Becoming a Supplier
For consideration to become a Staples’ diversity supplier, your organization must be unconditionally and directly owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Organizations will be selected based on merit as well as the needs of Staples’ and its customers. It’s our goal to not only make things easy for our customers, but also to support the development of HUBs.
Recognized minority groups as defined by the federal government are as follows:
- African-American: A U.S. citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
- Asian-Indian: A U.S. citizen whose origins are from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- Asian-Pacific: A U.S. citizen whose origins are from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas.
- Hispanic: A U.S. citizen of true born Hispanic heritage, from any of the Spanish-speaking areas of Latin America or the following regions: Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean Basin only.
- Native American: A person who is an American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or Native Hawaiian, and regarded as such by the community of which the person claims to be a part. Native Americans must be documented members of a North American tribe, band or otherwise organized group of native people who are indigenous to the continental U.S. and proof can be provided through a Native American Blood Degree Certificate (i.e., tribal registry letter, tribal roll register number).
Certification Categories
- Certified 8(a) Firms (8A)
- Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB)
- Women-Owned Businesses (WBE)
- HubZone Businesses
- Veteran-Owned Businesses (VO)
- Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOB)
- Small Businesses
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Businesses (LGBT)
- USBLN Network/People with Disabilities
Certification Requirements
Companies must have verifiable certifications by a qualified independent third-party certifying agency (i.e., NMSDC affiliate councils, WBENC, SBA).
- For minority-owned businesses, visit www.nmsdc.org
- For women-owned businesses, visit www.wbenc.org
- For small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, veteran-owned or HUBZone small businesses, visit www.sba.gov/certifications
- For registration with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), visit www.bpn.gov/CCR/scripts/index.html
Supplier Diversity Selection Process
- Register on our online portal and be sure to upload your certifications.
- Within 72 hours of submission, your information will be forwarded to the appropriate category manager/buyer for consideration as a potential supplier.
- Within 30 days, the category manager/buyer will provide a response regarding their level of interest in your product or service offering. If an opportunity exists, the category managers/buyers will request more specific information about your business.
- The category manager/buyer will then make a final decision from the list of available qualified suppliers.
Note: You may check the site with the login/password provided to you to follow the status of your application.
