capital between these businesses and others. As the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S., WBENC works to advance the success of women-owned businesses through its advocacy, events, and programs. It also promotes the next generation of female leadership through its Collegiate Accelerator program.

Learn more about WBENC on LinkedIn and on the WBENC website.

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Dynamic’s Tami Schultz (left) and Farida Ali at the WBENC conference.

Digitization and ESG in Focus at DMSCA Accelerate2023 Conference

Accelerate2023 conference promo

The Dynamic Technology Solutions team recently participated in one of the leading education and training events promoting diversity-led supplier development and supply chain strategy. Accelerate2023, the annual gathering of the Diverse Manufacturing Supply Chain Alliance (DMSCA), brought together procurement officers of large multinational companies and leaders of small to midsize manufacturers to promote a vision for U.S. manufacturing that is innovative, sustainable, and inclusive.

This year’s conference explored hot topics such as digitalized supply chain networks and ESG (environmental, sustainability, and governance)-driven circular supply chains, while also showcasing corporate supplier diversity. The Dynamic team members on-site at Accelerate2023 included COO Mike Hart, and Business Development Vice President Tami Schultz, who noted several useful trends and takeaways on topics of importance to both procurement leaders and suppliers.

“We’re hearing a key strategy to build resiliency into the supply base is a shift from globally centralized to local suppliers,” Ms. Schultz said. “Many life sciences customers are scaling up their local supply base.”

Ms. Schultz reported that procurement teams have also shifted from having an evenly divided internal/external focus to having more than 90% external focus to ensure the supply required will be available to generate the company’s revenue.

Conference attendees also had a chance to hear the latest developments in digitalization and ESG. “Leaders are continuing to prioritize digitalization as a way to increase data-driven transparency throughout the sub-tier supply chains,” according to Ms. Schultz. “But to achieve that transparency, organizations need to adopt common frameworks for digital process, data definition, and data integrity. In addition, companies are increasingly focused on ESG strategies as a competitive advantage with both employees and customers.”

Panelists noted that workforce development and access to qualified talent continue to be challenges for companies. As older workers retire, leaders need to ensure that legacy knowledge is retained and passed along to a new, more diverse generation of professionals.

Event speakers also stressed that suppliers today must be aligned with their customers’ core values in order to succeed. Life sciences customers, they said, are looking for a supply base that represents the patient population they support, and they need to make their supply base decisions accordingly. One medical device company noted that it is a patient-centric company with high expectations for its suppliers, adding that if a supplier doesn’t deliver for it, then the company can’t deliver for its patients.