Minority and women-owned businesses are critically important to the future of our business. By forging lasting relationships with a diverse supplier base, we open new avenues of opportunity and promote mutually beneficial growth.

Contact

Most of our purchasing decisions occur at the General Mills World Headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn., USA. Some items are purchased locally at our plants and mills around the country.

If you are interested in doing business with General Mills and meet the qualification criteria, register your business with the General Mills Minority Supplier Database through the following link:

Register with the General Mills Minority Supplier Database

Process

You will receive an e-mail acknowledgement once you have completed the online registration process. The next phase involves a careful review of your information to determine the appropriate response:

• If there are opportunities, you will receive communication informing you of the next steps to securing a business partnership with General Mills.
• If there are no immediate opportunities, you will receive communication encouraging you to update information if your company’s data and statistics change.

Commitment to Supplier Diversity

General Mills has been committed to supplier diversity for more than 40 years. Today our program is more vibrant than ever as we approach half a billion dollars in purchases from minority and women-owned businesses, with more than 50 percent growth from fiscal 2005 to 2007.

What Do We Buy?

The scope of our program is companywide: minority- and women-owned businesses are considered for every area of General Mills’ procurement needs. To support our daily operations, we regularly purchase products and services from categories listed below:

Advertising/marketing services Cleaning products Computer services/supplies Construction services Electrical services/supplies Energy Engineering services Food ingredients Freight hauling Industrial equipment/supplies Janitorial services

Legal services Marketing research Messenger services Metal fabrication Office equipment/supplies Packaging Photography services Printing Security services Temporary labor Travel services

Qualifications

To be considered a minority or women-owned business, your company must be at least 51 percent owned, controlled and managed by a U.S. citizen(s) who is included in one or more of the following groups.

Minority

A business owned by a member or members of the following ethnic groups:

• African-American
• Hispanic-American
• Asian Pacific American
• Asian Indian American
• Native American

Women

A business owned by a non-ethnic woman or women.

Certification

To meet the above qualifications, we prefer the business be certified by one of the following organizations:

• An NMSDC Regional Council
• Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
• A recognized governmental organization

Supplier Diversity Partners

We use products and services from minority- and women-owned businesses in all areas of our company. Our supplier diversity program has had many successes, a few of which are mentioned below.

GCI Systems

In 1997 General Mills was faced with the unexpected news that its major provider of IT products and services, a local minority-owned company, had decided to leave the Minneapolis market. Our Supplier Diversity Program was faced with the possibility of losing its largest minority business enterprise (MBE).

Although there were many large IS firms capable of doing the job, we wanted to keep the business local. Through the local National Minority Supplier Development Council we searched for a local, minority-owned company and found GCI Systems — the largest and best-qualified of the local candidates.

	As new demands are placed on the company and new solutions requested, GCI responds with answers and improvements.

The relationship has evolved from a provider of hardware, laptops and desktops, to one of on-site service personnel, on-site break-fix staff, and a vastly expanded list of hardware and software. GCI answers every need and provides unsolicited solutions, the true mark of a valued supplier.

Prystup Packaging Products

Les Prystup can trace his Native American heritage to the Tennessee Cherokee Nation. After spending more than 31 years in the packaging industry, he decided to start his own folding carton company. Prystup Packaging currently has three plants located in Alabama, with the capacity to produce more than $30 million of paperboard packaging products. Located in central Alabama, an area with a high minority population and a historically high unemployment rate, the company employs more than 110 workers — 70 percent of whom are minority.

	Prystup has been providing folding cartons to General Mills since 1996, and the business has grown every year, reflective of the excellent quality, service and competitive pricing offered by this exceptional minority-owned business.