CERTIFY . DEVELOP . CONNECT . ADVOCATE
From your MBEIC Chair
W OW ! Yes. Wow!
 
When I first learned about the Plus+ Platform Training Program that offered by SMSDC , I was not particularly eager to sign up. Don’t get me wrong, I know I NEED development and to work on improving many things within our company; our strategies, our sales tactics, and many other things to truly be successful. However, I thought our company had other priorities at the moment; such as bringing a new contract or project to create a more diverse customer portfolio.

Yet, I said I would give it a shot and see for myself. To my amazement, as soon as I started listening distractedly to the first module, while thinking about other pending things, something Ralph Moore , the presenter, said made me go back and play the video again. “ There are things only a CEO within a diverse business can do” … “What should your business and role as CEO be, and what should it not be” … “MBEs’ CEOs and Corporate CEOs have similar responsibilities and roles, usually just with much less people. So, to do everything you need to do, you have to be strategic about it” ... “what MBEs that are trying to engage corporations must do” … Suddenly, I found myself taking notes of the most important things, and I ended up writing most of what was being said.

Yes, these were not necessarily all new ideas or concepts, but they are somehow all put together in a way that makes sense, and made me reflect on the value this material offered. Having so much insight and knowledge in one place without having to disconnect ourselves from the everyday work to go to an executive’s training course, or have to do an online research for tips, wasting time by incessantly following links to infinity. It was all there for me to listen, to go back or pause as needed, to absorb; and more importantly, to start putting those tips into practice. It is like having a consulting firm guiding you step by step. In the Platform Plus+ Program I actually found answers to why we were not getting the opportunities I thought we should be getting. So, learning more instead of being a secondary thing seemed to be a primary need.

I was able to validate this during the Capacity Plus Session at Diversity at the Border , on September 11 and 12th. Although a much smaller event than the National Conference, it allowed some of us to put into practice some of the newly learned strategies. A new way to slowly start doing what we still need to practice and learn some more. Strategize, and think big, and see the Big Picture. If you were there, you may have learned a little more about the Plus+ Platform, or may have connected with the corporations who were there just to meet with us MBEs, and show their interest in engaging with us. Best wishes on our follow up conversations!

Diversity at the Border was also a great way to celebrate SMSDC’s 20 th Anniversary . Thank you to all who have made this possible and all who participated and supported this event! 

Your SMSDC MBEIC Chair

Beatriz Fernandez

CERTIFY
NEW CERTIFIED MBEs


AUGUST 2019
CAEAUTI - Midwest City, OK
Can-Am Wireless - Austin, TX
KANAND CORP - Austin, TX
Metrica, Inc - San Antonio, TX
New Fire Design Group, PLLC - Oklahoma City, OK
P.D. Morrison Distribution, Inc - Cedar Park, TX
Petro Consultants, Inc - Oklahoma City, OK
The Pump & Motor Works - Okmulgee, TX


JULY 2019
Aerolinked, LLC - San Antonio, TX
Bill's Welding Equipment Repair, Inc - Oklahoma City, OK
G2 Construction Services, Inc - Austin, TX
Optimus Techservices, LLC - Austin, TX
Periken Enterprises - Albuquerque, NM
Prestine Services Group - Austin, TX
Rookie #31, LLC - Edmond, OK
Safeport - San Antonio, TX
Shipzo Co. - Del Rio, TX
Zepol Productions - Round Rock, TX


JUNE 2019
Fonseca Freight Services - McAllen, TX
Fox Mechanical, LLC - Brownsville, TX
Pulselight, LLC - Austin, TX
ROI Insight Group - Austin, TX
SYOXSA - El Paso, TX


