SupplierGATEWAY Is Selected As The Exclusive Software Platform For The Historic CREDS Consortium

Leanne Strickler

The Real Estate Roundtable and Partner Real Estate Associations Join Together for the First Time to Expand Supplier Diversity Opportunities

The Commercial Real Estate Diverse Supplier (CREDS) Consortium is a first-of-its-kind coalition to provide more opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses in the industry’s supply chain.

Ade Solaru, Founder and CEO, SupplierGATEWAY: “Our partnership with the CREDS Consortium is an important component of our mission to generate meaningful economic impact at scale for our customers. Each member of the CREDS associations can now create meaningful social impact at the local level without sacrificing efficiency, cost or risk.”

Washington, D.C. — Today, an industry-wide group of seven real estate trade associations announced a first-of-its-kind alliance to foster supplier diversity in real estate. The Commercial Real Estate Diverse Supplier (CREDS) Consortium aims to expand economic opportunities for businesses owned by minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) in the chain of providers that supply the real estate industry.

In addition to The Real Estate Roundtable, CREDS Consortium associations include CREW Network, ICSC, Mortgage Bankers Association, NAIOP, Nareit and the National Multifamily Housing Council. CREDS Consortium associations will highlight tools that their members can use to identify, track, report, and procure products and services from MWBEs and companies owned by veterans, LGBTQ+ persons, and persons with a disability.

The Real Estate Roundtable’s President and CEO, Jeffrey DeBoer, said, “Owners, developers, and financiers of commercial and multifamily real estate are committed to help minority, women, and other historically under-represented entrepreneurs prosper in our great industry. The CREDS Consortium can help our members realize their intentions to advance economic opportunities across the vast and varied supply chain that serves real estate, makes our buildings productive, and strengthens the fabric of our communities.”

The CREDS Consortium has launched a two-year pilot program that will run through the end of 2024 with SupplierGATEWAY, a leading supplier management software platform and minority-owned firm that automates and simplifies supplier and vendor management. SupplierGATEWAY’s products include supplier sourcing, registration, risk management, compliance, and management—and provide support for corporate social responsibility, diversity, and inclusion goals.

Members of the CREDS associations can subscribe—at a discounted price—to SupplierGATEWAY’s software platform to search for, connect with, and potentially hire  MWBEs as contractors, service providers, vendors, and joint venture partners. CREDS associations’ subscribing members can access the vendor management software and a comprehensive database of MWBE suppliers through the Consortium’s portal page, hosted by SupplierGATEWAY.

Hiring companies can also post their purchase orders and other contracting opportunities through the CREDS portal. Tools available on the platform that measure and track MWBE procurement spending will support companies that intend to advance environmental social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.

During the pilot program, the Consortium also hopes to gain broad insights into supplier diversity trends across the commercial real estate industry.

Visit https://creds.suppliergateway.com to learn more about the CREDS Consortium pilot program. An FAQ document can be found here.