Become a supplier

For consideration to become a Staples® diversity supplier, your organization must be recognized by a reputable certifying agency. 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 diverse suppliers.

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 (e.g., tribal registry letter and tribal roll register number).

Certification Categories

• Certified 8(a) Firms
• Small Disadvantaged Businesses
• Women-Owned Businesses
• HubZone Businesses
• Veteran-Owned Businesses
• Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses
• Small Businesses
• USBLN Network/People with Disabilities

Certification Requirements

Companies must have verifiable certifications by a qualified independent third-party certifying agency (e.g., NMSDC affiliate councils, WBENC and SBA).

• For minority-owned businesses, visit www.nmsdc.org
• For women-owned businesses, visit www.wbenc.org
• For small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses and veteran-owned or HUBZone small businesses, visit the SBA Web site.
• For registration with the GSA System for Award Management (previously CCR), visit www.sam.gov.