RE-CERTIFIED MBEs

AUGUST 2019
3LI, LLC
Advance Research Chemicals, Inc.            
AMERIINFOVETS INC      
Ancira Enterprises           
Avanzar Interior Products, LLC   
Azteca Transfer LLC        
B2Z Engineering, LLC      
Beltran's Printing, Inc     
BEPC Incorporated          
Business Assets Enterprises LP   
Chickasaw Management Services, LlC     
Dependable Business Solutions 
DS Cargo, LLC.   
Easy Tours, Inc.
Eclipse Logistics Solutions, LLC   
Funk and Company         
General Labels & Printing, LLC   
InGenesis, Inc.  
Load Source, LLC.            
Maldonado Nursery & Landscaping, Inc.
Meridian Construction Services Corp.     
Mexico Trade Consulting, Inc.    
Mobile Cardiac Imaging, LLC       
Night Eyes Protective Services Inc.           
North Park Castroville Motors LLC            
Ohman Enterprise, LLC  
Optech Enterprise Solutions, LLC.             
Paulmex International LTD          
Resale Resource Corporation     
Rioplex Distributors        
Royal Express, Inc            
Ruiz Testing Services, Inc.            
Seed & Grain Exporters 
Seilevel Partners LP        
Select Dedicated Solutions, LLC.
Seneca Construction LLC.             
Service Express Oklahoma, LLC  
Silt Leasing & Transportation Services, Inc.           
Terrazzo USA and Associates Inc.              
The Alamo Travel Group, LP        
TLI & Environmental Services, Inc             
Trade Management Solutions    
Transmaquila, Inc            
TRE & Associates, LLC    
TRI-LIN INTEGRATED SERVICES INC           
Universally Correct Technology, LLC        
USTR Freight, LLC.           
Yardi Marketplace Inc.  
Zempleo, Inc.   

Requirement for All New MBEs: 

You must participate in the training prior to the Certification Committee reviews your application. 

All new MBE's must attend a Pre-Certification & Post-Certification training. The training will be held by conference call several times a month for each session. Please make sure to attend one pre-certification & one post-certification training in order to complete the certification process. Appointment is not necessary. 

The following are dates available for September:
 
Wednesday, September 4th
Wednesday, September 11th
Wednesday, September 18th
Wednesday, September 25th

 
Each training is from 10am - 11am CST
Conference call number: 641-715-0700
Access Code: 372354#
 
En Español:
La llamada requerida para poder obtener la Certificacion de Minoria esta disponible cada Miercoles del mes de 11am - 12pm CST. Esta conferencia es requerida para todas las certificationes nuevas. 
Porfavor marcar al 641-715-0700, codigo: 372354#
CERTIFICATION 
Frequently Asked Questions

MBE2MBE
Benefits of using the MBE2MBE Search Tool

To increase your market presence with other MBEs, after you log in, go to the MBE2MBE option and click on Opt In. This will allow other MBEs who are interested in doing business with you to find you and connect.

Please contact  [email protected]  with any questions regarding certification with SMSDC.
PLEASE DO NOT Let your 
SMSDC Certification Expire!

Check the expiration date on your SMSDC certification. As a courtesy reminder your certification is about to expire, you will receive an e-mail notification from the AdaptOne portal which looks similar to the image above. DO NOT ignore this e-mail. It may to your spam or junk mail. 

Once your SMSDC certification expires, ALL MBEs have to complete the entire certification process from the beginning. For those MBEs in the STATE OF TEXAS, in addition to completing the entire certification process all over again, the HUB certification, which enables you to bid on contracts, is no longer valid.  The HUB certification process is only done once a month. This means for those MBEs in the State of Texas, they will now have to wait an entire month for their HUB certification.  
 
Please contact Gabrielle Ramirez at  [email protected]  for assistance on your SMSDC ReCertification.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION for all MBEs:
 
If this is a  New Application , and you are having trouble uploading your documents, please contact Alana Ortega at 512.297.6478 during regular business hours or send an e-mail to  [email protected].


If this is a ReCertification , and you are having trouble uploading your documents, please contact Gabrielle Ramirez at 512.386.8766 during regular business hours or send an e-mail to  [email protected] .
DEVELOP
FOR CORPORATE MEMBERS:

IT’S NOT A NUMBERS GAME
Whether you are new to supplier diversity or an industry veteran, increasing diverse supplier participation in your corporation’s supply chain can be difficult. Subscribe today to get more done in less time.


