Diversity

As a successful Woman Owned business, Strategic Staffing Solutions (S³) knows that the success of our company and the communities we call home depends upon our ability to develop a diverse supplier base which serves the company, our customers and our communities well. We believe our commitment to diversity is one of the reasons for our steady growth in the face of fluctuations in the economy.

Our commitment to diversity extends beyond our business relations to include supporting community programs that benefit the disadvantaged in each community where S³ conducts business. It is a core value that is a factor in every decision we make.

In 2006, it was designated "Diversity Supplier of the Year" by a large financial services company based in North Carolina.

In addition, S³ has been Vendor Manager for IT Resource Services for DTE Energy, Michigan's largest utility/energy company, since July 2001. S³ manages all IT resource acquisition, administration, vendor selection, vendor relationships, performance reporting, financial reporting, resource support and program communications for DTE. That means identifying, contracting with and managing a substantial number of suppliers providing a variety of services.

S³'s program has driven a substantial increase in M/WBE certified IT vendors to support DTE - with 58 percent of all current vendor partners falling in that category. The record is one of continued improvement, for the year 2007, 87 percent of new starts have been supplied by M/WBE vendors.

S³ continually seeks out and assesses new vendors, then works with them to help in a number of areas where, as smaller enterprises, they may have limited resources. These areas include:

Networking - Access to good business mentors and other suppliers

Internal Business Process Support - Such as how to manage their accounts receivable in a vendor management services environment

Fulfillment Process Support - improving their 'requirement-to-fulfillment' process so they can compete

Balancing fulfillment with consultant management and new business development

Cash Flow - S³ even offers cash-acceleration vehicles based on the supplier's receivables

Insurance - Many new suppliers cannot handle the insurance costs necessary to secure the policies required by big customers. S³ offers supplemental support in this area when they run through S³ programs.

Lastly, S³ takes the most successful M/WBE firms and offers them the opportunity to provide their services to other customer-based programs not just in Michigan, but throughout the country. With 21 offices in 20 cities, including two in Europe, S³ is able to offer them ways to expand their companies without the expense of marketing or "brick and mortar," both of which can be prohibitive to any business, much less an M/WBE. The results of their growth bring prosperity right back into the local community.