Fi-Tek's Supplier Diversity Program

Introduction

As a technology service provider to many financial institutions, Fi-Tek recognizes that our success depends on the trust and confidence we earn from our employees, clients, and the user community. We achieve this by adhering to our commitments, displaying honesty and integrity, and conducting ourselves with honor and professionalism. Our vendor selection process, including our Supplier Diversity Program, contributes significantly to this trust.

Program Purpose

The Supplier Diversity Program aims to identify the best suppliers to support our services, maintain our commitment to excellence, and create mutually beneficial relationships with diverse suppliers within our communities. We have established clear Corporate Policies and Procedures and a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that promote inclusion and diversity in our purchasing practices. These policies guide our actions, business practices, and are embedded in our culture.

Third-Party Risk Management Program (TPRM)

Fi-Tek has a comprehensive risk assessment program for selecting suppliers through RFPs or searches. Since our clients are exclusively financial institutions, we must exercise extreme caution in the selection process.

In addition to our internal commitment to supporting Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (MWDBEs), many of our clients also request our support for these businesses. To fulfill both our commitment and client needs, we make all reasonable efforts to award contracts to MWDBE companies or those with established MWDBE engagement policies.

Our TPRM process includes a questionnaire to identify companies that are either committed to MWDBEs or are certified as such. This allows us to assess potential vendors’ commitment to supplier diversity early in the selection process. We track this data and report it annually to the Board of Managers.

Supplier Types

  • Large Critical and Client Directed Suppliers: Fi-Tek has a limited number of third-party suppliers, most of which are large companies offering highly technical solutions. These suppliers often need to meet stringent tests mandated by our clients, who may also dictate the types of providers we can select. However, one of the evaluation criteria for large critical suppliers is their commitment to diversifying their supply chains to maximize opportunities for MWDBEs.

  • Smaller Less Critical and Optional Suppliers: Fi-Tek also works with smaller companies for services like legal and human resources. We have greater flexibility in selecting these suppliers. For these, we actively seek MWDBE companies and strive to diversify our supply chain with such smaller businesses whenever possible.

Leadership and Support

Our Supplier Diversity Program is led by a senior member of the Management Committee with a direct reporting line to the CEO. This ensures maximum program visibility, commitment to providing maximum opportunities for MWDBE businesses, and involvement of key stakeholders in vendor selection.

We believe that successful Supplier Diversity Programs require a company-wide effort. The support of our CEO, top management, and Board of Managers plays a crucial role in our program’s success.

Objectives

  • Communicate the value of supplier diversity to leadership, encouraging the identification and inclusion of diverse suppliers.
  • Encourage leaders to identify and include qualified diverse suppliers in the procurement process.
  • Communicate with and evaluate the commitment to supplier diversity of other vendors.

Evaluation

We measure our success by exceeding stakeholder expectations while enabling the growth of our diverse suppliers, both in terms of business volume and increasing the number of diverse suppliers we work with.