  1. Strategic Vision
  2. Process Design
  3. Establishing Impactful Supplier Diversity Steering Committees
  4. Opportunity Assessment 
  5. Second Tier Program Strategies 2.0 
  6. Supplier Sourcing and Development: Current Requirements
  7. Supplier Sourcing and Development: Future Requirements 
  8. Diverse Supplier Capacity Building 
  9. Program Measurement and Reporting
  10. Internal and External Communication Strategies
  11. Education and Training
  12. Process Improvement 
FOR CERTIFIED MBEs:

Crack the Corporate Code
Selling to big corporations is tough. You have to be able to make a difference, grow demand, create value with knowledge and expertise. It’s no easy task, but we are here to help. Subscribe today to get a year’s worth of success tools:


  1. What Only CEOs Can Do
  2. Establishing and Maintaining a Strategic Partnership with a F500 Corporation
  3. Managing the Four Most Undervalued Functions in Business
  4. The MBE Value Proposition 
  5. Why MBEs Must Excel at Marketing AND Sales 
  6. The Role of Relationship Management in Your Growth Strategy
  7. Responding to Corporate RFPs
  8. Capacity Building fuels Your Growth Strategy
  9. Leveraging Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances and Acquisitions to Grow Your Business
  10. The Anatomy of Two Big Deals: One Worked, One Didn’t WorkLeveraging Second Tier Opportunities to build your Business 
  11. Establishing an Impactful Advisory Board
Benchmarking Plus  & Capacity Plus  are led by Johnson Controls Inc, a world leader in supplier diversity, with more than 600 diverse suppliers and $1.8 billion in diverse spend. 

  • Corporate Members: The annual cost for Benchmarking Plus is $999. The registration fee includes access to all webinars, featured courses, online & onsite classes. If you are interested in signing up, please register for the BENCHMARKING PLUS PLATFORM here.

  • Certified MBEs: The annual cost for Capacity Plus is $499. The registration fee includes access to all webinars, featured courses, online & onsite classes. If you are interested in signing up, please register for the CAPACITY PLUS PLATFORM here.


If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Mayra Pena at   [email protected]  or call 915.433.0612. 
CONNECT
SMSDC EVENTS

2019 4th Quarter SMSDC events coming soon!
COMMUNITY PARTNER EVENTS


November 5, 2019
14th Annual Veterans Business Conference
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Centennial Banquet & Conference Center
11199 Sergeant E. Churchill 
Fort Bliss, TX 79916



*Dear Community Partners,
If you would like to submit an event to post on our monthly newsletter, please submit all of the event details to Mayra Pena via email at [email protected] . Events will be reviewed to make sure the information & content will be beneficial to our Certified MBEs and/or corporate members before posting on our newsletter and/or website.
ADVOCATE
2019 DIVERSITY AT THE BORDER
Award Winners
SMSDC recognized the contributions of several Corporations , Suppliers and the Advocate of the Year whom demonstrated unparalleled leadership and accomplishments. For this event, Diversity at the Border Buyers Breakfast Roundtable , Corporate Members, Certified MBEs and Advocates were nominated from
the West Texas Region & the State of New Mexico.

We invite you to congratulate the following:
CORPORATION OF THE YEAR
Automotive Manufacturer
CORPORATION OF THE YEAR
Multi-Industry Manufacturer
CORPORATION OF THE YEAR
Energy
CORPORATION OF THE YEAR
Mobility Technology
SMSDC is proud to announce Karen Box , President & CEO, received the Excellence in Leadership Award at the 2019 Greater Austin Business Awards.

The awards, presented by the Austin Chamber of Commerce, recognize businesses and organizations for achievements, community contributions and milestones. It is the largest business event in Central Texas, bringing together 1,000 business leaders, entrepreneurs, organizations, government officials and regional chambers.


WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
 
Have a recent achievement or new development in your organization? We'd love to share your story too! Click the "SHARE YOUR STORY"link below to leave your name and contact information and we'll reach out to you. 

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