Credentialing diverse suppliers: the missing link in your ESG strategy
Many organizations set ambitious goals for supplier diversity, but struggle to track and verify which suppliers actually meet certification requirements. Without a centralized system or process for collecting credentials, your team ends up relying on vendor self-reporting, disconnected spreadsheets, and guesswork.
Credentialing helps procurement and ESG teams:
Verify diversity certifications (e.g., WBENC, NMSDC, SBA, state/local)
Track supplier eligibility in real time
Prove inclusion outcomes in audits, reporting, and proposals
For suppliers, credentialing ensures they are visible, discoverable, and qualified for contract opportunities.
And at a time when more RFPs, grant applications, and public-private partnerships demand proof of diverse participation, credentialing is becoming not just helpful—but essential.
For procurement teams: build an inclusive credentialing workflow
To support diverse sourcing goals, start by creating a standard process for:
Requesting supplier diversity certifications during onboarding
Validating credentials against official databases
Storing certifications in a searchable vendor profile
Setting alerts before expiration
Ensuring sourcing teams can filter by certification type
Many teams set goals for engaging diverse suppliers, but can’t produce data to prove they’re meeting them. Credentialing systems like OneCredential solve that disconnect by:
Providing a single place to manage WBENC, NMSDC, SBA, and local credentials
Tying supplier profiles to real-time compliance and expiration tracking
Giving sourcing, legal, and ESG stakeholders shared access to credential data
You can’t improve what you don’t track. Credentialing gives you the data to take action.
For suppliers: get certified and stay discoverable
If you're a small or mid-sized business owner, getting certified is a powerful step toward being recognized and contracted by major enterprise buyers. But the process doesn’t stop with certification—it’s about staying visible.
Start here:
Research which certifications are most relevant to your customer (WBENC, NMSDC, SBA, etc.)
Complete the certification process through an official agency
Use OneCredential to submit and manage your documents with multiple buyers
Set reminders to renew well before expiration
OneCredential helps suppliers:
Digitally store and share certifications with unlimited partners
Boost visibility to sourcing teams actively looking for qualified vendors
Avoid credential lags that cause missed opportunities
Pro tip: Many buyers will require your certifications be current before awarding contracts. Credentialing platforms help you stay in compliance without the scramble.
Bridging the gap: A shared system for credentialing
Procurement teams and suppliers often operate in different systems, or no system at all.
Credentialing provides a shared infrastructure where:
Vendors manage their own credentials in real-time
Buyers can instantly view and validate qualifications
Everyone has access to accurate, standardized information
This transparency reduces delays, eliminates back-and-forth emails, and removes friction that often disqualifies otherwise eligible small businesses from consideration. Because OneCredential is free for enterprise buyers and low-cost for suppliers, both sides benefit:
Suppliers don’t need to email certifications every time they change
Buyers get real-time data and credential summaries
ESG, sourcing, and compliance teams stay in sync without needing custom spreadsheets
More than certification: Credentialing as business infrastructure
It’s tempting to think of credentialing as just a paperwork chore. But when done well, it becomes a business enabler.
Credentialing supports:
Inclusion audits and impact reporting
Faster time-to-contract for suppliers already in compliance
Stronger partnerships built on transparency and accountability
It also plays a vital role in ESG initiatives. If your company has public commitments to supplier diversity, greenhouse gas reduction, ethical sourcing, or community development, credentialing gives you the infrastructure to track and report your progress with confidence.
A single missing certification shouldn’t derail an otherwise great partnership. Credentialing helps you prevent that.
Addressing the bottlenecks
Here are common credentialing pain points we see across the industry—and how to solve them:
Challenge
Outdated or expired certifications
Suppliers overwhelmed by onboarding forms
Siloed tracking across sourcing and ESG teams
No way to match suppliers to inclusion goals
Solution
Use automated alerts 30/60/90 days before expiration
Offer a simple self-service portal with tooltips and upload guidance
Centralize credential visibility with role-based access
Tag and filter vendors by certification type and demographic status
Credentialing isn’t extra work. It’s a way to do your existing work better.
Final thought: Inclusion starts with infrastructure
Credentialing may not sound flashy, but it’s foundational. It’s what turns supplier diversity goals into action. It empowers both procurement leaders and small business suppliers to engage with transparency, speed, and shared confidence.
In a world where ESG and inclusion matter more than ever, credentialing isn’t optional—it’s strategic.
Let’s make inclusive procurement easier for everyone.
-1.svg)
