Business Development Strategies

Corporate employees can provide assistance in areas such as business planning, product/service pricing, financial planning, marketing, technical knowledge, brochures, the bidding process, paperwork simplification, and workflow. Mentoring assistance can be provided through individual volunteer "consultants," corporate teams of experts, executives "on loan," or fully sponsored full-time experts, for a minimum of 12 months. We also encourage prime suppliers to mentor diverse suppliers.

Citi facilitates diverse business development by including diverse business owners in in-house management training programs; assisting agencies, organizations, and knowledgeable facilitators that support and train diverse businesses; and working with local community colleges and other public institutions to provide training to diverse businesses.

Citi sponsors a "corporate connection" program where diverse suppliers are invited to learn how to do business with Citi and receive information about upcoming opportunities. Citi also sponsors a diverse supplier input session, where suppliers are invited to review and comment on an upcoming contract and identify bidding obstacles.

Project managers, commodity managers, buyers and contractors are encouraged to attend diverse supplier trade fairs and expositions to identify and establish business relationships. Citi invites diverse businesses to individual procurement conferences to explain purchasing processes and expectations and to communicate our needs for products and services.