Case Details
Inclusive Procurement: Supply Chain Diversity at HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC; the Group) is a publicly traded bank of dual heritage, reflecting its two home markets of Hong Kong SAR and the United Kingdom (UK). The Group believes building diversity and inclusion with its stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, regulators, investors, and the communities is a path to sustainable growth. Additionally, following the COVID pandemic and due to geopolitical tension between the US and China, companies with global operations like HSBC are increasingly looking to enhance the resiliency of their supply chains. Accordingly, supplier diversity has become a strategic imperative for mitigating geopolitical and operational risks as well as promoting greater inclusion for historically marginalized stakeholders.
This case provides a scenario of two fictitious IT tenders, each designed to capture specific complexities and dynamics at play in the procurement process. Through the vendor selection process, it highlights the nuances around the concept of diversity and the challenges created by a one size fits all policy when applied to a global context.
Learning Objective:
1. Students will be able to explain the central role of procurement in a global company’s supply chain—especially for non-manufacturing firms—and identify the key variables that shape the procurement process.
2. Students will explore the concept of supplier diversity and learn to appreciate the challenges that arise when defining a set of DEI policies to be implemented across global markets.
3. Students will be able to identify structural barriers (social, cultural and economic) that create obstacles for fostering a diverse base of suppliers and service providers. Innovative solutions to overcome these obstacles will be discussed and shared.
4. Students will be able to articulate their own working definition of diversity, which can be employed when considering vendors and service providers during a procurement process or from a broader organizational perspective.